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Player #130A: Charles W. "Carl" Fischer. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1930-1932 and 1937. 46 wins and 10 saves in 7 MLB seasons. His best season was 1933 with the Detroit Tigers as he posted an 11-15 record with 3.55 ERA in 182.2 innings pitched. He last pitched in MLB in 1937 but pitched another 10 seasons in the minor leagues.

We go to Fischer's SABR biography for his introduction to Washington: Fischer quickly established himself (in 1926) as one of the best left-handers in the (Class B) NYP (New York-Pennsylvania) League, fashioning a 7-1 record with a sparkling 2.15 ERA. After another solid season in the lower minors, the 22-year-old moved up to within one rung from the big leagues, hurling for Walter Johnson’s Newark Bears of the International League. In stark contrast to the mild-mannered Johnson, who was one of the game’s great control pitchers, Fischer’s fiery disposition and frequent wildness on the mound often led to trouble. Trying to harness them was one of Johnson’s more challenging jobs as manager. He met with moderate success, as Fischer finished the season with an 11-8 record, while walking nearly five batters a game.

The following season, Johnson returned to Washington to manage the Senators, leaving Fischer in Newark to work under another future Hall of Famer, manager Tris Speaker. Speaker used Fischer exclusively as a starter and gave him a longer leash than Johnson had. The hard-throwing southpaw responded by twirling 248 innings, winning 18 games and fanning a league-leading 198 batters. Fischer continued his big year by marrying Grace Reynolds of Middleport, New York, in the fall of 1929.

Despite the breakout campaign, Fischer again found himself back with the Bears for the 1930 season. Although he was not as effective as in the previous year, he showed enough that in mid-July the Senators outbid a number of other teams for his services. Team owner Clark Griffith gave Newark $20,000 and two players for the rights to the “Medina Mauler.” The deal reunited Fischer with Walter Johnson, who had recommended him to Griffith and was in his second season at the Nats’ helm. As he had in Newark, Johnson used Fischer in a swingman role, working him out of the bullpen and as a spot starter. Since the Senators were on the fringes of the pennant race, the newcomer saw limited action, taking the mound only eight times in his ten weeks with the Senators, who finished the American League campaign in second place.

Entering 1931, Washington was widely considered to have the strongest stable of pitchers in the league. Despite the stiff competition, Fischer headed north from spring training in Biloxi, Mississippi, on the Senators’ roster. Early in the season he was one of the team’s most effective pitchers and by mid-June sported a 7-1 record and the best winning percentage in the American League. Included in this span of games was an outing that Fischer considered the highlight of his career. In the first game of a May 30 doubleheader against the New York Yankees at Washington’s Griffith Stadium, Senators starter Sad Sam Jones began the ninth inning by giving up a home run to Tony Lazzeri and a single to Earl Combs. With nobody out and Washington clinging to a 3-2 lead, Johnson summoned Fischer from the bullpen to face the heart of the Bronx Bombers’ lineup. Fischer proceeded to strike out Sammy Byrd and Babe Ruth, and then coaxed Lou Gehrig to pop out to end the contest. Fischer claimed he got a $1,000 bonus for his game-saving act.

1931 Washington Senators Picture Pack Fischer