Heinie Berger

Who was Heinie Berger?

Charles Carl "Heinie" Berger, was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Berger played for four seasons for the Cleveland Naps, making his debut May 6, 1907, and playing his final on July 22, 1910. His best years were 1908 and 1909, with Berger winning 13 games in each of those seasons. He started 68 games for the Indians and ended his career with a 32–29 win loss record and a 2.60 earned run average.

In 1909, he led all American League pitchers, striking out an average of 5.90 batters per 9-innings pitched. He struck out a total of 162 batters in 1909. Berger also led the American League in wild pitches in 1909 with 13.

"Heinie" was a popular nickname for German baseball players in the early part of the 20th Century. Berger was one of 22 major league Heinie's in the first half of the century. Others include: Heinie Beckendorf; Heinie Groh; Heinie Manush; Heinie Meine; Heinie Mueller; Heinie Mueller; Heinie Peitz; Heinie Reitz; Heinie Sand; Heinie Schuble; Heinie Smith; Heinie Stafford; Heinie Wagner; and Heinie Zimmerman. No major league player has been known by the nickname "Heinie" since World War II.