Bob Keating

Robert Edward Keating

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 4", Weight 190 lb.

• Debut August 27, 1887
• Final Game August 27, 1887
• Born September 22, 1862 in Springfield, MA USA
• Died January 19, 1922 in Springfield, MA USA

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Biographical Information

Bob Keating pitched in one major league game, going nine innings and taking the loss on August 27, 1887. He is better known for inventing the rubber home plate, which is still used today. Previously, the plate was made of stone, iron, or wood, all of which caused injuries.

A SABR article indicates that Keating was a prolific inventor. He had started as an amateur pitcher in his home town, signed with the Washington Nationals in 1887 but did not appear in a game, and then played his sole game for the Baltimore Orioles, but an arm injury finished his pro career. He had already starting inventing in 1886, and eventually received more than 40 patents for his various inventions. The most famous was the Keating motorcycle. He eventually started a company to manufacture valves. When he died, his obituary in the local paper didn't even mention him playing baseball as a young man. Source: Robert M. Keating, Inventor

He has also been remembered as the inventor of "his version of the ultimate bicycle". [1]

"Keating was given wretched support by the Baltimore field." - Sporting Life, September 7, 1887, about the Baltimore defense, which let in five unearned runs