Baseball History Thread

[OleMissCub]

James' entry on Cobb as the #2 CF in his Baseball Abstract.

 

A Chinese sage wrote that exaggeration is to paint a snake and add legs.

With me, they attached fangs, claws, file-sharpened spikes, and fire snorting out each nostril.

- Ty Cobb, My Life in Baseball: The True Record.

 

In the first edition of this book I wrote an essay about a photograph, a photo of Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson. Here, I'll reprint it...

 

"In photographs (make it a point to notice) Ty Cobb is often shown hiding one hand or both, twisting an arm behind his back or burying it in an article of excess clothing. One photograph of him with which I am particularly taken shows him posing with Christy Mathewson in the dugout before the third game of the 1911 World Series. Mathewson, as always, looks poised and confident, staring out toward right field. Cobb is peeking out of the corner of his eye at some unseen distraction - another photographer, probably - but to begin with, Cobb is wearing a suit that doesn't look as if it could possibly have fit any of his relatives. Cobb was a big man (he is usually listed at 6'2, 180) yet this suit has got to be four sizes too large for him - it is hard to believe that a reputable haberdasher would have let him leave the store with it. He is holding what looks like an expensive overcoat, and he appears to be dragging it on the ground. His hat is jaunty and his smile is decidedly nervous, and he looks frankly a little bit crazy.

 

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/ggbain/09800/09869r.jpg

 

There was a such a contradiction in that dugout. Cobb was then a five-time American League batting champion, with more or less seven seasons under his belt - and yet he was also a twenty-four-year-old hick from Nowhere, Georgia, a little in awe of Matty, of the photographers, of the crowd. He had no weapons, at that moment, to defend himself against his inadequacies - no spikes, no bat, no glove. He was so crude that he must have felt that whenever they took those things away from him, his shortcomings glowed like hot iron. And whenever he was them glowing, he got angry. You can see it in his face, I think that if he could just on a uniform and gout on the field it would be such a relief to him, out where manners and taste and style were defined by bases gained and bases lost. And everyone else, for a change, would have to apologize to him."

 

Since then I have noticed several other photographs in which Cobb has the same crazy look on his face. It is not an angry look; it is, rather, a look of acute embarrassment, a look of inadequacy. Ty Cobb's racism and his anger, I believe, were fueled not by smugness or even resentment, but by an unusually intense fear of his own limitations. No one is more mach than a man who feels inadequate; no one walks straighter than a man who is half drunk. When Ty Cobb felt threatened he lashed out at the world. He felt threatened a lot - but as long as he wasn't challenged, he was a very nice man.

[OleMissCub]

James' entry on Mays as his #1 CF:

 

According to Sam Levy of the Milwaukee Journal (Baseball Digest, June, 1955), the Braves began scouting Willie Mays when he was fifteen years old. The Braves head of scouting, Harry Jenkins, watched Mays play many times and raved about him often - but lost him a dispute over $2,500 when two of his assistant scouts, sent to cross-check, doubted that Mays was worth $10,000. If the Braves had signed him they would have had Mays, Aaron, Mathews and Spahn on the team from 1954 through 1965.

 

In the movie The Steagle there is a funny scene in which Richard Benjamin, playing a college professor, goes off the deep end in mid-lecture and starts ranting about the voters shafting Willie Mays in the MVP voting, particularly in 1962. I mentioned in the comment on Nellie Fox that, according to the Win Shares system, Mickey Mantle was really the best player in the American League every year between 1954 and 1964, except for 1959 and 1963. The same is generally true of Mays in the National League, although a little less dramatically. Mays won only two MVP Awards (1954 and 1965), but is seen by the Win Shares system as the best player in the National League in 1954, 1955, 1958, 1960 (actually tied with Eddie Mathews), 1962 (tied with Frank Robinson), 1965 and 1966. The other years, he's close. In 1957 he's one point behind Henry Aaron (35-34).

