1913 Game Log Nuggets

The indispensable Play Index tool at Baseball-Reference.com has recently been updated to include game log data for the 1913 season.

After the jump, I’ll look at a few of the more unusual game feats from that season.

Batting

In the height of the dead ball era, there wasn’t a lot of heavy hitting happening, with only two player games of 10 or more total bases. The odd thing was both of those games were played on the same day.

Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI BOP Pos Summary
1 Bob Fisher 1913-08-16 (2) BRO STL W 14-5 5 5 4 3 0 1 2 11 4 7 SS
2 Heinie Zimmerman 1913-08-16 (2) CHC PHI W 8-3 5 5 2 4 0 0 2 10 6 4 3B
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/3/2016.

Fisher’s game of multiple home runs plus a triple is the only one in the AL or NL from 1913 to 1919. There have been 214 such games since 1920, with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig leading the way with four apiece, followed by Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio with a trio of such games. Mays and DiMaggio are joined by someone who is a bit of a surprise: Ryan Howard also has three such contests, despite only 21 career triples.

Fifteen players had a two home run game in 1913, including one (Harry Wolters) who had no more home runs in 126 other games that year, and another (Hal Janvrin) who had three home runs in 87 games in 1913, and three more in 663 games over the rest of his career. Twenty-three players had home runs in consecutive games, but none in three straight contests.

Eight players turned in a 5 hit game in 1913, led by Rabbit Maranville and Beals Becker, each with a pair of such contests.

Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BOP Pos Summary
1 Beals Becker 1913-05-15 CIN BSN W 11-5 5 5 5 5 2 0 0 2 2 LF
2 Beals Becker 1913-09-08 (1) PHI BSN W 13-0 6 6 2 5 0 0 1 2 CF
3 Eddie Collins 1913-04-10 PHA BOS W 10-9 5 5 1 5 0 0 0 3 2B
4 Gavvy Cravath 1913-05-21 PHI CIN W 12-0 5 5 2 5 0 1 0 6 5 RF
5 Les Mann 1913-07-03 BSN BRO W 17-4 6 5 3 5 1 0 1 8 CF
6 Rabbit Maranville 1913-09-11 BSN CIN L 11-12 6 5 3 5 1 0 0 2 1 SS
7 Rabbit Maranville 1913-07-12 BSN PIT L 4-6 5 5 2 5 0 0 0 0 1 SS
8 Red Murray 1913-07-11 NYG CHC W 14-4 6 5 2 5 1 0 0 5 6 RF
9 Rebel Oakes 1913-08-27 STL PHI W 15-4 6 6 4 5 0 1 0 2 3 CF
10 Jeff Sweeney 1913-06-19 NYY SLB W 10-4 5 5 1 5 0 1 0 4 4 C
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/3/2016.

Those are two of 166 player seasons since 1913 with multiple 5 hit games. Of those 166 seasons, Becker’s is the only one having the two (or more) 5 hit games for different teams. Becker’s first 5-hit game for the Reds is one of only 16 since 1913 with a player getting a hit and scoring in each of 5 or more PAs. Al Simmons is the only player to record two such games.

Rk Player ▴ Date Tm Opp Rslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BOP Pos Summary
1 Al Simmons 1929-06-21 (1) PHA NYY W 11-1 5 5 5 5 0 0 2 3 4 LF
2 Al Simmons 1930-06-23 (2) PHA CHW W 17-9 5 5 5 5 1 0 2 5 4 LF
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/3/2016.

The longest hitting streaks of 1913 were modest streaks of 23 and 22 games, by Nap Lajoie and Tris Speaker respectively. The longest oh-fer was 35+ consecutive hitless ABs for pitcher Cy Falkenberg. The longest by a non-pitcher was 28+ ABs for Ward Miller (who made up for his swoon by drawing 13 walks). Note that the game log data do not include PBP data, so can’t say “exactly” how long these streaks were; the AB totals are for the longest streak of games without a hit. Possibly, one of the other players on the list below had a longer oh-fer run.

