Pitcher, New
York Giants
Age: 21 (Aug. 12)
1st season
with Giants
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 195
Prior to 1901:
A native of
Factoryville, Pennsylvania, the blonde, blue-eyed Mathewson pitched for semipro
baseball teams while attending Keystone Academy, a prep school in the town.
Always big for his age, he was nicknamed “Husk” by his circle of friends. Following
graduation from Keystone Academy, Mathewson pitched for a team in Honesdale,
Pennsylvania where he likely was taught the fadeaway pitch that he would make
famous and later became known as a screwball. Moving on to Bucknell University,
where he majored in Forestry, in addition to baseball he also was a star
fullback on the football team and gained renown as an excellent drop-kicker. He
also played center on the basketball team. Having pitched for Taunton of the
New England League during the summer following his freshman year in 1899 and
enduring a 2-13 season with a team that folded before the season concluded,
Mathewson signed with Norfolk of the Virginia League in 1900 and was 20-2 by
midseason after which his contract was sold to the Giants. Little used during
the remainder of the season, typically pitching batting practice, he went 0-3
in six late-season appearances for the Giants. Drafted by Cincinnati in the
offseason, the Giants worked a deal to retain him for 1901.
1901 Season Summary
Appeared in 42
games
P – 40, PH – 2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 40 [5]
Games Started –
38 [3, tied with Bill Donovan]
Complete Games
– 36 [3, tied with Bill Donovan]
Wins – 20 [6,
tied with four others]
Losses – 17 [9,
tied with Vic Willis & Mal Eason]
PCT - .541 [15,
tied with Vic Willis]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 5
[4, tied with Frank Kitson & Bill Duggleby]
Innings Pitched
– 336 [5]
Hits – 288 [15,
tied with Togie Pittinger]
Runs – 131 [17]
Earned Runs – 90
[17]
Home Runs – 3
Bases on Balls
– 97 [6]
Strikeouts – 221
[4]
ERA – 2.41 [6]
Hit Batters – 13
[8, tied with Mal Eason]
Balks – 1 [2,
tied with ten others]
Wild Pitches – 23
[1]
League-leading
wild pitches were +4 ahead of runner-up Jack Harper
Midseason
Snapshot: 15-7, ERA - 1.64, SO – 125 in 198 IP
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Most
strikeouts, game – 11 (in 9 IP) vs. Pittsburgh 6/19
10+ strikeout
games – 4
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 0 (in 9 IP) at St. Louis Cardinals 7/15 (No-hitter
with 4 BB & 4 strikeouts. Giants won 5-0)
Batting
PA – 136, AB – 130,
R – 10, H – 28, 2B – 0, 3B – 1, HR – 0, RBI – 7, BB – 2, SO – 25, SB – 1, CS – N/A,
AVG - .215, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 4, SF – N/A
Fielding
Chances – 130
Put Outs – 21
Assists – 108
Errors – 1
DP – 1
Pct. - .992
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The Giants went 52-85 to finish seventh in the NL, 37 games behind the pennant-winning Pittsburgh Pirates. For the George Davis-managed Giants, the emergence of Mathewson proved to be a key highlight. The club held onto first place on-and-off from May 14 until June 10, when they lost the first of three straight games to the Pirates. They suffered through a dreadful second half of the season on their way to a seventh-place finish.
Aftermath of 1901:
Mathewson, often called “Matty”, obtained his other lasting nickname of “Big Six” most likely due to a sportswriter comparing him to New York’s Big Six Fire Company which was renowned for its speed in putting out fires. In 1902, he found himself being used at first base and the outfield as manager Horace Fogel sought to utilize Mathewson’s batting to generate offense for the lowly club. That ended with the July arrival of John McGraw as manager. With a last-place club, his record was 14-17 with a 2.12 ERA, 30 complete games, 8 shutouts, and 164 strikeouts over 284.2 innings pitched. Under the typically gruff and quarrelsome McGraw, Mathewson came to be a close friend (in an attraction of opposites) and, newly married, his wife drew close to McGraw’s spouse. The young pitcher impressed McGraw with his tenacity, poise, intelligence and talent. In addition to the fadeaway pitch, he had a good fastball and excellent curve, all of which he threw with terrific control from an easy motion. With the Giants on the rise in 1903 Mathewson produced a 30-13 record and 2.26 ERA with 37 complete games, 3 shutouts, and a league-leading 267 strikeouts over 366.1 innings. The strikeout total set a NL record which lasted until 1961. The Giants won the NL pennant in 1904 and “Matty” produced a 33-12 tally with a 2.03 ERA, 33 complete games, 4 shutouts, and again topped the league in strikeouts with 212 over 367.2 innings. Together with the club’s other 30-game winner, RHP Joe McGinnity, the two accounted for a total of 68 wins. The Giants refused to meet up with the AL champion Boston Americans (now Red Sox) in a World Series depriving Mathewson of a first chance at postseason action. It turned out differently in 1905 when the Giants repeated as Mathewson had a third straight 30-win season, finishing at 31-9 while also topping the league in ERA (1.28), shutouts (8), and strikeouts (206 over 338.2 innings. In the World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics, he had a 3-0 record with all three decisions being shutouts. In addition to his 0.00 ERA he struck out 18 batters while allowing 14 hits and 15 total baserunners over 27 innings. In 1906 a severe case of diphtheria limited Mathewson to a 22-12 tally with a 2.97 ERA, 22 complete games, 6 shutouts, and 128 strikeouts over 266.2 innings. “Matty” rebounded in 1907 to 24-12 with a 2.00 ERA, 31 complete games, 8 shutouts and a league-leading 178 strikeouts over 315 innings. Clean-living (although his wife said “he was a good man, a very good man, but he was not a goody-goody.”) he was a moderate drinker who enjoyed playing chess and cards, in addition to reading, in his spare time. Reserved and prone to be aloof, he also traveled the vaudeville circuit in the offseason to make extra money by capitalizing on his fame. The Giants lost a close pennant race to the Chicago Cubs in 1908 and Mathewson had an outstanding season, leading the NL in wins with his 37-11 record, ERA (1.43), complete games (34), shutouts (11), innings pitched (390.2), and strikeouts (259), all while averaging 1.2 walks per nine innings. “Matty” was no less effective for the third-place Giants in 1909 as he compiled a 25-6 tally and led the league with a 1.14 ERA while also accumulating 26 complete games, 8 shutouts, and 149 strikeouts over 275.1 innings while walking only 36 batters (one walk per 9 innings). In 1910 he topped the NL in wins with his 27-9 record and also topped the circuit with 27 complete games. He only pitched two shutouts but produced 184 strikeouts over 318.1 innings and averaged 1.7 walks per nine innings. The Giants were pennant winners in 1911 and Mathewson led the league in ERA (1.99) while compiling a 26-13 tally with 29 complete games and 141 strikeouts over 307 innings. He placed second in league MVP voting. In the six-game World Series loss to the Philadelphia Athletics, he went 1-2 with a 2.00 ERA. He surrendered his first ever World Series run in the second inning of Game 1 at the Polo Grounds but went on to win 2-1, but “Matty” lost his next two outings and the A’s won the Series. The Giants repeated as NL champs in 1912 and their ace righthander went 23-12 with 2.12 ERA, 27 complete games, and 134 strikeouts over 310 innings. In the World Series against the Boston Red Sox he was 0-2 despite giving up only three earned runs. The Giants made it three straight NL pennants in 1913 and Mathewson’s record was 25-11 with a league-leading 2.06 ERA, 25 complete games, 4 shutouts, and 93 strikeouts over 306 innings. Facing the Athletics in the World Series, “Matty” went 1-1 with a 0.95 ERA as the team lost for the third straight year. The Giants fell short in the 1914 NL pennant race and Mathewson began complaining about pain in his left side although he still produced a 24-13 tally and 3.00 ERA with 29 complete games, 5 shutouts, and 80 strikeouts over 312 innings. With his fastball having diminished he was more reliant on the fadeaway. By this time “Matty” had added to his popularity by writing the book Pitching in a Pinch with the assistance of newspaperman Jack Wheeler which detailed his approach to pitching. His performance began to drop off in 1915 at age 34 as he went 8-14 with a 3.58 ERA and only 11 complete games. When he got off to a 3-4 start in 1916, and recognizing that the end of his pitching career was near and interested in trying his hand at managing, McGraw engineered a trade to the Cincinnati Reds with the stipulation that Mathewson would be a player/manager. He won one last pitching decision as the lowly Reds finished in seventh place (25-43 under “Matty’s direction). For his major league career, which was almost entirely spent with the Giants, Mathewson’s record was 373-188 with a 2.13 ERA, 435 complete games, 79 shutouts, and 2507 strikeouts over 4788.2 innings pitched while averaging 1.6 walks per 9 innings. He was a 30-game winner four times and a 20-game winner 13 times. He won five ERA titles and topped the NL in strikeouts five times as well. In 11 World Series pitching appearances his record was 5-5 with a 0.97 ERA and 48 strikeouts over 101.2 innings. Following his playing career, he continued to manage the Reds in 1917 and led them to a 78-76 record. He managed until entering the Chemical Warfare Division of the Army for World War I service. Sent to Europe, he was exposed to mustard gas during a training exercise and, apparently recovered, he returned home. Having been replaced as manager of the Reds, due to a case of correspondence crossing in the mail with regard to his availability, he rejoined the Giants in 1919 as assistant manager to McGraw, a position he held until 1921 when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Confined to a sanitarium in Saranac Lake, New York, for two years, he returned to baseball as president of the Boston Braves, a position he held until the disease persisted and forced his return to Saranac Lake where he died in 1925 at age 45. Buried near the Bucknell University campus, a memorial gate was constructed at the entrance to the university in 1927 which was built through donations from all the NL and AL major league teams and in 1989 the university’s renovated football stadium was renamed Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium. Renowned for his sportsmanship (he was never ejected from a game) he drew comparisons to the fictional athlete and avatar Frank Merriwell. As summed up by his friend and long-time manager‘ John McGraw, “there was never another pitcher like Mathewson, and I doubt that there ever will be.” Mathewson was part of the inaugural group of Baseball Hall of Fame inductees in 1936. His brother Henry, also a pitcher, appeared in three games with the Giants in 1906 and ’07 with far less impressive results.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum
of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who
led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a
minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between
the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc.
players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the
postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.