 

This is generally true not only of Mays an Mantle, but of other top-echelon Hall of Famers like Musial, Mike Schmidt and Barry Bonds. Nobody wins more than three MVP Awards because the writers don't want to give the award to the same guy every year, but players of that quality actually have many seasons as the best player in the league, including some surprising seasons, some "off" seasons by their own standards. Willie Mays in 1966 was considered to be slipping; he hit "only" .288 with "only" 37 home runs and "only" 103 RBI. He was still the best player in the league; he just didn't look so good if you compared him to what he had done the previous five years. The same is true of Stan Musial in 1952; he hit "only" .338 with "only" 21 homers and "only" 42 doubles. They gave the MVP Award to Hank Sauer, and I'm glad they did because otherwise nobody would remember Hank Sauer, but realistically, Stan Musial was a lot better player than Hank Sauer, even in 1952. By the Win Shares analysis, Musial was the best player in the National League seven years - 1943, 44, 46, 48, 49, 51 (tied with Jackie Robinson), and 52. Musial was the most successful player ever in MVP voting, but really, the vote still under-states his value.

 

Ted Williams ranks as the best hitter in the American League every year from his rookie season (1939) through 1949, except the years he didn't play. I have Mike Schmidt as the clear Most Valuable Player in the National League five times (77,80,81,82, and 83), and as the second best player in the league for four other years (74,76,79, and 86).

 

Comparing Mays to Mantle, I would rate Mays ahead in 1951, Mantle ahead in 1952-1953 (when Mays was in the Army during the Korean War), Mays in 1954, Mantle ahead in 1955, 56 and 57, dead even in 1958, Mays in 1959 and 1960, Mantle in 1961, Mays in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1966, Mantle in 1967, Mays in 1968, and then Mays in his final years, after Mantle retired. Scoring seasons, that makes it Mays, 15, Mantle, 7, tied, 1, but Mantle's three best seasons (56,57, and 61) are al better than Mays' best season (1965).

[TruffleShuffle]

is that the same james whose projection system had rich hill as a great pitcher??? lololol what a moron.

[OleMissCub]

is that the same james whose projection system had rich hill as a great pitcher??? lololol what a moron.

 

Did Bill James ever say anything about Rich Hill?

[OleMissCub]

MVP winner and Hall of Famer Joe "Ducky" Medwick was a hell of a ballplayer for a time, but was pretty much a jackass to everyone.

 

From James' Abstract, which has him at #13 All-Time at Left Field:

The Albert Belle of the 1930's....Medwick was almost universally hated around the National League, as a result of a long string of fights and other incidents. He was nicknamed "Ducky," which was a shortened form of "Ducky Wucky." In 1931, when Medick was playing for Houston, a female fan gushed, "Oh, isn't he the Ducky Wucky?" This struck a reporter as funny, and the reporters started calling him "Ducky Wucky." He spent almost two years at Houston, and by the time he left the nickname was well established.

 

He hated the nickname, understandably, even in its shortened form, "Ducky." His childhood nickname had been Mickey, from his middle name Michael, and he preferred that. His teammates also called him Muscles, because he had big ones...

 

In his first at bat after he was traded to the Dodgers in 1940 Medwick was hit in the skull by former teammate (and roommate) Bob Bowman of the Cardinals. Accounts of this event invariably state that Medwick was never the same player after this, or that he was not as aggressive a hitter, and lost his power after this.

 

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/8067/medwickax0.jpg

 

Pepper Martin was very superstitious, and believed that finding hairpins was good luck. This superstition was common inside and outside baseball, and dated back at least fifty years, but Pepper was serious about it, always looking for hairpins. One time in Cincinnati, a couple of writers bought a package of hairpins and scattered them around the hotel lobby, but Joe Medwick got there first and started collecting the pins. "Hey, those are for Pepper Martin!"

 

"Let Pepper find his own hairpins," said Medwick, and walked off with the pins in his pocket...