Rk Name Strk Start End Games AB ▾ R RBI SO BB SB OPS Tm
1 Ward Miller 1913-05-19 1913-05-29 8 28 4 0 7 13 3 .317 CHC
2 Art Devlin 1913-05-27 1913-06-07 9 27 1 0 1 3 1 .100 BSN
3 Jack Lapp 1913-04-30 1913-05-20 8 27 1 0 4 1 0 .036 PHA
4 Jimmy Sheckard 1913-06-12 1913-06-25 8 26 0 1 7 1 0 .071 STL
5 Red Murray 1913-04-30 1913-05-10 7 26 0 0 1 1 2 .037 NYG
6 Dan Howley 1913-07-09 1913-08-23 13 25 1 1 4 3 0 .107 PHI
7 Art Wilson 1913-05-14 1913-08-05 12 25 1 3 2 4 0 .138 NYG
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/3/2016.

Home Run Baker scored in 14 straight games with a PA, while Ted Easterly went 55 games between runs, scoring in his first game of the season on April 12th and not again until Sep 27th. Cardinal player/manager Miller Huggins walked in 11 straight games as did future manager Burt Shotton, while Bill Killefer, another future manager, went 60 straight games with a PA and no walks. Jack Barry delivered a sacrifice hit in 4 straight games, while George Burns went 98 games between sacrifices. Clyde Milan stole a base in 9 straight games.

Pitching

There were no no-hitters in 1913, but eight one-hitters, two of them by 21 year-old Earl Hamilton.

Rk Player Age Date Tm Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO HR UER GSc BF HBP
1 Lefty Tyler 23.263 1913-09-03 BSN NYG W 2-1 CG, W 9.0 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 82 31 0
2 George Suggs 31.043 1913-08-19 (2) CIN BSN W 2-0 SHO, W 9.0 1 0 0 1 8 0 0 92 28 0
3 Earl Hamilton 21.361 1913-07-15 SLB NYY W 3-0 SHO, W 9.0 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 87 29 1
4 Reb Russell 24.124 1913-07-14 CHW BOS W 8-0 SHO, W 9.0 1 0 0 1 4 0 0 88 30 2
5 Willie Mitchell 23.217 1913-07-06 (2) CLE CHW W 7-0 SHO, W 9.0 1 0 0 4 4 0 0 85 33 0
6 George Pierce 25.163 1913-06-22 CHC STL W 6-0 SHO, W 5.0 1 0 0 5 2 0 0 62 19 0
7 Earl Hamilton 21.306 1913-05-21 SLB NYY W 5-0 SHO, W 9.0 1 0 0 4 8 0 0 89 30 0
8 Art Fromme 29.243 1913-05-04 CIN PIT L 0-1 CG, L 9.0 1 1 1 3 5 0 0 83 32 0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/3/2016.

Since Hamilton, Bob Feller (twice), Wally Bunker and Vida Blue are the only younger pitchers to record a season with a pair of CGs allowing one hit or less.

The longest scoreless innings streak was 55.1+ IP by Walter Johnson. Johnson allowed a run to the Highlanders in his season’s first inning of work on April 10th but didn’t allow another until May 14th. Johnson started the year 10-0 at which time he had pitched 70 innings and allowed 3 runs. Johnson also had the season’s second longest scoreless innings streak of 37+ IP from June 27th to July 13th. He finished the year with 346 IP, a 36-7 record and 1.14 ERA.

Johnson and Jim Scott turned in the highest single game strikeout totals, though neither would win the game.

Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO HR GSc BF
1 Walter Johnson 1913-07-25 WSH SLB T 8-8 11.1 7 2 1 2 15 0 42
2 Jim Scott 1913-06-22 (1) CHW SLB L 0-2 CG, L 9.0 5 2 0 1 15 0 87 33
3 Jim Scott 1913-09-27 CHW SLB W 6-2 CG, W 9.0 6 2 2 1 14 0 80 35
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/4/2016.

The next pitcher after Scott to lose a 9-inning game in which he struck our 15 batters was not until 1956 when Paul Foytack went the distance for the Tigers and lost to the Senators by a 6-5 score.

These pitchers turned in the highest game scores of the 1913 season.

Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO HR GSc BF
1 Ray Fisher 1913-05-14 NYY CLE T 2-2 CG 15.0 5 2 1 3 6 0 104 58
2 Ad Brennan 1913-07-19 PHI CIN W 3-2 CG, W 16.0 8 2 1 0 3 0 103 55
3 Ray Collins 1913-07-03 BOS WSH L 0-1 CG, L 15.0 9 1 1 2 5 0 98 52
4 Walter Johnson 1913-08-28 WSH BOS L 0-1 CG, L 10.2 3 1 0 0 10 0 96 35
5 Rube Marquard 1913-09-01 (2) NYG BSN W 2-1 CG, W 14.0 10 1 1 3 9 1 94 51
6 Lefty Tyler 1913-05-10 BSN STL T 1-1 CG 12.0 5 1 0 6 10 0 94 45
7 Chief Bender 1913-06-13 PHA CLE W 2-1 CG, W 13.0 6 1 0 4 4 0 93 50
8 George Suggs 1913-08-19 (2) CIN BSN W 2-0 SHO, W 9.0 1 0 0 1 8 0 92 28
9 Christy Mathewson 1913-04-29 NYG BRO W 6-0 SHO, W 13.0 8 0 0 0 1 0 92 45
10 Boardwalk Brown 1913-07-19 (2) PHA CHW W 3-1 CG, W 12.0 5 1 0 2 3 0 91 41
11 Eddie Plank 1913-04-25 PHA NYY W 4-0 SHO, W 9.0 3 0 0 0 10 0 91 29
12 Bill James 1913-04-24 BSN BRO W 1-0 SHO, W 12.0 8 0 0 4 9 0 91 46
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/4/2016.

The 16 innings by Ad Brennan on July 19th (no. 2 above) was the longest start of the year, while Carl Weilman‘s 14.2 IP on July 25th was the longest relief appearance.

Four pitchers had starts with negative game scores, including one who did so in a complete game, and one (George Suggs) who recorded a one-hitter in his next start.

Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO HR GSc BF
1 Ralph Comstock 1913-09-12 DET BOS L 5-18 GS- , L 3.1 14 12 10 1 3 0 -10 24
2 Lefty Williams 1913-09-23 DET PHA L 8-21 GS- , L 2.0 11 10 10 1 0 0 -7 20
3 George Suggs 1913-08-11 (2) CIN PIT L 1-13 GS- , L 4.1 14 10 9 0 1 0 -2 27
4 Ray Caldwell 1913-10-03 (1) NYY PHA L 10-13 CG, L 8.0 15 13 11 7 2 2 -1 47
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/4/2016.

The lowest game score by a pitcher earning a W was 16 by Rube Marquard on May 14th, and 17 in a CG by Hub Perdue on July 7th.

Oldest and Youngest

Clark Griffith and Jack Ryan had some fun on the last day of the season and formed the oldest battery on record, with a combined age exceeding 88 years. Heinie Peitz, seven years removed from his last game appearance, was the next oldest player to see action. The 42 year-old got into 3 games for the Cardinals, including a start on June 1st in which he tripled and scored; since then only two older catchers have had a three-base hit.

Rk Player Age Date Tm Opp Rslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BOP Pos Summary
1 Carlton Fisk 44.210 1992-07-23 CHW MIL W 6-2 5 5 1 1 0 1 0 2 8 C
2 Walker Cooper 42.224 1957-08-20 (2) STL NYG W 3-2 4 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 6 C
3 Heinie Peitz 42.185 1913-06-01 STL CHC L 2-4 3 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 8 C
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/3/2016.

The youngest player to appear in the 1913 season was the Cuban-born Merito Acosta who debuted just 17 days after his 17th birthday. In 12 games, Acosta recorded a two-hit game, had a triple and finished the season on a four game hit streak. Since Acosta, no younger player has hit a triple and only Tommy Brown has recorded a multi-hit game at a younger age.

The Tigers had 21 players make their career debuts in 1913, while the Phillies had just five. The most making their debut in the same game were 5 for the Braves on April 17th, and the most making a debut start were 4 for the Athletics on Sep 29th.

Team Superlatives

The longest team winning streaks were 15 games (May 27th to June 10th) by the season’s World Series champion Athletics and 14 games (June 26th to July 9th) by the NL champion Giants. The longest losing streaks were 11 games (May 26th to June 6th) by the Highlanders and 10 games (July 3rd to 12th) by the Superbas.  The Highlanders were shut out 22 times during the season and the two St. Louis clubs twenty times each. The Indians had the fewest blankings with only three.

The Indians scored in 89 straight games while the Highlanders allowed runs by their opponents in 73 straight contests. The Senators (twice) and Indians pitched three consecutive team shutouts, while the Browns were shutout in 4 consecutive games and, surprisingly, the Athletics were held scoreless in three straight contests.

