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Originally Posted by brianp-beme
Lefty O'Doul pitched in 34 games in 4 different seasons.
George Sisler was fairly impressive in his pitching career. He pitched in 7 different seasons, and in his first couple of years in the majors he had 9 complete games out of 12 starts. Overall he pitched in 111 innings in 24 games, had 1 save, and a 5-6 record with a 2.35 ERA.
Brian
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I was going to say Sisler as well Brian --- perhaps the most notable 'great hitter of all time' who forged quite an impressive, frequently unmentioned pitching career with great skill prior to becoming a legendary hitter. This is of course to include his playing life prior to the MLB, where it was quite brief...
From the NBHOF: 'Throughout his short-lived pitching career, Sisler relished pitching matchups against the star pitchers of the deadball era. In his interview featured in John Carmichael’s "My Greatest Day in Baseball," Sisler related his feelings the night prior to facing his childhood idol Walter Johnson on Aug. 29, 1915:
“I went back to my hotel that night but I couldn’t eat,” Sisler said. “I was really nervous. I went to bed but couldn’t sleep. At 4:00 a.m. I was tossing and rolling around and finally got up and just sat there, waiting for daylight and the big game. …. “
Despite the lack of sleep, Sisler beat Johnson, going all nine innings and giving up no unearned runs. After defeating Johnson, Sisler remained modest, still sounding like the star struck boy from Manchester, Ohio. He commented that “I don’t know what I expected to do if I had seen him (Johnson). For a minute I thought maybe I’d go over and shake his hand and tell him that I was sorry I beat him but I guess that was just the silly idea of a young kid who had just come face to face with his idol and beaten him.”
The two met again on Sept. 17, 1916, where Sisler again beat the Big Train 1-0, even though he scattered six hits to Johnson’s four. Armando Marsans, one of the early Cuban players in major league baseball, contributed on both sides for the win, scoring the only run of the game and making a spectacular barehanded catch of a potential double line drive to preserve the lead. Sisler escaped trouble in the third with the bases loaded, striking out one and inducing a double play.
The following day, newspaper columnists across the nation expressed amazement at his achievement: The Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader wrote, “This is a feat that stands out as the highlight of the season. It is beyond the batting of Speaker, the pitching of Plank and the rejuvenation of Chase. Without having done any pitching for months and having played first base steadily to step on the mound, (to) shut out a ball club like the Senators and beat Walter Johnson is a miracle feat if ever there was one.”
In his short span as pitcher, George Sisler defeated Johnson twice among his five career victories. These wins over arguably the greatest pitcher in baseball history cemented George Sisler’s status as a rising superstar at the end of the deadball era, revealing his tremendous potential as a pitcher and position player, and drawing comparisons to his contemporary Babe Ruth.'