 

Medwick hit .353 in 1935, .351 in 1936, and .374 in 1937, but fell off to .322 with only 122 RBI in 1938. Cardinal owner Sam Breadon that winter offered him a salary that called for a substantial pay cut, eventually softening his demands to a cut of $2,000. "It's the principle of the thing, Joe," Breadon explained. "I am not giving you the $2,000. I'd rather throw the money out of the window."

 

"Mr. Breadon," Medwick replied. "If you threw two thousand dollars out the window, you would still be holding onto it when it hit the sidewalk."

 

Another interesting thing happened with Medwick in the 1934 World Series that you can see in the video that I put up of Medwick on youtube. During the seventh game of the series in Detroit, Medwick appeared to spike Tigers third baseman Marv Owen on a triple. The Detroit fans (as they do) got rowdy and started throwing things on the field. As a result of this, Commissioner Landis ordered that Medwick be removed from the game:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8ZsLxSdrzA

[Guest]

actually i had ty cobb hitting leadoff, but then decided to make him a reserve and mays a starter.

 

That's an extremely hard decision to make from those two guys. With the way your team is set up, you'd probably want Mays starting in CF because his defensive prowess would make up for any deficiencies caused by Williams and Ruth. However, Cobb was considered to be an incredible defensive player during his era, second only to Tris Speaker. On the other hand, with the amount of brute sluggers on your team, you might want a higher OBP and baserunning wizard like Cobb on your team. Imagine a lineup with Cobb (48 steals on average), Morgan (42 steals), and Wagner (42 steals). Like I said though, it's really an impossible choice because you really couldn't go wrong with either of them.

 

I don't care how fast the guy is and how good of a jump he can get, if I've got Ted Williams, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig hitting behind him, I'd threaten to beat him with a baseball bat if he ever tried to steal a base.

[OleMissCub]

Some rare action shots from the Deadball era that I found on LOC:

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/deadball.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/deadball2.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/deadball3.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/deadball4.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/deadball5.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/deadball6.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/deadball7.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/deadball8.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/deadball9.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/deadball10.jpg

[OleMissCub]

Good quality headshots of some of our 1908 boys:

 

 

 

Tinker:

 

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsca/15600/15619v.jpg

 

Evers:

 

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsca/13500/13532v.jpg

 

Chance (looking thoroughly confused):

 

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsca/13500/13533v.jpg

 

Three Finger:

 

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsca/13500/13525v.jpg

[OleMissCub]

Ogden Nash's famous poem Line-Up for Yesterday, first published in 1949:

 

A is for Alex

The great Alexander;

More Goose eggs he pitched

Than a popular gander.

 

B is for Bresnahan

Back of the plate;

The Cubs were his love,

and McGraw his hate.

 

C is for Cobb,

Who grew spikes and not corn,

And made all the basemen

Wish they weren't born.

 

D is for Dean,

The grammatical Diz,

When they asked, Who's the tops?

Said correctly, I is.

 

E is for Evers,

His jaw in advance;

Never afraid

To Tinker with Chance.

 

F is for Fordham

And Frankie and Frisch;

I wish he were back

With the Giants, I wish.

 

G is for Gehrig,

The Pride of the Stadium;

His record pure gold,

His courage, pure radium.

 

H is for Hornsby;

When pitching to Rog,

The pitcher would pitch,

Then the pitcher would dodge.

 

I is for Me,

Not a hard-hitting man,

But an outstanding all-time

Incurable fan.

 

J is for Johnson

The Big Train in his prime

Was so fast he could throw

Three strikes at a time.

 

K is for Keeler,

As fresh as green paint,

The fastest and mostest

To hit where they ain't.

 

L is for Lajoie

Whom Clevelanders love,

Napolean himself,

With glue in his glove.

 

M is for Matty,

Who carried a charm

In the form of an extra

brain in his arm.

 

N is for Newsom,

Bobo's favorite kin.

You ask how he's here,

He talked himself in.

 

O is for Ott

Of the restless right foot.

When he leaned on the pellet,

The pellet stayed put.

 

P is for Plank,

The arm of the A's;

When he tangled with Matty

Games lasted for days.

