Pitcher, Washington
Senators
Age: 36
18th
season with Senators
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 200
Prior to 1924:
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. Johnson again topped 30 wins in 1913 with a
36-7 record and also led the league in complete games (29), shutous (11), ERA
(1.14), innings pitched (346), and strikeouts (243) while lifting the Senators
to a second place finish. He received league MVP recognition for his
performance. 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 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 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 he was contemplating retirement due to
lingering arm pain. Recognizing that the club had the talent to contend in
1924, he put off his retirement plans for at least another year.
1924 Season Summary
Appeared in 39
games
P – 38, PH – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 38 [19,
tied with Bob Shawkey & Hollis Thurston]
Games Started –
38 [1]
Complete Games
– 20 [5, tied with Ed Rommel & Sherry Smith]
Wins – 23 [1]
Losses – 7
PCT - .767 [1]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 6 [1]
Innings Pitched
– 277.2 [6]
Hits – 233 [19]
Runs – 97
Earned Runs – 84
Home Runs – 10
[7, tied with Ted Lyons, Elam Vangilder & Jack Quinn]
Bases on Balls
– 77 [10]
Strikeouts – 158
[1]
ERA – 2.72 [1]
Hit Batters – 10
[5, tied with Bill Piercy]
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 4
[9, tied with ten others]
League-leading
games started were +2 ahead of runners-up Howard Ehmke & Hollis Thurston
League-leading wins
were +2 ahead of runner-up Herb Pennock
League-leading
win percentage was +.067 ahead of runners-up Herb Pennock & Ken Holloway
League-leading
shutouts were +1 ahead of runner-up Dixie Davis
League-leading
strikeouts were +39 ahead of runner-up Howard Ehmke
League-leading
ERA was -0.03 lower than runner-up Tom Zachary
Midseason
Snapshot: 10-6, ERA - 2.76, SO - 90 in 146.2 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 14 (in 9 IP) vs. Chi. White Sox 5/23
10+ strikeout
games – 1
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 0 (in 7 IP) vs. St. Louis Browns 8/25
Batting
PA – 119, AB – 113,
R – 18, H – 32, 2B – 9, 3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 14, BB – 3, SO – 11, SB – 0, CS –
0, AVG - .283, GDP – N/A, HBP – 1, SH – 2, SF – N/A
Fielding
Chances - 62
Put Outs – 9
Assists – 53
Errors – 0
DP – 2
Pct. - 1.000
Postseason
Pitching: G – 3 (World Series vs. NY Giants)
GS – 2, CG – 2,
Record – 1-2, PCT – .333, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 24, H – 30, R – 10, ER – 8, HR
– 3, BB – 11, SO – 20, ERA – 3.00, HB – 1, BLK – 0, WP – 1
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: League
Award
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Walter Johnson,
Wash.: 55 points – 86% share
Eddie Collins,
ChiWS.: 49 points – 77% share
Charlie
Jamieson, Clev.: 25 points – 39% share
Herb Pennock,
NYY: 24 points – 38% share
Johnny Bassler,
Det.: 22 points – 34% share
---
Senators went
92-62 to win the AL pennant by 2 games over the New York Yankees. The pitching
staff led the league in ERA (3.34), shutouts (13, tied with the Yankees), and
saves (25). Under the guidance of second baseman/manager Bucky Harris, the
Senators struggled until a 10-game June winning streak propelled them into
first place. Gradually increasing their lead through the summer, an 18-7
September allowed them to hold off the Yankees and nail down the first pennant
in franchise history. Won World Series over the New York Giants, 4 games to 3. After
two starts ended in defeat, Johnson came on in relief in Game 7 and came away
with the Series-clinching win when a 12th-inning ground ball down
the third base line struck a pebble and hopped over 3B Fred Lindstrom’s head,
allowing the winning run to score.
Aftermath of ‘24:
Johnson 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.
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