Highlighted Year: Clark Griffith, 1901

Pitcher, Chicago White Sox

Age:  31

1^st season with White Sox

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’6”    Weight: 156 

Prior to 1901:

Born in a Missouri log cabin, Griffith was a sickly youth in a farming family who first learned about baseball from Civil War veterans. Small and unhealthy, he acted as a mascot and water boy for the local town team. Moving with his family to Illinois at age 12, he was considered too small for his high school team and played in local pickup games as a catcher and pitcher. In 1887 he joined the nearby Bloomington Reds as a pitcher. In an 1888 exhibition game against Milwaukee of the Western Association, his pitching performance impressed the Milwaukee manager and he signed a contract for $225 per month. The 18-year-old hurler produced a 12-12 record for Milwaukee in 1888 with a 2.45 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 228 innings pitched. In 1889 his tally improved to 23-18 with 34 complete games, a 3.81 ERA, and 214 strikeouts. In 1891 he was lured into the American Association, which was a major league at the time, and was 11-8 with St. Louis until a sore arm led to his release in July. He was picked up by the Boston Reds late in the season and found himself out of work when the league disbanded. He headed west to play minor league ball in 1892 and ’93 and joined the National League with the then-Chicago Colts late in the 1893 season. He developed into a star, posting a 21-14 mark in 1894 and improving to 26-14 with a 3.93 ERA in 1895. Lacking a powerful fastball, Griffith got by on control, as he commanded a variety of breaking balls. He also utilized trick pitches like a scuff ball, often ostentatiously scratching the ball against his spikes, which was not illegal at the time, but caused one opposing team to bill him for the cost of eleven damaged baseballs. He was also adept at quick-pitching batters, not always allowing a hitter to get set prior to throwing the first strike. Wily and crafty on the mound, he tried to outwit his opponents, typically with success. His records from 1896 through 1899 were 23-11, 21-18, 24-10, and 22-14. He led the NL with 38 complete games in 1897, and with a 1.88 ERA in 1898. By 1898 the team was known as the Orphans, following the departure of long-time player and manager Cap Anson, and was no longer as successful. Griffith went 22-14 with a 2.79 ERA for the eighth-place Orphans in 1899. He followed up with a 14-13 tally and a 3.05 ERA with the fifth-place club in 1900. Griffith, who had become knowledgeable about the business side of baseball, became involved in the plans to turn the American League into a rival major league. He worked to recruit several NL players to sign with AL clubs for 1901, and he himself became player/manager of the new league’s White Sox, owned by his friend Charles Comiskey.

1901 Season Summary

Appeared in 35 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 35 [14]

Games Started – 30 [14, tied with Casey Patten & Earl Moore]

Complete Games – 26 [14, tied with Casey Patten, George Winter & Bill Bernhard]

Wins – 24 [3]

Losses – 7

PCT - .774 [1]

Saves – 1 [2, tied with fourteen others]

Shutouts – 5 [1, tied with Cy Young]

Innings Pitched – 266.2 [12]

Hits – 275 [15]

Runs – 114

Earned Runs – 79

Home Runs – 4 [20, tied with seven others]

Bases on Balls – 50

Strikeouts – 67 [16, tied with Bert Husting]

ERA – 2.67 [4]

Hit Batters – 4

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 2

League-leading win percentage was +.007 ahead of runner-up Cy Young

Midseason Snapshot: 15-4, ERA - 2.21, SO - 37 in 151 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 4 on six occasions

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 4 (in 9 IP) at Phila. A’s 6/25

Batting

PA – 117, AB – 89, R – 21, H – 27, 2B – 3, 3B – 1, HR – 2, RBI – 14, BB – 23, SO – 5, SB – 0, CS – N/A, AVG - .303, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 3, SF – N/A

Fielding

Chances – 92

Put Outs – 9

Assists – 78

Errors – 5

DP – 3

Pct. - .946

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The White Sox went 83-53 to win the first AL pennant by 4 games over the Boston Americans. The pitching staff led the league in ERA (2.98) & shutouts (11). The well-balanced White Sox were 24-9 by the end of May and, despite a brief dip in July and a 13-13 August, led the league the rest of the way.

Aftermath of 1901:

The White Sox dropped to fourth place in 1902, although still with a winning record, and Griffith posted a 15-9 tally with a 4.18 ERA. Now nicknamed “The Old Fox” for his cleverness, he moved on as player/manager of the New York Highlanders in 1903. The future Yankees had been moved from Baltimore to New York with the hope of establishing the American League in the nation’s biggest market. In his last season as a full-time pitcher, Griffith went 14-11 with a 2.70 ERA as the Highlanders finished fourth with a 72-62 record. New York strongly contended in 1904 and, pitching in 16 games (11 of them starts) “The Old Fox” compiled a 7-5 mark with a 2.87 ERA. Inserting himself primarily as a reliever in 1905 and ’06, Griffith produced records of 9-6 and 2-2, with ERAs of 1.68 and 3.02. He resigned as manager during the 1908 season, unhappy with his team’s performance and his treatment by the club’s ownership (which led to lasting animosity toward the renamed Yankees in later years). Much sought after to manage other teams, he chose to return to the National League with the Cincinnati Reds in 1909. Following a disappointing tenure in Cincinnati, Griffith returned to the American League as manager of the Washington Senators in 1912. Adept at developing new talent, he guided the revamped Senators to a surprising second-place finish. In his first few years as manager, Griffith purchased a 10% interest in the team for $27,000. Making a pitching appearance a year from 1912 to 1914, he ended his role as a playing manager permanently in the latter year. For his major league pitching career, he produced a 237-146 record with a 3.31 ERA, 337 complete games, 22 shutouts, and 955 strikeouts in 3385.2 innings. With the White Sox his tally was 39-16 with a 3.34 ERA, 46 complete games, 8 shutouts, and 118 strikeouts in 479.2 innings. He continued to manage the Senators through 1920, when, in partnership with William M. Richardson, he purchased 80% of the team’s stock. As a manager his record was 1491-1367 with one pennant. The Senators won AL pennants in 1924, ’25, and 1933 including a World Series title in 1924. He became known as a shrewd talent evaluator, who pioneered in the signing of Cuban players, and who was resourceful, stubborn, and outspoken. Griffith was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. His adopted son, Calvin, took over as the team’s owner following Griffith’s death in 1955 at age 85, and moved the franchise to Minnesota in 1961. He retained ownership of the Twins until 1984.

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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.