Former Pirates 2B Eddie 'The Fiddler' Basinski, baseball's 2nd-oldest player, dies at 99

Eddie Basinski was a classically trained violinist who drew acclaim and the nickname The Fiddler, and later in life found more fame as baseball’s second-oldest living player.

A second baseman who played in the majors for the Brooklyn Dodgers during World War II and spent part of one season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Basinski became a Pacific Coast League legend while playing in the minors for the Triple-A Portland Beavers.

Basinski’s fascinating life ended Saturday when he died at age 99 years, 65 days, in Gladstone, Ore. After the death of Eddie Robinson last October, only former St. Louis Browns outfielder George Elder, who turns 101 on March 10, was older among living ballplayers.

Born Nov. 4, 1922, Basinski was an accomplished violinist who played with the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra and earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Buffalo, where played tennis and ran cross country because the school didn’t have a baseball team.

Discovered while playing semi-pro ball, Basinski signed with the Dodgers for $5,000. He played 39 games in 1944, batting .257 with four doubles, a triple and nine RBIs. The following season, Basinski batted .262 with nine doubles, four triples and 33 RBIs but was sent to the minors when players returned from the war.

The Pirates traded for Basinski in December 1946, and he batted .199 with six doubles, two triples, four home runs and 17 RBIs in 56 games — starting 48 at second base — on a team that featured Ralph Kiner and Frankie Gustine and finished 62-92-2.

Basinski was traded to the New York Yankees, then sold to the Portland Beavers. He spent the remainder of his career in the minors and had 1,426 hits, 99 home runs and 579 RBIs in 10 seasons for Portland — where he was popular for playing his violin at home plate between doubleheaders — before playing his final two seasons with Seattle and Vancouver. He was inducted into the PCL Hall of Fame in 2006.