 

Q is for Don Quixote

Cornelius Mack;

Neither Yankees nor years

Can halt his attack.

 

R is for Ruth.

To tell you the truth,

There's just no more to be said,

Just R is for Ruth.

 

S is for Speaker,

Swift center-field tender,

When the ball saw him coming,

It yelled, "I surrender."

 

T is for Terry

The Giant from Memphis

Whose .400 average

You can't overemphis.

 

U would be 'Ubell

if Carl were a cockney;

We say Hubbell and Baseball

Like Football and Rockne.

 

V is for Vance

The Dodger's very own Dazzy;

None of his rivals

Could throw as fast as he.

 

W is for Wagner,

The bowlegged beauty;

Short was closed to all traffic

With Honus on duty.

 

X is the first

of two x's in Foxx

Who was right behind Ruth

with his powerful soxx.

 

Y is for Young

The magnificent Cy;

People battled against him,

But I never knew why.

 

Z is for Zenith

The summit of fame.

These men are up there.

These men are the game.

 

It'd be fun to write one of these for the second half of the century.

[TruffleShuffle]

this is kinda out of left field, but one of the most depressing baseball stories is herb score. the guy was on the way to becoming one of the great pitchers of his generation - he had an overpowering fastball, and even though his control wasn't great, he was very, very tough to hit (1955-57 he threw 512.6 innings and allowed only 338 hits). in his rookie year he led the league in strikeouts and strikeouts per 9 innings, was 2nd in hits per 9 innings, 4th in ERA, 5th in ERA+, and 6th in wins. in his second season, he again led the league in strikeouts and strikeouts per 9 innings, 1st in hits per 9 innings, was 2nd in ERA, 1st in ERA+, 1st in shutouts, 2nd in wins, 3rd in WHIP. he was 2nd in walks each year, but he still ranked 6th in 1995 and 2nd in 1956 in K/BB ratio.

 

early in the 1957 season he was hit in the face by a line drive off the bat of gil mcdougald, a mediocre player for the yankees. he suffered temporary vision loss and several broken bones in his face. he missed the rest of 1957 and played four more years, but he never was the same after that.

[NCCubFan]

Similar story to Tony Conigliaro. He appeared to be a star in the making in the mid-60s (led the AL in home runs in 1965) until he got beaned in the cheek in 1967. He suffered retina damage and missed the rest of 1967 and all of 1968. He came back strong in 1969 (Comeback Player of the Year) and 1970, but didn't amount to anything after that because of the eye damage. He was finished as a productive player at 25. He then suffered a heart attack followed by a stroke in 1982 and was basically in a coma the rest of his life until he died in 1990.

[OleMissCub]

Funny gif of an 80 year old Thomas Edison swinging a bat for the first time in his life and hitting a comebacker at none other than the Georgia Peach.

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/cobbedison2.gif

[OleMissCub]

From the 1891 Rulebook:

 

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/5422/umpyo0.jpg

[OleMissCub]

I wish sports journalists still wrote like this. From the NY Times:

 

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/9334/cobbpaper4wc2.jpg

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/1884/cobbpaper2dm5.jpg

[OleMissCub]

Just had to post this too, from the NY Times in 1911:

 

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/7493/speedinglo0.jpg

 

A speeding ticket for going 24 MPH!!

[OleMissCub]

Found another gem from the NY Times archive from 1921:

 

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/2222/ruthspeedvh5.jpg

[OleMissCub]

Wow. How times have changed. Imagine if sportswriters wrote about the Malice at the Palace in this way. This writer appears to have little sympathy for the fan.

