MVP Profile: Walter Johnson, 1913

Pitcher, Washington Senators

Age:  25

7^th season with Senators

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 200

Prior to 1913:

Born in Kansas, Johnson’s family moved west to California where he first began pitching in sandlot games. A sidearm pitcher who threw from a short windmill windup, Johnson relied on his impressive fastball and moved on to Tacoma of the Northwestern League, where he failed to catch on. Playing semiprofessionally in 1906 for $90 per week with Weiser of the Southern Idaho League, he went 7-1 before returning home to California.  Returning to Weiser the next year, he went 14-2 with a 0.55 ERA and 214 strikeouts over the course of 146 innings pitched. The 19-year-old phenom drew the attention of major league teams and signed with the Senators, who he joined in July. In his first taste of major league action, Johnson produced a 5-9 record over 14 games during the second half of the 1907 season, with a 1.88 ERA and 71 strikeouts over 110.1 innings pitched. With the seventh-place Senators in 1908 he was 14-14 with a 1.65 ERA and 160 strikeouts. With the club dropping into the cellar in 1909 and providing inadequate run support, Johnson had a fine 2.22 ERA over 296.1 innings but compiled only a 13-25 record with 164 strikeouts. He improved to 25-17 with a 1.36 ERA in 1910 while leading the AL with 370 innings pitched and 313 strikeouts. Nicknamed “The Big Train” as the result of the sound his legendary fastball made, and “Barney” after racecar driver Barney Oldfield, due to his driving habits, Johnson continued to pitch brilliantly for a mediocre team, going 25-13 with a 1.90 ERA and 207 strikeouts in 1911 and 33-12 while leading the league in ERA (1.39) and strikeouts (303) in 1912. By 1913, he had added a curve to his pitching arsenal that ultimately depended on his overpowering speed.

1913 Season Summary

Appeared in 55 games

P – 48, 2B – 1, CF – 1, PH – 7

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 48 [2, tied with Chief Bender & Jim Scott]

Games Started – 36 [2, tied with Reb Russell, Cy Falkenberg & Bob Groom]

Complete Games – 29 [1]

Wins – 36 [1]

Losses – 7

PCT - .837 [1]

Saves – 2 [11, tied with five others]

Shutouts – 11 [1]

Innings Pitched – 346 [1]

Hits – 232 [16]

Runs – 56

Earned Runs – 44

Home Runs – 9 [1, tied with Russ Ford]

Bases on Balls – 38

Strikeouts – 243 [1]

ERA – 1.14 [1]

Hit Batters – 9 [10, tied with five others]

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 2

League-leading complete games were +3 ahead of runner-up Reb Russell

League-leading wins were +13 ahead of runner-up Cy Falkenberg

League-leading win percentage was +.123 ahead of runner-up Joe Bush

League-leading shutouts were +3 ahead of runner-up Reb Russell

League-leading innings pitched were +29.1 ahead of runner-up Reb Russell

League-leading strikeouts were +77 ahead of runners-up Vean Gregg & Cy Falkenberg]

League-leading ERA was -0.44 lower than runner-up Eddie Cicotte

Most strikeouts, game – 15 (in 11.1 IP) vs. St. Louis Browns 7/25

10+ strikeout games – 4

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 9 IP) vs. Bos. Red Sox 4/23, at Chi. White Sox 5/10, vs. Detroit 6/10, vs. NY Yankees 6/21

Batting

PA – 144, AB – 134, R – 12, H – 35, 2B – 5, 3B – 6, HR – 2, RBI – 14, BB – 5, SO – 14, SB – 2, CS – N/A, AVG - .261, GDP – N/A, HBP – 1, SH – 1, SF – N/A

Fielding

Chances - 103

Put Outs – 21

Assists – 82

Errors – 0

DP – 7

Pct. - 1.000

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: Chalmers Award

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Walter Johnson, Wash.: 54 pts. - 84% share

Joe Jackson, Clev.: 43 pts. – 67% share

Eddie Collins, PhilaA.: 30 pts. – 47% share

Tris Speaker, BosRS.: 26 pts. – 41% share

Frank Baker, PhilaA.: 21 pts. – 33% share

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Senators went 90-64 to finish second in the AL, 6.5 games behind the pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics. The pitching staff led the league in shutouts (23) and strikeouts (758).

Aftermath of 1913:

The gentlemanly Johnson was esteemed for his modesty and sportsmanship, in addition to his pitching talent. He never brushed back opposing batters out of a fear of inflicting a fatal injury, nor did he engage in disputes with umpires and avoided brawls. His careful pacing allowed him to pitch many innings without injury. In 1914 “the Big Train” posted a 28-18 record with a 1.72 ERA and league-leading 225 strikeouts over the course of 371.2 innings. His success continued for the remainder of the decade, as he never won fewer than 20 games in any season from 1910 to ’19. He also topped the AL twice more in ERA during the same time period. He regularly paced the circuit in strikeouts as well. The Senators finished as high as second twice during the decade, and third on two more occasions, primarily on the basis of Johnson’s pitching success. He finally had an off-year in 1920, due to sickness, a sore arm, and leg injuries. His record dropped to 8-10 with a 3.13 ERA and only 78 strikeouts over 143.2 innings pitched, his fewest since his rookie year. Nevertheless, he also pitched the only no-hitter of his career against the Boston Red Sox. He rebounded with a 17-14 tally in 1921, topping the AL with 143 strikeouts. Following 15-16 and 17-12 records in 1922 and ’23 and contemplating retirement, he was 23-7 in 1924 as he won the League Award as AL MVP and the Senators won their first league pennant. In the World Series against the New York Giants, Johnson lost twice before winning the dramatic seventh game in relief.  He returned in 1925 and was 20-7 with a 3.07 ERA as Washington again topped the American League. This time he was 2-1 in the World Series against Pittsburgh, taking the loss in a rainy Game 7. Johnson played two more seasons before retiring in 1927. Over the course of a 21-year career with the Senators, “the Big Train” produced a 417-279 record with a 2.17 ERA and then-record 3509 strikeouts over 5914.1 innings pitched. He hurled 531 complete games that included 110 shutouts. He had two 30-win seasons and 12 with 20 or more wins. Pitching for a club that often provided minimal run support, he notched a record 38 wins by a score of 1-0 and suffered 26 losses by the same score. Johnson topped the AL in strikeouts 12 times and his career total remained the major league record until 1983. Twice during his career he struck out three straight batters on nine pitches with the bases loaded, highlighting his ability to bear down in clutch situations. Following a year of minor league managing with the Newark Bears of the International League in 1928, Johnson managed the Senators from 1929 to ’32 and the Cleveland Indians from 1933 to ’35. His major league teams compiled a record of 529-432 with the Senators finishing second in the AL in 1930 and third in 1931 and ’32. He later became a county commissioner in Maryland and lost an election for the US House of Representatives. Johnson was one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, ten years before his death at age 59.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.