His election was delayed a few voting rounds but was never in doubt. As its 106th inductee, the Circle of Greats welcomes Grover Cleveland Alexander, the National League’s all-time pitching WAR leader. Alexander is also the career leader in the senior circuit in Wins (tied with Christy Mathewson) and Shutouts, and the modern era leader in Complete Games. In a career of twenty seasons, Alexander logged over 5000 IP and faced almost 21,000 batters, both second in the NL only to Warren Spahn in the modern era. More on Alexander after the jump.

Alexander hailed from Nebraska where his life on the family farm delayed his professional baseball career until age 22, a career he embarked upon only at the urging of locals with whom he played ball on weekends. One season in Class D and a second in Class B and Alexander was ready for the majors at age 24. Was he every ready!

Alexander took the NL by storm in 1911, logging 367 IP and posting a 28-13 record to become the last pitcher to lead his league in IP and Wins in a debut season. For good measure, he also led in CG, Shutouts, Batters Faced and H/9, and placed 2nd in Strikeouts and SO/9. Only his 3.2 BB/9 was less than stellar, limiting his ERA+ to “only” 133.

Addressing that one weakness, Alexander pushed his BB/9 steadily lower, reaching only 1.5 BB/9 in a breakthrough 1915 season in which he led in basically everything: IP, BF, Wins (with 31), W-L%, ERA, ERA+, FIP, CG, SHO, SO, SO/9, SO/BB, H/9 and WHIP (a career best 0.842). Alexander would lead in most of those same categories for the next two years, while recording 30 wins for three straight seasons to match Kid Nichols and Christy Mathewson for the longest such streak of seasons since 1893.

Alexanders first 7 seasons, each with more than 300 IP, produced totals of almost 2500 IP with 190 wins and 61 shutouts, all modern records to start a career. Despite an NL championship in 1915 and runner-up finishes the next two years, Philadelphia elected not to retain their ace after the 1917 season, fearing that he would be drafted into military service in France (as indeed he was). Instead, the Phillies sold Alexander to the Cubs for a very tidy sum, though the Cubs would have the last laugh, winning the 1918 pennant despite having Alexander miss almost the entire season.

Alexander survived the horrors of the front line but would bear the scars of that ordeal for the rest of his life. Loading a howitzer and pulling the lanyard left Alexander deaf in one ear and with a sore right pitching arm. But, those were minor complaints compared to the onset of severe epilepsy which Alexander tried to mask with drink (better to be thought a drunk than an epileptic, then still seen as a sign of demonic possession).

Returning to the Cubs in 1919, Alexander turned in two solid seasons including a career best 12 WAR campaign in 1920 in which he again led the NL in most statistical categories. But his age, afflictions and a sore arm resulted in plummeting strikeout totals starting in 1921. Those factors and the advent of the live ball era compelled Alexander to reinvent himself as a finesse pitcher for the back half of his career, a transformation he accomplished with apparent ease, totaling over 2000 IP with 35 WAR and 161 CGs aged 34+, the last  mark bettered only by Warren Spahn among live ball era pitchers.

Alexander’s life after baseball was little short of a living hell, one of the few bright spots coming with his election to the Hall of Fame in 1938. Alexander died in 1950, shortly after making his final public appearance at that year’s World Series.

My thanks, as always, to Baseball-Reference.com for statistical data and to Sabr.org for biographical details.