Paul Bernard Krichell (December 19, 1882 – June 4, 1957) was a French Major League Baseball catcher, best known for being the head scout for the New York Yankees for 37 years until his death.

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.

[3] Krichell made his professional baseball debut in 1903 as a catcher with the Ossining, New York, club in the Hudson River League's inaugural season.

[5][6] Krichell began his long association with manager Ed Barrow that year when the latter took charge of the Royals.

[7] Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers stole second, third, and home plate in the same inning of a game while Krichell was catching.

[9] In a later game, a famous photograph captures Cobb appearing to Intentionally be flying foot-first into Krichell's crotch while the catcher squints in pained anticipation.

He was the starting catcher for the Buffalo Bisons in 1914 when Babe Ruth made his professional debut with the Baltimore Orioles, hitting a double and a single against his pitching.

[10] From 1917 to 1918, Krichell served as manager for Bridgeport of the Eastern League, making several playing appearances over the two seasons.

[14] 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.

[1] He signed catcher Benny Bengough from Buffalo of the International League,[3] and Charlie Caldwell, a Princeton University graduate.

[19] Skeptical, Barrow sent Krichell to watch Columbia's next game against New York University,[18] where Gehrig hit a home run that reportedly went out of the stadium.

[21] After joining up with the team for batting practice in June 1923, Gehrig was sent by Yankees manager Miller Huggins to the Hartford Senators.

After a good start, Gehrig went through a long slump and suffered depression which led him to consider quitting baseball.

Before the 1925 New York Yankees season, Babe Ruth collapsed at a train station in Asheville, North Carolina.

[26] When the deal was concluded, Barrow sent Krichell to Salt Lake City to watch young second baseman Tony Lazzeri, who played for the Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Coast League and hit 60 home runs and achieved over 200 RBIs the previous season.

[34] Greenberg discussed the deal with his father but declined it because he knew his opportunities would be limited by the presence of Gehrig as first baseman.

[3] From Harvard University, he signed Charlie Devens later saying he could have been great had he continued to play baseball,[3] and from Yale University, he scouted pitcher Johnny Broaca who seemed to be heading for stardom after winning 12 games in his first three seasons with the Yankees, but suddenly retired to become a professional boxer.

[36] In 1935, a local scout who worked with Krichell placed Long Island University pitcher Marius Russo in a semi-professional team.

[3] In 1937, Krichell signed shortstop Phil Rizzuto, who had tried out with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants, but was dismissed by them on the grounds that he was too small.

He initially tried to convince him to bypass football for baseball, but the player refused until his father's death soon after his college graduation altered his priorities, leaving him as the sole supporter of his mother and younger brother.

Developing an effective fast curveball, Ford helped his team win the New York City sandlot ball championship, and was signed by Krichell for $7,000 in 1947 ($70,000 in 2010).

[1] Among the scouts he hired for the Yankees were former players Babe Herman, Atley Donald, Jake Flowers and Johnny Neun.

However, Krichell's recommendation of Casey Stengel for manager of the Yankees in 1948 was instrumental in their front office hiring him.

[4] In 1954, Krichell was honored by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) with the William J. Slocum Memorial Award.

Named after the former head sportswriter of the New York Journal American and president of the BBWAA, the award honored his longevity in baseball.

[1] The final players Krichell signed were two bonus babies: infielder Tom Carroll from Notre Dame University and Frank Leja, an 18-year-old first baseman.

[3] When he scouted a prospect, his top priority was checking that the subject could handle the pressure of playing Major League Baseball.

[54] Birdie Tebbetts, a member of the Veterans Committee in the 1980s, led a campaign to have Krichell, along with fellow scouts Charlie Barrett and Hugh Alexander, inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

[55] In The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, James awards the sarcastically named "Paul Krichell Talent Scout Award" to an example of a team that has a good chance of signing a player who later becomes a star, who they end up passing on as the result of poor scouting.