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Back to Cabinets -- Al Orth

Albert L. "Al" Orth. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1902-1904. 204 wins and 6 saves in 15 MLB seasons. He was the MLB wins leader in 1906. He was known as "The Curveless Wonder" relying on control and differing speed. His best season may have been 1901 with Philadelphia as he posted a 20-12 record with a 2.27 ERA in 281.2 innings pitched.

He umpired when necessary as a player and in one game umpired and pinch-hit in the same game. He debuted with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1895-1901. He finished his career with the New York Highlanders in 1904-1909. He debuted as an umpire in the NL in 1912 and in 1917 was the umpire when Toney and Vaughn each pitched 9 innings of no-hit baseball, the only time it has happened.

Orth was an early example of the art of "pitching to contact". From Orth's SABR biography: A typical Al Orth pitch was once described in a poem by W.A. Phelon as a “glistening ball… but little speed, and scarce a curve at all.” During his 15-year major league career, “The Curveless Wonder” won 204 games, yet struck out just 948 batters in more than 3,300 innings pitched. The burly six foot, 200-pound right-hander threw with a seemingly-effortless delivery, and relied on pinpoint control to overcome batters. “To the spectators Orth pitched a ball that it seemed must be easy to hit,” J.E. Wray observed in 1928, “yet year after year he kept on ‘fooling’ the batsmen.”

Though some reports indicate he had a good fastball early in his career, and once even tinkered with a curve, by the late 1890s his success on the mound was the result of his “slow ball.” During the Deadball Era, Fred Lieb later related, Osee Schrecongost of the Philadelphia Athletics once caught one of Orth’s pitches barehanded while batting against him. Nonetheless, Orth remained an effective pitcher during the early years of the new century, and posted career highs in wins (27) and strikeouts (133) for the New York Highlanders in 1906.

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