Pitcher, Boston
Beaneaters
Age: 23 (April 12)
2nd season
with Beaneaters
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 185
Prior to 1899:
A Maryland
native whose family moved to Newark, Delaware, Willis played baseball
throughout his youth, including during his schooling at Newark Academy and
Delaware College (now the University of Delaware) and began playing
semiprofessionally in Delaware. In 1895 at age 19 he signed with Harrisburg of
the minor Pennsylvania State League. When the team folded in June he moved on
to Lynchburg of the Virginia State League. Carrying a heavy pitching workload
he became recognized as having good potential. Joining Syracuse of the Eastern
League in 1896, illness limited him to a 10-6 record when he left the club to
recuperate in July. Healthy in 1897, he returned to Syracuse and produced a
21-17 record with a 1.16 ERA and 171 strikeouts. He was sold to the Beaneaters
for $1000 and catcher Fred Lake. With his good control of a slow curve and
change-of-pace, Willis was 25-13 as a rookie in 1898 with a 2.84 ERA and 160
strikeouts in 311 innings pitched that included 29 complete games.
1899 Season Summary
Appeared in 41
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 41 [9,
tied with Jack Dunn, Jesse Tannehill & Jack Taylor]
Games Started –
38 [7, tied with four others]
Complete Games
– 35 [7, tied with Sam Leever & Clark Griffith]
Wins – 27 [3]
Losses – 8
PCT - .771 [2]
Saves – 2 [2,
tied with four others]
Shutouts – 5 [1]
Innings Pitched
– 342.2 [8]
Hits – 277
Runs – 126
Earned Runs – 95
Home Runs – 6 [17,
tied with ten others]
Bases on Balls
– 117 [7]
Strikeouts – 120
[4, tied with Ed Doheny]
ERA – 2.50 [1]
Hit Batters – 30
[2]
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 12 [5]
League-leading
shutouts were +1 ahead of eight runners-up
League-leading
ERA was -0.08 lower than runner-up Cy Young
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 0 vs. Washington 4/7 (No-hitter with 1 batter
reaching base via error, a ruling that remains in dispute among baseball
historians. Beaneaters won 7-1)
Batting
PA – 142, AB – 134,
R – 14, H – 29, 2B – 3, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 16, BB – 4, SO – 9, SB – 0, CS –
N/A, AVG - .216, GDP – N/A, HBP – 1, SH – 3, SF – N/A
Fielding
Chances – 106
Put Outs – 17
Assists – 81
Errors – 8
DP – 2
Pct. - .925
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Beaneaters went
95-57 to finish second in the NL, 8 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn
Superbas. The pitching staff led the league in fewest hits allowed (1273) and
fewest runs allowed (645). Following a 7-6 April, the Beaneaters were 32-16 in
May and June and put together a late-season 10-game winning streak to nail down
second place.
Aftermath of 1899:
Willis had a lesser season in 1900, compiling a 10-17 record with a 4.19 ERA and 53 strikeouts while pitching 236 innings. Courted by the new American League in 1901, he backed out of an agreement to sign with the Philadelphia Athletics and returned to the Beaneaters for $2400. He returned to form with a 20-17 tally and 2.36 ERA in ’01 and tied for the league lead with 6 shutouts among his 305.1 innings pitched. Willis also recorded 133 strikeouts. He was even better in 1902, going 27-20 for the third-place Beaneaters with a 2.20 ERA while leading the NL in games pitched (51), starts (46), complete games (45), innings pitched (410), and strikeouts (225). Approached by the American League’s Detroit Tigers with a two-year contract offer, he again initially accepted until the Beaneaters matched the deal. While the Tigers protested, he was awarded to Boston following the peace agreement between the NL and AL that followed the season. With the Beaneaters dropping to 58-80 in 1903, Willis remained effective, posting a 12-18 record with a 2.98 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 278 innings pitched. The club was even worse in 1904 although Willis produced a fine 2.85 ERA despite an 18-25 record. While topping the league with 39 complete games, he also compiled 196 strikeouts over 350 innings. The situation was similar in 1905 as Willis went 12-29 with a 3.21 ERA for the 51-103 Beaneaters. In the offseason, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for three players. Dissatisfied with taking a pay cut from Boston in 1905, he reportedly received a salary boost to $4500 from Pittsburgh. With a stronger team in 1906, Willis pitched three consecutive shutouts early in the season on his way to a 23-13 record with a 1.73 ERA and 124 strikeouts and 32 complete games while accumulating 322 innings. With the second-place Pirates in 1907 he produced a 21-11 tally with a 2.34 ERA and 107 strikeouts while accumulating 292.2 innings. In 1908 he went 23-11 with a 2.07 ERA and 7 shutouts while the Pirates closely contended for the NL pennant. In the offseason, Willis threatened retirement over a salary dispute but returned to Pittsburgh for the 1909 season. The Pirates won the pennant and Willis contributed a 22-11 mark and 2.24 ERA. He also pitched the inaugural game at the new Forbes Field that year. He made two appearances in the World Series matchup with Detroit and went 0-1 with a 4.63 ERA. Pittsburgh went on to win the Series. It marked the only postseason action of Willis’ career. Waived by the Pirates prior to the 1910 season, he was claimed by the St. Louis Cardinals and went 9-12 with a 3.35 ERA. Let go again after the season, he retired. For his major league career, Willis compiled a 249-205 record with a 2.63 ERA, 388 complete games, 50 shutouts, and 1651 strikeouts in 3996 innings pitched. Following his playing career, Willis operated a hotel in Newark, Delaware and managed and coached semipro and youth baseball teams. He died in 1947 at age 71, 48 years before he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10),
runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20), pitching wins,
strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10), or have been
participants in the annual All-Star Games between the National and American
Leagues since 1933. This category will also include Misc. players who received
award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had
notable seasons in non-award years.
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