Highlighted Year: Charlie “Deacon” Phillippe, 1900

Pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates

Age:  28 (May 23)

1^st season with Pirates

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 180 

Prior to 1900:

A native of Virginia, Charles Louis Phillippe (pronounced FIL-uh-pee) moved to the Dakota Territory with his family at age three and learned to play baseball in what is now South Dakota. He played semi-professional baseball there until 1896 when he joined a pro club in Mankato, Minnesota. Catching on with the Minneapolis Millers of the Western League in 1897, he posted a 7-12 record with a 3.42 ERA. In 1898 he improved to 22-18 with 37 complete games and 99 strikeouts over 363 innings pitched. Phillippe was drafted by the NL’s Louisville Colonels in 1899 and threw a no-hitter against the New York Giants in his seventh major league pitching appearance. He went on to a 21-17 record with a 3.17 ERA, 33 complete games, and 68 strikeouts over 321 innings pitched. With the contraction of the league to eight teams for 1900, Louisville was dropped and Phillippe joined the Pirates along with several of his teammates.

1900 Season Summary

Appeared in 38 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 38 [11, tied with Jack Powell]

Games Started – 33 [11]

Complete Games – 29 [8, tied with Noodles Hahn & Bert Jones]

Wins – 20 [2, tied with four others]

Losses – 13 [18, tied with six others]

PCT - .606 [4, tied with Bill Kennedy]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 1

Innings Pitched – 279 [12]

Hits – 274 [17]

Runs – 127

Earned Runs – 88

Home Runs – 7 [10, tied with five others]

Bases on Balls – 42

Strikeouts – 75 [13, tied with Bill Kennedy]

ERA – 2.84 [5]

Hit Batters – 7

Balks – 1 [4, tied with nine others]

Wild Pitches – 7 [11, tied with four others]

Batting

PA – 114, AB – 105, R – 7, H – 19, 2B – 3, 3B – 1, HR – 0, RBI – 7, BB – 1, SO – 16, SB – 0, CS – N/A, AVG - .181, GDP – N/A, HBP – 4, SH – 4, SF – N/A

Fielding

Chances – 69

Put Outs – 9

Assists – 57

Errors – 3

DP – 1

Pct. - .957

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The Pirates went 79-60 to finish second in the NL, 4.5 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Superbas. The pitching staff led the league in ERA (3.06), strikeouts (415), fewest hits allowed (1232), fewest runs allowed (612), and fewest walks allowed (295). With the addition of key players from the defunct Louisville franchise, including Phillippe, the Pirates started slowly in April but caught fire in May and entered June at 20-16, in second place. June was a rougher month, featuring a season-high 7-game losing streak. They bounced between second and third through July and August, settling into second place to stay on August 7.

Aftermath of 1900:

Phillippe, known as Charlie to his friends, quickly acquired the nickname “Deacon” due to his quiet nature, modesty, and clean living. Although not a clergyman he did direct a church choir during the offseason. Highly disciplined on the mound as well as in his life, he rarely issued walks while throwing his fastballs and curves with outstanding control. In 1901 the Pirates won the NL pennant and Phillippe posted a 22-12 tally with a 2.22 ERA, 30 complete games, and 103 strikeouts while accumulating 296 innings pitched and walking only 38 batters. Pittsburgh topped the NL again in 1902 by a whopping 27.5 games and among the club’s three 20-game winners, Phillippe contributed a 20-9 record with a 2.05 ERA, 29 complete games, 5 shutouts, 122 strikeouts, and just 26 walks in 272 innings pitched. He preferred to be matched against the opposing team’s best pitcher and would pitch out of turn to do so. The Pirates won a third straight pennant in 1903 and Phillippe went 25-9 with a 2.43 ERA, 31 complete games, 4 shutouts, and over 289.1 innings struck out 123 batters and walked 29. Matched against the AL’s Boston Americans (now Red Sox) in the first modern World Series, Phillippe won Game 1 while going head-to-head against Boston ace Cy Young. He won the third and fourth games while losing the last two in the best-of-nine Series won by Boston. He was 3-2 overall in the World Series with a 3.07 ERA and 22 strikeouts over 44 innings that included five complete games. Dealing with an illness in 1904, his record dropped to 10-10 with a 3.24 ERA and 166.2 innings pitched. The Pirates finished in fourth place. Bouncing back in 1905, Phillippe was 20-13 with a 2.19 ERA, 25 complete games, 5 shutouts, and 48 walks and 133 strikeouts in 279 innings pitched. He began to suffer from a sore arm in 1906 which limited him to 218.2 innings and he produced a 15-10 tally with a 2.47 ERA and 90 strikeouts. Seeing more action out of the bullpen in 1907, 9 of his 35 appearances came as a reliever and he remained effective, going 14-11 with a 2.61 ERA. Shoulder soreness and a broken finger limited Phillippe to only five appearances in 1908 but he returned in 1909 as a 37-year-old spot starter and reliever as the Pirates returned to the top of the NL. His record was 8-3 with a 2.32 ERA and he relieved twice in the World Series victory over Detroit. Primarily a reliever in 1910, he pitched in 31 games and went 14-2 with a 2.29 ERA. Along the way the .189 career hitter hit an inside-the-park grand slam. Ineffective in three appearances in 1911, he quit the Pirates but returned as player/manager of the Pittsburgh club in the independent United States League in 1912. He finished his baseball career in 1913 as player/manager of the Pittsburgh Filipinos of the Federal League. For his major league career Phillippe compiled a 189-109 record with a 2.59 ERA, 242 complete games, 27 shutouts, 12 saves, and 929 strikeouts in 2607 innings pitched. He walked only 363 batters to average just 1.25 walks per nine innings. With the Pirates he went 168-92 with 209 complete games, 25 shutouts, 11 saves, and 861 strikeouts over 2286 innings. He was a 20-game winner six times. Appearing in 7 World Series games, he went 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA, 5 complete games, and 24 strikeouts over 50 innings. After his playing career, Phillippe worked in a steel mill, ran a cigar store, scouted for the Pirates, and worked for the county parks department. He died in 1952 at age 79. In a 1969 vote, he was chosen as the greatest right-handed pitcher in Pittsburgh Pirates history.

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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.