Charles Henry "Chinski" Root (March 17, 1899 – November 5, 1970) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Browns and the Chicago Cubs between 1923 and 1941. Root batted and threw right-handed. He holds the club record for games, innings pitched, and career wins with 201. He is the last player born in the 19th Century to play in Major League Baseball.

Born on Saint Patrick's Day, Root was the eighth of nine children born to Jacob and Mary Root in Middletown, Ohio. He left school at 13 due to being reprimanded by his teacher for his behavior. His father envisioned his son working in the local steel mill; although he did not get in his son's interest in baseball, he demanded that his son find a job to help the family. Root had numerous jobs, such as driver of a grocery wagon, working in a box factory, and being a pattern-maker at the Armco mill. By the time he was twenty, he was playing semipro ball with the Middletown Eagles, making $5 for each game ($91 in current dollar terms) on Sundays before leaving for the Hamilton Engine Works, who offered $35 a game ($635 in current dollar terms) and a job for $50 a week ($907 in current dollar terms). Carl Weilman of the St. Louis Browns noticed his play (in which he led them to the Southern Ohio industrial league championship) and signed him to a contract. Root reported to spring training camp for the Browns in Bogalusa, Louisiana in 1921.

Root began his professional career on April 18, 1923 with the St. Louis Browns. Root pitched in relief for the final inning against the Detroit Tigers, striking out one while allowing no hits. Root made his first career start on July 4 for the second game of a double-header against the Chicago White Sox. He lasted two innings while allowing two runs on five hits with one strikeout, receiving the loss as the White Sox prevailed 3–1. He would start just one more game that year while appearing in 27 total games, finishing 15 of them while having 60 innings of work, going 0–4 with a 5.70 ERA. He had 27 strikeouts and 18 walks.

Root was traded after the 1923 season by manager George Sisler along Cedric Durst, Rasty Wright, and Josh Billings to the Los Angeles Angels in the Pacific Coast League for George Lyons and Tony Rego. In his season with the Angels, he won 21 games in 322 innings. His contract was purchased by the Cubs after the season for $30,000 and two players. He was sent back to the Angels for more seasoning after spring training with the team, winning 25 games with the Angels. In 1926, he began play with the Cubs. In 42 games for the team (starting in 32 of them), he went 18–17 while throwing 21 complete games with two saves and two shutouts in 2711⁄3 innings of work. He had 62 walks and 127 strikeouts, beginning six consecutive seasons with over a hundred strikeouts. He finished 16th in the MVP voting that year.

For 1927, Root was selected to pitch the Opening Day game for the Cubs, pitching against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, facing future Hall of Fame inductee Grover Cleveland Alexander. Root pitched a complete game while allowing one run on seven hits while having seven strikeouts and five walks as the Cubs rolled over the Cardinals 10–1. That year, he went 26–15 with a 3.76 ERA in 48 games and 309 innings, both career highs. Although he allowed 117 walks, he had 145 strikeouts in the 1,316 batters he faced, all career highs. Fielding-wise, he had six putouts, 49 assists, two errors and two double plays for a .965 fielding percentage. He led the league in wins, games, and innings while finishing in the top ten in hits per 9 innings (8.621, 6th), strikeouts per 9 innings (4.223, 5th), strikeouts (2nd) and shutouts (4, 2nd). Root finished fourth in the MVP voting that year, receiving 46 vote points as Paul Waner received the award with 72. He regressed the following year, going 14–18 with a 3.57 ERA and two saves in 40 games and 237 innings pitched. He had 73 walks with 122 strikeouts.

In 1929, Root pitched in 43 games and 272 innings while having a 19–6 record and a 3.47 ERA. He had 83 walks along with 124 strikeouts. That year the Cubs won the National League pennant, and Root started Game 1 and Game 4 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics. In the first game, he faced off against Howard Ehmke. Root was scoreless until the seventh inning, where Jimmie Foxx hit a home run off him to give the Athletics their first run. Root was replaced by Guy Bush for the eighth inning, but Root (seven innings, three hits) was charged with the 3–1 loss. Root started the pivotal fourth game of the Series, facing off against Jack Quinn. He was clean of runs until the seventh inning, where he was taken out for Art Nehf after getting only one out on six runs as the Cubs tried to preserve a 8–6 lead. However, the two following Cubs pitchers allowed four runs to score as the A's completed their comeback and ultimately won the game 10–8 along with the Series a game later.

Root played mostly to form for 1932. It was the first year the Cubs wore numbers on their jerseys; Root wore 12 (he would wear three different jersey numbers over the following years). In 39 games appeared, he went 15–10 with a 3.58 ERA and three saves in 2161⁄3 innings pitched. He had 96 strikeouts with 55 walks (both being lows for Root in his career thus far). The team rallied from a sluggish 53–46 record under Rogers Hornsby to winning 37 of the next 55 games under Charlie Grimm to win the NL pennant. Root appeared in Game 3 of the World Series on October 1 against the New York Yankees. In 41⁄3 innings, he allowed six hits and runs as the Cubs lost 7–5. He threw the pitch that Babe Ruth allegedly predicted he would hit into the seats in the 1932 World Series at Wrigley Field in Chicago (see: Babe Ruth's called shot). Root, however, insisted that Ruth had not pointed to the bleachers and the account of the supposed shot is disputed.

Root's baseball nickname, "Chinski," was bestowed by his longtime teammate and manager, Charlie Grimm. Root, wearing No. 17 (for which he would wear for the remaining years of his career) returned to form in 1935, going 15–8 with a 3.08 ERA in 38 games and 2011⁄3 innings pitched. He had 94 strikeouts and 47 walks. The Cubs memorably won the league pennant that season, winning 21 consecutive games from September 4 to the 28th to finish 100–54 and win their third pennant in six years. Root appeared in Game 2 and 4 of the World Series, starting in the former while closing the last two innings of the latter. In Game 2, he was knocked out of the game before finishing an inning, allowing four hits and four runs on four batters faced as the Cubs lost 8–3, with Root being charged with the loss. In Game 4, he threw the eighth and ninth inning, allowing one hit with no runs, two strikeouts, and one walk although the Cubs lost 2–1; the team lost the Series two days later.