11. Rick Ferrell
Hall of Fame catcher Rick Ferrell was one of the best and most durable catchers of the 1930s and 1940s, a time when the backstop was not expected to hit much. He was also one of the first players to escape from the restrictive contracts of the days before the end of the reserve clause, arguing and winning his free agency in 1928.
Over 18 years in the big leagues, Ferrell played for Washington, St. Louis and Boston. None were good, and he never got a chance to play in the World Series. He and his brother, Wes, both played in the first All-Star Game, with Rick having the more successful career. The elder Ferrell brother made the All-Star team eight times. Rick hit .281/.378/.363 with 1,692 hits and retired holding the record for most games caught in the American League. He also walked nearly 700 times more than he struck out.
Ferrell’s best shot at the World Series came in 1945 when the Senators stayed in the pennant race until the final week of the season. They ultimately finished behind the Detroit Tigers after narrowing the gap to 1.5 games before slipping back. Interestingly enough, had Ferrell not fought his way out of his initial baseball contract with Detroit, he would have played in the World Series four times. He had battled the team because he felt they were unfairly holding him in the minor leagues.
Ferrell went into scouting and the front office with the Senators and Tigers (no hard feelings, apparently). He rose to the rank of vice president of the Tigers and worked as an executive on two World Series winners for Detroit.