Highlighted Year: Jack Chesbro, 1904

Pitcher, New York Highlanders

Age:  30 (June 5)

2^nd season with Highlanders

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’9”    Weight: 163 

Prior to 1904:

A Massachusetts native, Chesbro was called “Chad” by his family. Performing well for amateur baseball teams, he joined a team in Middletown, New York called the Asylums (because it represented the state mental hospital) in 1894. He worked with patients and pitched for the team, developing his skills. He also acquired his long-lasting nickname of “Happy Jack” due to his pleasant disposition. He went professional in 1895 with Albany of the New York State League and was 5-1 at the point the club folded in May. He then caught on with Jamestown in the same league and went 2-9 before the circuit disbanded in July. Signing on next with Springfield of the Eastern League, Chesbro lasted only seven games before being released. Despite a 3-0 record, he walked 23 batters and gave up 34 hits in 33 innings pitched. After finishing up the year pitching semipro ball, he joined Roanoke of the Virginia League in 1896. He produced an 8-11 tally with a 1.81 ERA prior to the team folding in August, and returned to Cooperstown, New York to pitch semiprofessionally. Signing on with Richmond of the Atlantic League in 1897, Chesbro went 16-18 with a 1.80 ERA and 99 strikeouts over 289.1 innings. With Richmond in 1898 he compiled a 23-15 record and was drafted by Baltimore of the National League. He didn’t sign and returned to Richmond in 1899. With a 17-4 tally by July, his contract was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates. His record in 19 appearances with the Pirates was a disappointing 6-9 with a 4.11 ERA and 28 strikeouts along with 59 walks over 149 innings. Traded to Louisville in the offseason, he found himself back with Pittsburgh when the National League dissolved the Louisville club as part of the contraction from 12 to 8 teams, and Chesbro was returned to the Pirates. Initially refusing to report for spring training in 1900 (not reporting to spring training on time and threatening retirement became a regular routine during his major league career), he eventually joined the club and went on to an improved performance in 1900, finishing at 15-13 with a 3.67 ERA, 20 complete games, 3 shutouts, and 56 strikeouts in 215.2 innings pitched. “Happy Jack” was 21-10 for the pennant-winning Pirates in 1901 with a 2.38 ERA and tied for the league lead with 6 shutouts. He also recorded 129 strikeouts in 287.2 innings pitched. Pittsburgh again finished on top of the NL in 1902 and Chesbro again co-led the NL in shutouts with 8 to go along with a 28-6 record, 31 complete games, and 136 strikeouts over the course of 286.1 innings. Participating in an all-star tour of the west coast in the offseason, he was first shown how to throw a spitball (a legal pitch at that time). Up to this time he had been relying on his outstanding fastball. Jumping to the American League Highlanders in 1903, he produced a 21-15 tally with 33 complete games and 147 strikeouts as he added his new pitch to his arsenal. New York manager Clark Griffith disliked the spitball and didn’t give permission to Chesbro to use it as his primary pitch until the 1904 season. Having slimmed down from his usual playing weight of 180 pounds, he also added a very effective change-of-pace “slow ball” to his repertoire along with his fastball and spitter.  

1904 Season Summary

Appeared in 56 games

P – 55, PH – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 55 [1]

Games Started – 51 [1]

Complete Games – 48 [1]

Wins – 41 [1]

Losses – 12

PCT - .774 [1]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 6 [6, tied with Nick Altrock, Red Donahue & Fred Glade]

Innings Pitched – 454.2 [1]

Hits – 338 [4]

Runs – 128 [7]

Earned Runs – 92 [10]

Home Runs – 4 [14, tied with George Winter]

Bases on Balls – 88 [7]

Strikeouts – 239 [2]

ERA – 1.82 [4]

Hit Batters – 7

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 9 [6, tied with Barney Pelty, Norwood Gibson & Ed Siever

League-leading games pitched were +8 ahead of runner-up Jack Powell

League-leading games started were +5 ahead of runner-up Rube Waddell

League-leading complete games were +6 ahead of runner-up George Mullin

League-leading wins were +15 ahead of runners-up Cy Young & Eddie Plank

League-leading win percentage was +.118 ahead of runner-up Jesse Tannehill

League-leading innings pitched were +64.1 ahead of runner-up Jack Powell

Midseason Snapshot: 21-5, ERA - 1.95, SO - 111 in 235 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 13 (in 9 IP) at Detroit 8/3