The Senators (twice), Reds and Athletics all stole a base in 16 straight games while the Athletics also had a streak of 7 games without a steal. The Indians, Browns, Reds, Red Sox and White Sox all sacrificed in 11 straight contests, while the Cubs (twice) and Superbas went 8 games without a sacrifice. The Tigers drew a walk in 74 straight games while the Reds went three games without one.

There were 45 1-0 games in 1913 (and three 0-0 ties) and 6 games in which both teams score 10+ runs. The highest scoring game was on Sep 23rd when the Athletics beat the Tigers 21-8. The longest game was on May 28th when the Cubs beat the Cardinals 8-7 in 17 innings (played in a tidy 3 hours, 45 minutes) with Larry Cheney pitching the last 11 innings for the win and apparently delivering the game-winning RBI (he was the last batter of the game) off tough luck loser Bob Harmon who had pitched 8.2 scoreless frames before allowing the walk-off run.

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e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
8 years ago

A lot of fun, Doug. I really enjoy getting lost in seasons on B-R, and it’s nice to have a new (old) one. But noodling with Acosta’s stats, I noticed an oddity – 5 walks in the the games listed for his 4-walk season. It made me wonder how many uncaught errors there are in the B-R data.

Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
8 years ago

I was SUPER sure that you must’ve missed an older battery than Griffith-Ryan, Doug. I just ASSUMED that a nearly-60-year-old Satchel Paige would’ve been in an 88+ battery… but alas, it was only 85. Thanks for that little factoid!

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

Doug is correct. I have a reference book that confirms his finding. On 9-25-1965 Paige and Billy Bryan formed a battery that was 86 years and 9 days old.

David P
David P
8 years ago

That game were Griffith and Ryan were the oldest battery was the last day of the season and the Nationals certainly had fun. A book about Griffith says the following: “For one, the team used an unprecedented 8 pitchers. Griffith pitched a scoreless eighth inning for his only appearance of the year. He then moved to right field and into center, knocking a double in his only at bat. Griffith, age 44, and catcher Jack Ryan, 45, formed the oldest battery in major league history. Walter Johnson played center field but the comical Schaefer once again stole the show. He… Read more »

David P
David P
8 years ago
Reply to  David P

Here’s something I don’t understand about that Nats-Red Sox game. Mutt Willams, the Nats starting pitcher is credited with the victory even though he only pitched 4 innings. I know there’s some flexibility in awarding a win to a reliever but I thought a started HAD to throw at least 5 innings.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
8 years ago
Reply to  David P

There was a time when a pitcher did not necessarily have to pitch 5 innings in a 9 inning game for a win. I believe the 5-inning rule became official in 1950. In the early years of the 20th century Senators had a tradition of shenanigan games on the last day of the season. In that Griffith-Ryan game Walter Johnson “pitched” to 2 batters. He lobbed the ball and each of those batters got hits and later scored earned runs. That sent Johnson’s ERA from 1.09 to 1.14 and resulted it currently being the 4th lowest seasonal ERA instead or… Read more »

David P
David P
8 years ago

Ah thanks Richard and Kahuna. Never knew that. Course I imagine in the distant past, the possibility of a pitcher “winning” a game in less than 5 innings was quite rare.

Doug
Doug
8 years ago

Two of Lefty Grove’s 300 wins were starts of less than 5 innings, as was one of Early Wynn’s 300 wins.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
8 years ago

A PI game search shows 264 games in which a pitcher threw less than 5 innings in a 9-inning game and was credited with a win, from 1913 through 2015. Three of them pitched all of 1 inning. The last player to get credit for such a game was Ewell Blackwell on 7-18-49 in which he pitched for 4 innings.

David P
David P
8 years ago

Looks like there were 3 games in which the starter went exactly 1 inning and got the victory. Oddly, all three involved some combination of the Browns, the Indians, and the Senators. And no starter for either team lasted more than 2 innings in those games.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WS1/WS1192005180.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLA/SLA191709150.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WS1/WS1192009010.shtml

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
8 years ago

Richard beat me to the rule’s becoming official in 1950. Here’s a SABR article examining the events that led to passage of the rule: Origin of the Modern Pitching Win. A 1948 example of a weather-shortened game in which the starter pitched only three innings but was credited with the win is here.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
8 years ago
Reply to  Kahuna Tuna

I like this:
____________________

On July 7, 1888, The Sporting News for the first time published win-loss records, and only then after the following disclaimer:

It seems to place the whole game upon the shoulders of the pitcher and I don’t believe it will ever become popular even with so learned a gentleman as Mr. Chadwick to father it.
Certain it is that many an execrable pitcher game is won by heavy hitting at the right moment after the pitcher has done his best to lose it.

