page_title: Paul Krichell
section_title: Scouting career
hierarchical_section_title: Paul Krichell / Scouting career
caption_attribution_description: Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees, cropped from a posed picture of 1937 Major League Baseball All-Stars in Washington, DC.
context_page_description: Paul Bernard Krichell was a Major League Baseball catcher, best known for being the head scout for the New York Yankees for 37 years until his death. Krichell's talent evaluations and signings played a key role in building up the Yankees' run of success from the Murderers' Row teams of the 1920s to the 1950s teams led by Casey Stengel.
  Krichell began his professional career in the minor leagues, playing as the reserve catcher for the St. Louis Browns before a serious injury threatened his career. He continued to play in the minor leagues and began to move into coaching before Yankees manager Ed Barrow signed him as a scout in 1920. Considered one of the greatest scouts in baseball history, Krichell signed over 200 players who later played professional baseball, including future Baseball Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig, Hank Greenberg, Phil Rizzuto, Whitey Ford, and Tony Lazzeri. His recommendation of Stengel as the Yankees manager was instrumental in Stengel's appointment in 1948. Barrow called Krichell "the best judge of baseball players he ever saw".
context_section_description: Prior to the 1921 season, Barrow was appointed general manager of the New York Yankees and requested that Krichell join him as a full-time scout. At the time, the Yankees had a two-man scouting rotation, and Barrow believed the appointment of Krichell would improve the scouting staff. The first player signed by Krichell was Hinkey Haines, an outfielder from Penn State University. He signed catcher Benny Bengough from Buffalo of the International League, and Charlie Caldwell, a Princeton University graduate. Caldwell was used mainly as a batting practice pitcher, appearing in just three games in his major league career. During one practice, Caldwell fractured Wally Pipp's skull with a high fastball, allowing Lou Gehrig to assume Pipp's place in the starting lineup.
caption: Krichell's most significant signing for the Yankees was Lou Gehrig, when he was a player at Columbia University.
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