Erwin C. "Bob" Porterfield. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1951-1955. 87 wins and 8 saves in 12 MLB seasons. 1954 All-Star. 1953 AL wins Leader. Debuted with the New York Yankees in 1948. Finished up with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1959. His best season was 1953 with the Washington Senators as he posted a 22-10 record with a .335 ERA in 255 innings pitched.
Porterfield's SABR biography explains how his early hopes with the Yankees fizzled: A pitching Big Three of Vic Raschi, Allie Reynolds, and Ed Lopat powered the Yankee dynasty of the late 1940s and early 1950s, but the club was constantly searching for fourth and fifth starters. The great pinstriped hope of 1948 was right-hander Porterfield, who had rocketed up through the farm system in only two years.
Like many other pitching phenoms, Porterfield saw his career stunted by injuries. It wasn’t just arm trouble, but what the philosopher Lemony Snicket calls “a series of unfortunate events.” Porterfield survived a beaning, line drives that ricocheted off various body parts, and an exploding matchbox.
He showed what might have been in four relatively injury-free seasons, when he was one of the American League’s top pitchers. By then the Yankees had written him off and traded him.
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1652103921
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1652103926
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1652103929
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1652103932