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
8 years ago
Reply to  Voomo Zanzibar

I was struck by that too, Voomo. What particularly caught my attention was the suggestion that Chadwick was already perceived as the “Father of Baseball” as early as 1888. I hadn’t realized this might be so, but upon doing some in-depth research (Wikipedia), I found he had that title a decade earlier – apparently self-bestowed. (I now always think of birtelcom as the Father of Baseball, just as I think of Hartvig in terms of his good looks.)

Mike L
Mike L
8 years ago

Dont know where to put this, but apropos our discussion of Wilhelm and why there aren’t more knuckleballers, there’s a story on MLBTR that said former first baseman Dan Johnson has be re=signed by Tampa to learn the knuckler. Johnson is 36.
I have to start working out again….

Hartvig
Hartvig
8 years ago
Reply to  Mike L

Geez, with a little work I could be in as good shape as Wilbur Wood. I wonder if anyone would be willing to take a chance on a 60-year old?

Mike L
Mike L
8 years ago
Reply to  Hartvig

Hartvig, I saw this first!. But, even with the knuckler, I’d need extra rest between appearances, so maybe Manfred would consider an 2X60 single roster exemption? Happy to share.
I ran five miles today…

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
8 years ago

Walter Johnson’s 15-strikeout game and Carl Weilman‘s 14.2-inning relief appearance were in the same game. Johnson came on in the fourth inning with the game tied 6-6. Weilman had entered the game in the first after George Baumgardner gave up home runs to two of the first three Washington hitters. Baumgardner pitched a complete-game loss to the Senators in the first game of the next day’s doubleheader.

Doug
Doug
8 years ago
Reply to  Kahuna Tuna

Those 15 strikeouts by Johnson have been exceeded by a reliever only once, by another Johnson, aka the Big Unit, with 16 K’s in 7 scoreless innings of one hit ball on 7-18-2001. The latter Johnson picked up the win in beating the Padres 3-0.

Mark
Mark
8 years ago

This was indeed fun — A’s-Giants World Series, 76 years before the Bay Area Series! Also, I got so “lost” in the good stuff that for a moment I went to check to see if Walter Johnson won the Cy Young that year… O:-)

Ken S.
Ken S.
8 years ago

Thanks for the nice article Doug. It’s always good to have another season of old box scores. I remember being blown away by Walter Johnson’s 1913 season when I first it in the original Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia. From 1913-1927, he had 44 starts of more than 9 innings and only one of 1 inning or less. If you were to guess, how many of each of these do you think Sandy Koufax had?

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
8 years ago
Reply to  Ken S.

Ken, I thought that was an interesting question, so I looked at Koufax 1961-66. He had 9 starts of more than 9 IP, and 6 of 1 IP less – three of those six were related to his finger injury in 1962 and occurred over a span of only four starts: the first when he had to go on the DL after the first inning of a July game, and the other two when he was brought back prematurely in September. Over these periods, Johnson pitched into extras 9% of the time; Koufax 4% of the time. (It may be… Read more »

Ken S.
Ken S.
8 years ago

Thanks for the research e pluribus. I agree that Koufax in his prime was right up there with Johnson.

Here is another amazing Koufax stat. In games of exactly 9 innings (127 starts), he was 122-3 with a 1.14 ERA.

no statistician but
no statistician but
8 years ago
Reply to  Ken S.

Ken S: I don’t know how to check this myself, but my suspicion is that not just Koufax but most pitchers in the live ball era, and especially after widespread use of relievers became standard, won most of their complete games and bettered their normal ERAs by a wide margin, this last simply because all of their shutouts were CGs and they were pulled early when having a bad start. Further, since Sandy was a notoriously poor batter, I suspect that he might have been pulled for a PH before the ninth inning in more close games than, say, Bob… Read more »

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
8 years ago

nsb, Reviewing game records, Koufax was pulled for a pinch hitter after either 7 or 8 IP in a total of 17 games over he period 1961-66, under three times per year. For Gibson, I only spot-checked his great 1968 season. He was pinch-hit for after 7 or 8 IP five times.

bstar
8 years ago
Reply to  Ken S.