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/cobblukermay161912.jpg

[OleMissCub]

OPS+ from Position Players in the HOF:

 

Catcher:

King Kelly - 138

Buck Ewing - 129

Mickey Cochrane - 128

Bill Dickey - 127

Roger Bresnahan - 126

Gabby Hartnett - 126

Johnny Bench - 126

Yogi Berra - 125

Ernie Lombardi - 125

Roy Campanella - 124

Carlton Fisk - 117

Gary Carter - 115

Rick Ferrell - 95

Ray Schalk - 83

 

First Base:

Lou Gehrig - 179

Dan Brouthers - 170

Jimmie Foxx - 163

Hank Greenberg - 158

Johnny Mize - 158

Roger Connor - 153

Willie McCovey - 147

Harmon Killebrew - 143

Cap Anson - 141

Bill Terry - 136

Frank Chance - 135

Orlanda Cepeda - 133

Eddie Murray - 129

Jim Bottomley - 125

Jake Beckley - 125

George Sisler - 124

Tony Perez - 122

George Kelley - 109

 

Second Base:

Rogers Hornsby - 175

Nap Lajoie - 150

Eddie Collins - 141

Jackie Robinson - 132

Joe Morgan - 132

Rod Carew - 131

Charlie Gehringer - 124

Tony Lazzeri - 121

Bobby Doerr - 115

Ryne Sandberg - 114

Billy Herman - 112

Frankie Frisch - 111

Johnny Evers - 106

Bid McPhee - 106

Red Schoendienst - 93

Nellie Fox - 93

John Ward - 92

Bill Mazeroski - 84

 

Shortstop:

Honus Wagner - 150

Arky Vaughan - 136

Ernie Banks - 122

George Davis - 121

Lou Boudreau - 120

Joe Cronin - 119

Hughie Jennings - 117

Robin Yount - 115

Luke Appling - 112

Cal Ripken - 112

Joe Sewell - 109

Bobby Wallace - 105

Travis Jackson - 102

Dave Bancroft - 98

Pee Wee Reese - 99

Joe Tinker - 95

Phil Rizzuto - 93

John Ward - 92

Ozzie Smith - 87

Rabbit Maranville - 82

Luis Aparicio - 82

 

Third Base:

Mike Schmidt - 147

Eddie Mathews - 143

George Brett - 135

Frank Baker - 135

Wade Boggs - 130

Ron Santo - 125 :evil:

Paul Molitor - 122

George Davis - 121

Jimmy Collins - 113

George Kell - 111

Freddie Lindstrom - 109

Joe Sewell - 109

Pie Traynor - 107

Bobby Wallace -105

Brooks Robinson - 104

Travis Jackson - 102

 

Outfield:

Babe Ruth - 207

Ted Williams - 191

Mickey Mantle - 172

Ty Cobb - 167

Stan Musial - 159

Tris Speaker - 158

Willie Mays - 156

Hank Aaron - 155

Mel Ott - 155

Joe DiMaggio - 155

Ed Delahanty - 152

Elmer Flick - 149

Ralph Kiner - 149

Harry Heilmann - 148

Willie Stargell - 147

Sam Thompson - 146

Hack Wilson - 144

Sam Crawford - 144

Billy Hamilton - 141

Jesse Burkett - 140

Duke Snider - 140

Reggie Jackson - 139

King Kelly - 138

Chuck Klein - 137

Larry Doby - 136

Al Kaline - 134

Paul Waner - 134

Joe Medwick - 134

Jim O'Rourke - 133

Chick Hafey - 133

Billy Williams - 133

Joe Kelley - 133

Earl Averill - 133

Al Simmons - 132

Tony Gwynn - 132

Fred Clarke - 132

Ross Youngs - 130

Roberto Clemente - 130

Dave Winfield - 130

Carl Yazstremski - 129

Zack Wheat - 129

Goose Goslin - 128

Earle Combs - 126

Edd Roush - 126

Willie Keeler - 126

Monte Irvin - 126

Kiki Cuyler - 125

Kirby Puckett - 124

Enos Slaughter - 123

Hugh Duffy - 122

Heinie Manush - 121

George Davis - 121

Harry Hooper - 114

Sam Rice - 112

Richie Ashburn - 111

Lou Brock - 109

Max Carey - 107

Tommy McCarthy - 102

Lloyd Waner - 99

[ConstableRabbit]

I wish sports journalists still wrote like this. From the NY Times:

 

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/9334/cobbpaper4wc2.jpg

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/1884/cobbpaper2dm5.jpg

Reads very similar to Mariotti

[Cynosure]

Just had to post this too, from the NY Times in 1911:

 

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/7493/speedinglo0.jpg

 

A speeding ticket for going 24 MPH!!