10+ strikeout games – 1

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) at Washington 4/22

Batting

PA – 182, AB – 174, R – 17, H – 41, 2B – 9, 3B – 3, HR – 1, RBI – 17, BB – 4, SO – 43, SB – 1, CS – N/A, AVG - .236, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 3, SF – N/A

Fielding

Chances – 202

Put Outs – 24

Assists – 166

Errors – 12

DP – 7

Pct. - .941

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The Highlanders went 92-59 to finish second in the AL, 1.5 games behind the pennant-winning Boston Americans. The scrappy Highlanders contended from the start and were locked in a tight battle with the Americans and Chicago White Sox in August, aided by Chesbro winning 14 straight decisions from May 14 to July 4. By September the race was between the Highlanders and Boston, as each took turns in first place. A half-game behind following two losses in a mid-September road trip to Boston, Chesbro, pitching on two days’ rest, put them ahead by a half-game with a home win in the climactic series against the Americans. With the team’s co-owner having rented out Hilltop Park to Columbia University for a football game, the next game in the series was transferred to Boston, creating a double header to make up for a June rainout. Chesbro, instructed by manager Clark Griffith to remain in New York and rest up, took the train to Boston, insisted on starting, and was rocked by the Americans in the first game of the double header.  Boston won the darkness-shortened nightcap as well to go up by 1.5 games as the clubs returned to New York for a season-capping double header, which the Highlanders needed to sweep to capture the pennant. With Chesbro on the mound and the score tied at 2-2 in the top of the ninth and a Boston runner on third, Chesbro uncorked a spitball that went over the catcher’s head and was scored a wild pitch, allowing the Americans to take the lead. New York was unable to score in the bottom of the ninth, giving Boston a 3-2 win and the pennant. The Highlanders won the meaningless nightcap in 10 innings to finish 1.5 games back. In the resulting controversy over Chesbro’s wild pitch, some blamed the catcher, and other witnesses insisted that the catcher could not possibly have reached the wayward pitch that lost a pennant for the Highlanders.

Aftermath of 1904:

Having demonstrated his durability with his outstanding 1904 season, a sore arm prevented Chesbro from going on an offseason tour. He also missed spring training in 1905 to coach at Harvard and his weight rose to 200 pounds. Insisting that the spitball and resulting alteration of his pitching motion, was not the cause of his arm trouble, Chesbro struggled to a 19-15 record in 1905 with a 2.20 ERA and 156 strikeouts while accumulating 303.1 innings. Reporting to spring training on time in 1906 he produced a 23-17 tally with a 2.96 ERA and 152 strikeouts over 325 innings pitched. Threatening to retire in 1907 to tend to his business interests that included a farm and a sawmill, Chesbro joined the Highlanders two weeks into the season and had a disappointing 10-10 record with a 2.53 ERA, while pitching 206 innings and striking out 78 batters. His 1908 tally with the last-place Highlanders was 14-20 with a 2.93 ERA, 288.2 innings pitched, and 124 strikeouts. Appearing in only nine games with a 0-4 mark in 1909, he was waived by the Highlanders in September and made one appearance with the Red Sox, which was a loss and effectively marked the end of his major league career. Unwanted by either club in 1910, and refusing an assignment to the minors, he stayed home in Massachusetts and pitched for a semipro team. For his major league career, Chesbro produced a 198-132 record and a 2.68 ERA with 260 complete games, 35 shutouts, and 1265 strikeouts over 2896.2 innings. With the Highlanders he was 128-93 with a 2.58 ERA, 168 complete games, 18 shutouts, and 913 strikeouts in 1952 innings pitched. His impressive 1904 performance was his best despite the disappointing ending. He coached at Massachusetts Agricultural College (now the University of Massachusetts) in 1911 and attempted a comeback as a major league pitcher in 1912 but was unable to catch on with a team. His last job in organized baseball was as a coach for the Washington Senators in 1924. He died of a heart attack in 1931 at age 57, 15 years before he was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. His widow wrote articles and letters insisting that his infamous 1904 wild pitch should have been ruled a passed ball, to no avail.

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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.