Here’s what I got for Pedro Martinez in games of exactly 9 IP (40 starts), going year-by-year on his game logs: 35-3 with a 0.78 ERA.

Ken S.
Ken S.
8 years ago
Reply to  bstar

bstar:
Yes, I got the same result for Pedro.

See link below for list of all pitchers during Koufax’s career (1955-1966) with at least 40 starts of exactly 9 innings. It appears all pitchers do very well in this category.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/share.cgi?id=g2CUe

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
8 years ago
Reply to  bstar

I think nsb is basically right. Wondering how this would look in the case of a terrible record for a terrible team, I took a look at the figures for Roger Craig over the years 1962-63, when the Mets threatened to make the world forget the 1899 Cleveland Spiders (which, of course, were always on our minds in those days). Craig’s total record was 15-46 with a 4.14 ERA (not terrible: 92 ERA+). In games where he recorded precisely 9.0 IP, he was 8-5 with a 2.21 ERA. I also looked at Steve Carlton in 1972, perhaps the greatest pitching… Read more »

Paul E
Paul E
8 years ago
Reply to  Ken S.

Ken S.
A little late here regarding, “it appears all pitchers do quite quite well….”
Dean Chance: 40 – 0 in 41 games of 9IP with a 0.61 ERA Wow!!

David P
David P
8 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

Paul E – Looks like you only went through 1966. Chance’s career mark in 9IP games was 69-2 with 2 no decisions (no idea of ERA). Still worth a wow!

Ken S.
Ken S.
8 years ago
Reply to  David P

Yes, the report was for 1955-1966 only. I wanted to show how Koufax compared to his contemporaries. Chance’s lifetime ERA in games of exactly 9 innings was 0.85, he gave up 62 ER in 657 IP. Very impressive!

Mike L
Mike L
8 years ago
Reply to  Ken S.

there’s an interesting selection bias here. Games of exactly nine innings means eliminating road game complete games where the pitcher was losing through 8. It would also eliminate games where he was tied or ahead going into the bottom of the 9th, and gave up the winning run.

e pluribus munu
e pluribus munu
8 years ago
Reply to  Ken S.

True, Mike, and 8 IP complete games are not rarities. But it does include rare games lost in the 10th with none out — I found a couple of cases like that when I was looking up individual records.

Mike L
Mike L
8 years ago
Reply to  Ken S.

Thanks, EPM. So, what we are looking at are games going into the 9th in which the starting pitcher was either at home (and either ahead, tied, or behind), or ahead if he was on the road. If he’s at home, he was left in either because he was pitching well, or in rare circumstances (or stupid managers) was asked to take one for the team. In 1983, Ron Guidry (with the peerless Bill Martin managing) pitched 8 straight CG. Three of them were 8 inning losses. The last three were 9 inning wins, where he gave up 38 baserunners… Read more »

Paul E
Paul E
8 years ago

Our man Earl Hamilton followed up an 0-9 in 1917 with the Browns with a 6-0, 0.83 ERA with 6 CG for the 1918 Pirates. I imagine that hasn’t happened too often

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
8 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

No, but Rod Beck followed up an 0-9, 35-save 1996 season (3.34 ERA) with a 7-4, 37-save 1997 season in which he posted a 3.47 ERA and made the All-Star team. Brad Lidge saved 27 games for the 2010 Phillies. Eight of the 17 pitchers who lost 8+ games without a win did so in their final major-league seasons. (Hamilton was the only pitcher before 1988 to go winless in eight or more decisions and pitch again in the majors!) Kevin Slowey, 0-8 with the 2011 Twins, spent 2012 in the minors but made it back to the majors with… Read more »

Doug
Doug
8 years ago
Reply to  Paul E

Hamilton’s 1916 season is an interesting one. The Browns sold him to Detroit at the end of May, and then claimed him off waivers less than four weeks later. Talk about having your cake and eating it too!

In his short time in Detroit, Hamilton managed to pitch decently with 2.65 ERA (109 ERA+) in 5 starts and 37.1 IP. But, Detroit had themselves just claimed a pitcher off waivers (Willie Mitchell from Cleveland) so evidently decided Hamilton would have to go to make room on the roster for Mitchell.

AlbaNate
AlbaNate
8 years ago

This was all great fun, including the comments. I especially enjoyed seeing Bill James name on the list of top game scores.