Good Hitting Vintage Pitchers

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by BioCRN

Wes Ferrell...

I think Wes Ferrell was the best ever. Was used a pinch hitter regularly and had a career slash line of .281/.351/.446 with 38 Home Runs and over 200 RBIs.
In 1931 his slash line was .318/.373/.621 with 9 Home Runs. Oh, and he won 22 games that year.

Others not mentioned:
Bob Gibson career BA of .206 and 24 Home Runs
Warren Spahn career BA of .194 and 35 Home Runs
Don Larsen career BA of .242 with 14 Home Runs
Dizzy Trout career BA of .213 with 20 Home Runs
Schoolboy Rowe career BA of .263 with 18 Home Runs.

Not sure that Robin Roberts or Tom Seaver should be on the list. Roberts career BA of .167 with 5 HRs, Seaver Career .154 hitter with 12 HRs.

[Touch'EmAll]

In 1965, Don Drysdale hit .300

[darwinbulldog]

Ditto on Ferrell as my pick if we're not counting Ruth. I suspect, on the basis of no actual evidence, that the Hall of Fame voters accidentally elected the wrong Ferrell brother. The alternative of course if that they elected the wrong Ferrell brother on purpose.

[GeoPoto]

John "Needles" Bentley. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1913-1916. 46 wins and 8 saves in 9 MLB seasons. His most productive season was 1924 with the New York Giants as he posted a 16-5 record with a 3.78 ERA in 188 innings pitched. Was a good hitter with a career OBP of .316 in 616 plate appearances. Gave up World Series winning-ground ball single to McNeely in the 1924 "pebble" game.

Between his MLB pitching stints in Washington (1913-1916) and New York (1923-1927), Bentley played on the great Baltimore Oriole teams: In his first two seasons with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League, 1917 and 1919 (he was in the US Army in 1918), with the exception of a lone pitching appearance in his first year, Bentley played exclusively at first base and in the outfield: In 185 games, he posted averages of .333 batting and .510 slugging. Then he really caught fire. From 1920 to 1922, Bentley’s numbers were staggering, as he batted .378 in 439 games, scored 340 runs, drove in 399, and had a slugging average of an astounding .590. In both 1920 (161) and 1921 (120), Bentley led the league in RBIs; in 1921, he won the league Triple Crown, batting .412 (the league’s highest season average in the 20th century), with 24 home runs and 120 RBIs. His 246 hits that season remain the league’s single-season record.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1682710080

[olecow]

35 career homers

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by olecow

35 career homers

Some interesting Spahn career stats.

Pitching: 363 wins — 356 with Braves, 4 with Mets, 3 with Giants
Batting: 363 hits — 356 with Braves, 4 with Mets, 3 with Giants
Playoff pitching: 4 wins
Playoff batting: 4 hits

Spahn’s streak of consecutive seasons with at least one home run is actually longer than his streak of seasons with at least one shutout, which is a bit surprising. He hit homers in 17 consecutive seasons (1948-1964), but only had shutouts in 15 consecutive seasons (1947-61).

[JollyElm]

As a Mets maniac (with no actual evidence to back this up), it seems Tom Seaver only got hits when he went up there and squared around to bunt a runner over, but as the pitch was released and the infielders raced in to field said bunt, he would pull the bat back and slap/swing at the ball for an 'easy' hit past them.

[pitchernut]

Babe Ruth

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

Some interesting Spahn career stats.

Pitching: 363 wins — 356 with Braves, 4 with Mets, 3 with Giants
Batting: 363 hits — 356 with Braves, 4 with Mets, 3 with Giants
Playoff pitching: 4 wins
Playoff batting: 4 hits

Spahn’s streak of consecutive seasons with at least one home run is actually longer than his streak of seasons with at least one shutout, which is a bit surprising. He hit homers in 17 consecutive seasons (1948-1964), but only had shutouts in 15 consecutive seasons (1947-61).

Those are awesome stats and amazing

Thanks for sharing

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

Some interesting Spahn career stats.