 

Wow...

[OleMissCub]

Meet "Wahoo Sam" Crawford. If it weren't for Wahoo Sam being the MLB all-time leader in triples, he'd be damn near forgotten today, which is a shame because he was a tremendous player.

 

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e389/amchiche/Detroit%20Tigers%20HOF/samcrawford1920.jpghttp://img98.imageshack.us/img98/5660/samhitzu1.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/SamCrawford3.jpghttp://a572.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/95/l_09d993faef9bd7463ee1884bad509bcb.jpg

 

 

James has him as the #10 RF in history. From Historical Abstract:

As a young man in Wahoo, Nebraska, Crawford was training to be a barber...According to Harry Grayson in They Played the Game, "it is too bad that Wahoo Sam Crawford didn't get a shot at the lively ball that came in with Babe Ruth." Indeed it is, but what kind of stats would Crawford have had, had he played his career in the lively ball era?

 

I converted Crawford's stats to equivalent stats in the lively all era. Since Crawford's career begins late in 1899, I simply moved it up 20 years, beginning his career in 1919, and converted each season to the league norms of 20 years later - 1902 becomes 1922, 1908 becomes 1928, etc. Since Crawford played for Cincinnati from 1899-1902, I put him in the National League from 1919 through 1922; then, since he moved to Detroit in 1903, I moved him to the American League in 1923.

 

Ty Cobb said when Crawford was elected to the Hall of Fame that Crawford would have hit 40 home runs a year with the lively ball. This is a reasonable statement in my opinion, although my translation method does not show him hitting 40 home runs in any season. None of us really know what Crawford's stats would have been in the lively ball era, but it does seem to me that if Cy Williams could hit 40 home runs in the Babe Ruth era, Sam Crawford sure as hell could have, under the right conditions.

 

My translation of Crawford's career stats into lively-ball equivalents...

 

2,517 games, 9,546 AB's, 1,743 runs, 2,936 hits, 590 doubles, 101 triples, 494 HR, 1,931 RBI, .308 AVG

 

Good shot of Crawford in action:

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/deadball4.jpg

[OleMissCub]

Couple of Lou Gehrig gifs I just made:

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/gehrigwalk3.gif

 

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh153/OleMissCub17/gehrighit2.gif

[OleMissCub]

Bert Blyleven compared to his pitcher peers that are in the HOF:

 

Shutouts

t1) Nolan Ryan: 61

t1) Tom Seaver: 61

3) Bert Blyleven: 60

4) Don Sutton: 58

5) Steve Carlton: 55

t6) Jim Palmer: 53

t6) Gaylord Perry: 53

8) Fergie Jenkins: 49

9) Phil Niekro: 45

10) Catfish Hunter: 42

 

Complete Games

1) Gaylord Perry: 303

2) Fergie Jenkins: 267

3) Steve Carlton: 254

4) Phil Niekro: 245

5) Bert Blyleven: 242

6) Tom Seaver: 231

7) Nolan Ryan: 222

8) Jim Palmer: 211

9) Catfish Hunter: 181

10) Don Sutton: 178

 

Career Ks

1) Nolan Ryan: 5714

2) Steve Carlton: 4136

3) Bert Blyleven: 3701

4) Tom Seaver: 3640

5) Don Sutton: 3574

6) Gaylord Perry: 3534

7) Phil Niekro: 3342

8) Fergie Jenkins: 3192

9) Jim Palmer: 2212

10) Catfish Hunter: 2012

 

No. of Top 5 WHIP Finishes

1) Don Sutton: 10

2) Tom Seaver: 9

3) Bert Blyleven: 7

t4) Jim Palmer: 6

t4) Gaylord Perry: 6

t4) Nolan Ryan: 6

7) Steve Carlton: 5

t8) Catfish Hunter: 4

t8) Fergie Jenkins: 4

t8) Phil Niekro: 4

 

