Great Hitting Pitchers: SABR Digital Library, #3

By Society for American Baseball Research

First published in 1979, Great Hitting Pitchers was one of SABR's early publications. Including the contributions of several members of the Society and edited by SABR's founder, Bob Davids, the book compiled together records and anecdotes about pitchers excelling in the batters box. Now updated for 2012, Great Hitting Pitchers has been updated so that all tables include 1979-2011 data, and previous stats have been corrected to reflect the most recent updates in the record books. Joining the original chapters on pitchers hitting grand slams, pitchers' hitting performances in World Series play, and how the pitchers of no-hitters performed at bat in those games, an all-new chapter by Mike Cook explores the top hitting pitchers since 1979, including Mike Hampton, Micah Owings, and CC Sabathia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Society for American Baseball Research
• Release date: Mar 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781933599311

Book preview

Great Hitting Pitchers

Records Compiled by the

Society for American Baseball Research

1979 (updated 2012)

Copyright © 1979, 2012 Society for American Baseball Research, Inc.

Great Hitting Pitchers copyright © 1979, L. Robert Davids

Second Edition, 2012

First Edition, 1979

First Digital Edition, 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Society for American Baseball Research, Inc.

SABR, Inc.

4455 E. Camelback Road, Ste. D-140,

Phoenix, Arizona 85018.

Paperback ISBN 978-1-933599-30-4

Ebook ISBN 978-1-933599-31-1

Cover photo:

Wes Ferrell, one of the great hitting pitchers, stood out from the others like Guy Hecker, Jack Stivetts, George Uhle, Red Ruffing, and Don Newcombe, because he combined power hitting with a good batting average. A 20-game winner in six seasons, who won 193 games in all, he was the type of hitter who could hit a double and home run and knock in four runs while pitching a no-hit, no-run game (April 29, 1931). For pitchers, he hit the most home runs in a season (9) and in a career (38). He collected 52 hits in a season and knocked in a record 32 runs. He led all hurlers in slugging percentage with a career mark of .451. A fierce competitor, Ferrell played with Cleveland from 1927-33, the Red Sox 1933-37, Washington 1937-38, the Yankees 1938-39, the Dodgers 1940, and the Boston Braves in 1941. The younger brother of Rick Ferrell, Wes died in Florida December 9, 1976 at age 68.

Original Preface to the 1979 Edition

The Society for American Baseball research (SABR), formed in ­August 1971, has published an annual Baseball Research Journal since 1972. ln some years the Society also publishes an additional book. In 1976, for example, SABR issued This Date in Baseball History, a calendar of interesting and significant baseball games of the previous 100 years. In 1978, SABR published Minor League Baseball Stars, the career playing records of approximately 175 minor league greats.

This year the Society is publishing Great Hitting Pitchers, a detailed historical account of the outstanding game, season and career records of pitchers as batters since 1876. The editor of this publication is L. Robert Davids, 4424 Chesapeake St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20016. He has had assistance in the supply and preparation of materials for this book by Robert McConnell, Cliff Kachline, Ronald Liebman, Raymond Gonzalez, Pete Palmer, John Tattersall, Paul Greenwell, Al Kermisch, and several other members of the Society.

The book sells for $2.50 to the public. Individual copies may be obtained from the editor at the above address. He also accepts your comments and criticism about this publication.

Preface to the 2012 Edition

Welcome to a new edition of Great Hitting Pitchers, one of SABR's earliest publishing efforts. The original book was published in 1979, over thirty years ago, and as the original preface shows, sold for two-bucks-fifty. Back in those days, the Baseball Research Journal was published once a year and the Society published the occasional book. The BRJ has been a twice-a-year publication for quite some time now, The National Pastime is also in the mix, and between SABR's own publications program and our various publishing partners, we've been averaging 3-4 books a year. Now with our SABR Digital Library taking shape, that number of titles will only continue to grow.

Many of the original contributors to Great Hitting Pitchers are no longer with us. SABR's founder and the book's original editor, Bob Davids, passed on to the Elysian Fields in the sky in 2002. But new enthusiasts for baseball history and knowledge join the ­Society every year. Mike Cook has been instrumental in updating this book. With the help of David Vincent, he has updated the stat tables to the present day. He has also added a new chapter including the great hitting pitchers of the current era, like Mike ­Hampton and Micah Owings.

We hope you enjoy this new edition of Great Hitting Pitchers and welcome suggestions for what other classic SABR titles to ­resurrect.

Cecilia Tan

Publications Director

Table of Contents

Introduction

Pitcher Batting in the 19th Century

Hitting by Pitchers Since 1900

Top Game Batting Performances

Two or More Home Runs in a Game

Hurlers Hitting Grand Slams

Best Season Hitting Records

Career Batting Records

Pitchers as Pinch-Hitters

Basestealing by Pitchers

Advent of the Designated Hitter Rule

Batting by Pitchers in the World Series

Batting by Pitchers in All-Star Games

No-Hit Hurlers at Bat

Pitcher-Batter Briefs

Great Hitting Pitchers, 1979-2011

Active Pitchers

Endnotes

Guy Hecker with Louisville in 1888

Introduction

This study of Great Hitting Pitchers traces the many evolutionary changes in hitting by pitchers that have taken place up to and through the one revolutionary change, which was the introduction of the Designated Hitter in the American League.

Batting by pitchers in the early years of major league baseball was considered pretty much a part of team play. In the very early seasons, some teams had only one regular hurler and he was expected to perform at bat much like any other players. His place in the batting order was determined by his ability and frequently it was not in the ninth spot. Because the original clubs carried only about a dozen players, the pitcher had to be an all-around performer. This must have been true as late as July 1885 because there is a reference in Sporting Life at that time that a Chicago pitcher was released not only because he had trouble getting the batters out but because he was a weak hitter and a slow runner.

In the 1880s when the schedule increased and an additional hurler or two became part of the team, the regular hurlers frequently played at some other position on their off days. This even applied to the great pitchers of the 19th century, such as Hoss ­Radbourn, Pud Galvin, Tim Keefe, Mickey Welch, and John ­Clarkson, even though some of them were not very good with the bat. For those who were good hitters, and there were a number who were outstanding, those hurlers played so many games at other positions that they sometimes lost their distinction as men of the mound.

The rules were amended in 1891 to allow for pinch-hitting, and, although substitute batters were not used much in those days, the spare pitchers were occasionally inserted in that capacity. This was a logical move, particularly if the hurler knew how to handle his bat, because the manager had practically no bench strength.

After the turn of the century when the schedule was stabilized at 154 games and the number of players on the roster gradually ­increased, it was not so necessary to call on the pitcher as a ­substitute fielder. The first long service hurler who did not play any other position was Eddie Plank, 1901–17.

As the years passed it became more and more infrequent for a hurler to be

Reviews for Great Hitting Pitchers

[jnselko · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First in-depth look at pitcher hitting.