Player #54N: Walter P. "Barney" Johnson. "The Big Train". Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1907-1927. 417 wins and 34 saves in 21 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1913 and 1924 AL Most Valuable Player. 3-time triple crown. 6-time AL wins leader. 5-time AL ERA leader. 12-time AL strikeout leader. He had a career ERA of 2.17 in 5,914.1 innings pitched. He pitched a no-hitter in 1920. He holds the MLB record with 110 career shutouts. MLB All-Time Team. Inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1936. One of his best seasons was 1913 as he posted a record of 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA in 346 innings pitched.
Deveaux touches on Walter's 1925: As for Walter Johnson, he had felt at first, following the World Series conquest, that the time to retire had come, that this was the high note he wanted to go out on. He had considered buying the Vernon franchise of the Pacific Coast League. The deal had fallen through, however, and the asking price of the Oakland club, which Johnson had also looked at, had gone through the roof. Joe Engel was dispatched to the West coast by Clark Griffith with two contracts in hand. One was for one year and the other for two, just in case Walter Johnson could be persuaded to change his mind.
When the price for the Oakland ballclub turned out to be higher than what had recently been paid for the major-league St. Louis Cardinals, Walter decided he would pitch again. Now an affluent man due to holdings in oil, real estate, and mining concerns, the Big Train was still a hard bargainer, and he negotiated with Griffith by phone from his home in Reno, Nevada, and from Hot Springs, Arkansas. Finally, the two came to terms face-to-face at the spring training site in Tampa: a two-year contract, at $20,000 per. When Walter asked to bow out of a barn-storming tour of some southern locales so he could continue to train in Tampa, Griff refused. The boss pointed out that the Washington Senators were the South's representative in the big leagues, and that everyone wanted to see Walter Johnson in the flesh.
Barney went on to have quite a year, joining Coveleski in the 20-game winners' circle. His record was 20-7, 3.07, while allowing the fewest hits per game, registering the most strikeouts per game, and placing third in the league in ERA. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)
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