Player #131: Irving D. "Bump" Hadley. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1926-1931 and 1935. 161 wins and 25 saves in 16 MLB seasons. 3-time World Series champion with the New York Yankees in 1936, 1937, and 1939. His most productive season was 1933 with the St. Louis Browns as he posted a 15-20 record with a 3.92 ERA in 316.2 innings pitched. His last season was 1941 with the Philadelphia Athletics.
Hadley's SABR biography runs over his time in Washington, including how he got his nickname: Promoted back to Washington (from Class A Birmingham after a brief and unimpressive 1926 debut) in 1927, Hadley became starter number three, finishing at 14-6 with an efficient 2.85 ERA. A serious case of mumps hospitalized the rookie late in the season. Teammates accompanied coach Nick Altrock, on a hospital visit. Altrock remarked, “You look funnier than me, you’re full of bumps, just as if you had been stepping into Johnson’s fast ball.” For the balance of the season, teammates referred to Hadley as Bumps.
Years later, Hadley reminisced about facing Babe Ruth during the Babe’s 60-home-run season of 1927. Bump was invited to visit Ruth’s posh New York apartment. Touring through Babe’s study, Hadley noticed a wall displaying photos of each pitcher who surrendered a 1927 dinger. Hadley was proud not to have given up a homer to the Bambino, but silently regretted being excluded from such an exclusive gallery. . . .
. . . Despite a case of appendicitis in 1928, Hadley chalked up a 12-13 record with a 3.54 earned-run average. On September 3, 1928, he earned a footnote in the record books, surrendering a ninth-inning double to Philadelphia Athletics pinch-hitter Ty Cobb; it was the last hit in the storied career of the Georgia Peach. Washington won the contest, 6-1.
Walter Johnson became Washington skipper in 1929. Johnson painstakingly worked with the young hurler, instructing Hadley to mix pitches, keep hitters off balance and speed up his delivery. Hadley perspired heavily during the oppressive Washington summer heat, sometimes losing up to five pounds during a nine-inning contest. He slipped to a disappointing 6-16, with his ERA ballooning to 5.62.
That less than impressive season spurred Hadley to get an early start on spring training in 1930. That and improved conditioning helped him improve to a 15-11 record for the second-place Nats. . . .
. . . Hadley remained a Nat in 1931, going 11-10, while sharpening his ERA to 3.06. He led American League pitchers with 55 mound appearances, starting 11 games and closing out 28, while tallying seven saves. A postseason trade indeed occurred on December 4, 1931, when Washington sent Hadley, Jackie Hayes, and Sad Sam Jones to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher John Kerr and outfielder Carl Reynolds.
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