Pitching: 363 wins — 356 with Braves, 4 with Mets, 3 with Giants
Batting: 363 hits — 356 with Braves, 4 with Mets, 3 with Giants
Playoff pitching: 4 wins
Playoff batting: 4 hits

Spahn’s streak of consecutive seasons with at least one home run is actually longer than his streak of seasons with at least one shutout, which is a bit surprising. He hit homers in 17 consecutive seasons (1948-1964), but only had shutouts in 15 consecutive seasons (1947-61).

and he sat behind me in 1977 at the old County Stadium for a Yankee-Brewer game. Fortunately he didn't recognize me.

[tedzan]

Tommy Byrne



Tommy batted .238 BAvg during his career; however, he had a .378 SLG avg, with 14 home runs (including 2 grand slams) and 98 RBI in 377 games.
He was such a good-hitting pitcher, Stengel would put him in the game as a pinch-hitter (in which he got 80 hits). His W-L pitching record was 85-69.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[jiw98]

Earl Wilson had 35 HRs and 111 RBSs in 11 years. 195 batting average isn’t horrible for a pitcher either.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by jiw98

Earl Wilson had 35 HRs and 111 RBSs in 11 years. 195 batting average isn’t horrible for a pitcher either.

Wilson twice hit 7 homers in a season. Only Ferrell ever hit more in a season and Wilson is the only guy to hit 7 twice (Drysdale did it once).

Wilson had enough power that he was used as a pinch hitter 28 times in his career.

[egri]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Carl Scheib yet. He hit .396 in 1951, and .250 over his career.

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by Tabe

Wilson twice hit 7 homers in a season. Only Ferrell ever hit more in a season and Wilson is the only guy to hit 7 twice (Drysdale did it once).

Wilson had enough power that he was used as a pinch hitter 28 times in his career.

Didn’t Drysdale hit 7 in both ‘58 and ‘65?

Ferrell hit 9 in ‘31, 7 in ‘33, and 7 in ‘35.

[molenick]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Tommy batted .238 BAvg during his career; however, he had a .378 SLG avg, with 14 home runs (including 2 grand slams) and 98 RBI in 377 games.
He was such a good-hitting pitcher, Stengel would put him in the game as a pinch-hitter (in which he got 80 hits). His W-L pitching record was 85-69.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

I was looking for pinch hitting stats for Ruffing and Lucas but can't find them on Baseball Reference, they only show appearances by position. I do see that his Wikipedia article says that Byrne had 80 pinch hits, but that does not seem likely given that he had only 93 appearances as a pinch hitter. But I can't find a source that has his full pinch hitting numbers.

[RUKen]

Originally Posted by molenick

I was looking for pinch hitting stats for Ruffing and Lucas but can't find them on Baseball Reference, they only show appearances by position.

On Baseball Reference, you have to go in Advanced Batting to the Situational Batting stats; that is where the pinch hitting records are listed.

[RUKen]

Dode Criss led the American League in pinch hits in each of his four seasons with the St. Louis Browns, 1908-1911. According to my Baseball Encyclopedia (because Baseball Reference does not have individual pinch hitting stats from that time period), Criss was 35-for-147 as a pinch hitter in his major league career. He batted .341 in his rookie season and had a career average of .276. He pitched in 30 games during his career, with 21 of those in relief, and also played 26 games at first base and eleven in right field. His pitching stats are 3 wins and 9 losses with a 4.38 ERA, which is pretty bad for the deadball era.

[molenick]

Originally Posted by RUKen

On Baseball Reference, you have to go in Advanced Batting to the Situational Batting stats; that is where the pinch hitting records are listed.

Thank you, I knew it had to be there somewhere. Of some of the people mentioned:

Red Lucas was 117 for 430 (.272) with 2 HRs and 68 RBIs.
Red Ruffing was 56 for 214 (.262) with 2 HRs and 44 RBIs.
Wes Ferrell was 30 for 139 (.216) with 1 HR and 30 RBIs.
Tommy Byrne was 6 for 75 (.080) with 2 HRs and 11 RBIs.

