Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

Player #153C: Earl O. Whitehill. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1933-1936. 218 wins and 11 saves in 17 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1923-1932. His best season came as Washington won the AL pennant in 1933 as he posted a 22-8 record with an ERA of 3.33 in 270 innings pitched. He ended his career with the Chicago Cubs in 1939. His only World Series start was a complete game shutout in Game 3 of the 1933 World Series, which Washington lost in 5 games.

We go back to Whitehill's SABR biography: His temper notwithstanding, Whitehill had his best season was 1933, and his pitching was largely responsible for the Senators finding themselves in the World Series against the Giants. During that contest, New York enjoyed a 2-0 series lead when Whitehill took the hill for the third game. He made the most of his only World Series appearance by tossing a complete game shutout of the Giants, scattering five hits and two walks in front of 25,727 at Griffith Stadium. In doing so, he also held future Hall-of-Famers Mel Ott and Bill Terry to a collective 0-for-7 day at the plate. On the biggest stage, Earl brought his best stuff.

Whitehill played three more consistent, winning seasons for Washington, despite one aberrant game in 1935 in which he gave up ten doubles, but on December 10, 1936, he anchored a three-team trade that sent him to Cleveland. The Senators received Jack Salveson from the White Sox, while Chicago took Thornton “Lefty” Lee from the Indians.