No. of 130 and Higher ERA+ Seasons

1) Tom Seaver: 9

2) Jim Palmer: 8

3) Bert Blyleven: 7

4) Steve Cartlon: 5

t5) Phil Niekro: 4

t5) Gaylord Perry: 4

t5) Nolan Ryan: 4

t8) Catfish Hunter: 3

t8) Don Sutton: 3

10) Fergie Jenkins: 2

 

No. of Top 5 ERA+ Seasons

1) Tom Seaver: 9

2) Jim Palmer: 8

3) Bert Blyleven: 7

4) Steve Carlton: 5

5) Nolan Ryan: 4

t6) Catfish Hunter: 3

t6) Phil Niekro: 3

t6) Don Sutton: 3

t9) Fergie Jenkins: 2

t9) Gaylord Perry: 2

 

5 Year Peak ERA+ Average

1) Tom Seaver: 165.6

2) Steve Carlton: 162.2

3) Jim Palmer: 154.4

4) Phil Niekro: 149.4

5)Bert Blyleven: 149

6) Nolan Ryan: 148.8

7) Don Sutton: 143.6

8) Gaylord Perry: 142.8

9) Fergie Jenkins: 130.4

10) Catfish Hunter: 129.2

 

No. of Top 5 Raw ERA Finishes

1) Jim Palmer: 10

t2) Bert Blyleven: 7

t2) Tom Seaver: 7

t4) Steve Carlton: 5

t4) Nolan Ryan: 5

6) Don Sutton: 4

t7) Catfish Hunter: 3

t7) Phil Niekro: 3

t7) Gaylord Perry: 3

10) Fergie Jenkins: 0

 

Career WARP3

Bert Blyleven: 147.7

Tom Seaver: 146.6

Steve Carlton: 138.7

Nolan Ryan: 135.5

Phil Niekro: 132.9

Gaylord Perry: 130.9

Ferguson Jenkins: 128.5

Don Sutton: 106.9

Jim Palmer: 99.6

Catfish Hunter: 67.8

[David]

Tinker had one hell of a unibrow

[OleMissCub]

Pitchers in the HOF by ERA+:

 

Starters:

Lefty Grove 148

Walter Johnson 147

Ed Walsh 146

Addie Joss 142

Kid Nichols 140

Cy Young 138

Mordecai Brown 138

Pete Alexander 135

Christy Mathewson 135

Rube Waddell 135

John Clarkson 134

Whitey Ford 133

Sandy Koufax 131

Hal Newhouser 130

Carl Hubbell 130

Dizzy Dean 130

Amos Rusie 129

Stan Coveleski 127

Tom Seaver 127

Bob Gibson 127

Tim Keefe 127

Jim Palmer 126

Lefty Gomez 125

Dazzy Vance 125

Satchel Paige 124

Juan Marichal 123

Bob Feller 122

Eddie Plank 122

Babe Ruth 122

Don Drysdale 121

Joe McGinnity 120

Red Faber 119

Charley Radbourn 119

Bob Lemon 119

John Ward 119

Ted Lyons 118

Warren Spahn 118

Vic Willis 118

Gaylord Perry 117

Steve Carlton 115

Phil Niekro 115

Fergie Jenkins 115

Eppa Rixey 115

Jim Bunning 114

Mickey Welch 114

Robin Roberts 113

Chief Bender 112

Waite Hoyt 111

Nolan Ryan 111

Jack Chesbro 110

Red Ruffing 109

Jesse Haines 108

Don Sutton 108

Early Wynn 107

Pud Galvin 107

Burleigh Grimes 107

Herb Pennock 106

Catfish Hunter 104

Rube Marquard 103

 

Relievers:

Hoyt Wilhelm 146

Bruce Sutter 136

Rich Gossage 126

Rollie Fingers 119

Dennis Eckersley 116