I am not sure why Wikipedia says Byrne had 80 pinch hits. Maybe someone confused his batting average as a pinch hitter with the number of hits he had?

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by molenick

I was looking for pinch hitting stats for Ruffing and Lucas but can't find them on Baseball Reference, they only show appearances by position. I do see that his Wikipedia article says that Byrne had 80 pinch hits, but that does not seem likely given that he had only 93 appearances as a pinch hitter. But I can't find a source that has his full pinch hitting numbers.

Michael

I have followed the Yankees from age 9. I have seen Tommy Byrne pinch-hit many times (1947 - 1957). If it is said that he hit safely 80 times pinch-hitting, then I tend to believe it.
Perhaps the "93 appearances" is considerably less than his actual pinch-hit At-Bats.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[molenick]

Ted, with all respect, I found Byrne's lifetime pinch hitting stats on Baseball Reference and he was 6 for 75. Also, his appearances as a pinch hitter (93) would have to be greater than his ABs, due to walks, sacrifices, etc. I guess it just depends on which source you trust more...I will take Baseball Reference over Wikipedia.

However, a pinch hit grand slam is nothing to sneeze at!

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

I think Wes Ferrell was the best ever. Was used a pinch hitter regularly and had a career slash line of .281/.351/.446 with 38 Home Runs and over 200 RBIs.
In 1931 his slash line was .318/.373/.621 with 9 Home Runs. Oh, and he won 22 games that year.

Others not mentioned:
Bob Gibson career BA of .206 and 24 Home Runs
Warren Spahn career BA of .194 and 35 Home Runs
Don Larsen career BA of .242 with 14 Home Runs
Dizzy Trout career BA of .213 with 20 Home Runs
Schoolboy Rowe career BA of .263 with 18 Home Runs.

Not sure that Robin Roberts or Tom Seaver should be on the list. Roberts career BA of .167 with 5 HRs, Seaver Career .154 hitter with 12 HRs.

I also vote Wes Ferrell if you do not include the Babe

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

I think Wes Ferrell was the best ever. Was used a pinch hitter regularly and had a career slash line of .281/.351/.446 with 38 Home Runs and over 200 RBIs.
In 1931 his slash line was .318/.373/.621 with 9 Home Runs. Oh, and he won 22 games that year.

Others not mentioned:
Bob Gibson career BA of .206 and 24 Home Runs
Warren Spahn career BA of .194 and 35 Home Runs
Don Larsen career BA of .242 with 14 Home Runs
Dizzy Trout career BA of .213 with 20 Home Runs
Schoolboy Rowe career BA of .263 with 18 Home Runs.

Not sure that Robin Roberts or Tom Seaver should be on the list. Roberts career BA of .167 with 5 HRs, Seaver Career .154 hitter with 12 HRs.

Walter Johnson was one of the better/best hitting pitchers. His career-homer total is 24, which I assume would have been much higher if he hadn't played most of his career during the dead-ball era.

[TobaccoKing4]

In my opinion the clear cut answer for the best hitting pitcher in the vintage era would be Bob Caruthers.

In 1886, he hit .334/.448/.527 -.974 OPS..21 doubles, 14 triples, 4 hr in 382 PA.
In 1887, he hit .357/.463/.547 -1.010 OPS 23 doubles, 11 triples, 8 hr in 436 PA.

I don’t know of any pitcher who put up better numbers with that many plate appearances. It’s even more impressive when combined with how dominant of a pitcher he was those seasons too.

[kmac32]

Fergie Jenkins

[Robbie]

Everybody is missing the "right" answer....

It is obviously Lefty O'Doul... by far!

[tod41]

Rick Rhoden 238 with 9 hrs - 3 Silver Sluggers

Don Robinson 231 with 13 hrs - 3 Silver Sluggers

[Steve D]

Terry Forster

16 seasons, mostly as a reliever.

.397 lifetime batting average (31 hits in 78 ABs)

Only struck out 9 times in his career.

1972 with the White Sox, he appeared in 63 games; he went 10 for 19, for a .526 batting average.


Steve