Maurice Rene Van Robays (November 15, 1914 – March 1, 1965),[1] nicknamed "Bomber," was a professional baseballoutfielder who played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Pittsburgh Pirates between 1939 and 1946. Listed at 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m) tall and 190 pounds (86 kg), he batted and threw right-handed.
In 1940, Van Robays appeared in a career-high 145 major league games, batting .273 with 11 home runs and 116 RBIs.[6] His 116 RBIs were third-most in the National League.[8] After the season, Van Robays drew eight points and finished 24th in league MVP voting, with a .316 on-base percentage and .402 slugging percentage.[citation needed] He played a decreasing number of games with Pittsburgh each of the next three seasons, with a corresponding decline in RBIs.[6] Eyesight difficulties led to Van Robays starting to wear glasses in 1942.[3][9]
In 1946, Van Robays played 59 games for the Pirates, his final major league appearances, batting .212 with one home run and 12 RBIs.[6] Overall during parts of six major league seasons with Pittsburgh, he batted .267 with 20 home runs and 303 RBIs.[6] Defensively, he played 470 games in the outfield (402 in left field), three games at first base, and one game at third base; he had a .966 fielding average.[6]
Van Robays completed his professional career by spending four seasons with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League, 1947 to 1950;[2] the team was league champions in 1948. He appeared in a total of 822 minor league games in parts of nine seasons, batting .315 with at least 94 home runs and 199 RBIs, as minor league records of the era are incomplete.[2]
Van Robays is credited with naming the "eephus pitch", developed by teammate Rip Sewell. In a 1942 exhibition game, Sewell threw a high, arching lob to the plate, and when the pitch finally arrived, Dick Wakefield swung and missed. After the game, manager Frankie Frisch asked Sewell what he called the pitch, and Van Robays replied "that's an eephus pitch." When Sewell asked him what an eephus was, Van Robays said, "Eephus ain't nuthin'." From then on, Sewell called it the eephus pitch.[10]