Pitcher, Pittsburgh
Pirates
Age: 23
1st season
with Pirates
Bats – Right,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’1” Weight: 196
Prior to 1900:
A native of
Bradford County, Pennsylvania, Eddie Waddell’s father worked in the oil fields of that area (and
was not a farmer, as legend would have it). While many legends grew over the
years relating to his origins, he began to develop a reputation as a teenager
for his pitching prowess from the sandlots to area semipro teams where he
picked up the nickname “Rube”, due to the presumption that the powerfully built,
and largely unschooled, youngster was a
country hick (he originally disliked the nickname but came to embrace it).
Given a tryout with the Pirates in 1897, he was released after the manager
heard his manner of speech during a team meal. Signed instead by the NL’s
Louisville Colonels, it was quickly determined that he needed minor league experience,
and he was sent to Detroit of the Western League where he posted a 4-4 record
prior to quitting the club due to a dispute over a fine, thus establishing a
reputation for quickly wearing out his welcome with his teams. He then went to
Canada and pitched for a club in Chatham, Ontario before returning to
Pennsylvania and finishing the year with a team in Homestead. He spent 1899
with Columbus in the Western League and produced a 26-8 tally. With Louisville
dropped from the NL in 1900, Waddell was sent to the Pirates where he ran afoul
of strict player/manager Fred Clarke with his free-spirited ways and was
suspended in July. Playing semipro ball in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, he was
approached by Connie Mack, who was managing Milwaukee of the not-yet-major
American League. With Pittsburgh’s permission, he signed Waddell under the
stipulation that the Pirates could recall him at will, which they did after he
performed extremely well over a month’s period in Milwaukee. Waddell went on to
complete the season with Pittsburgh.
1900 Season Summary
Appeared in 29 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 29
Games Started –
22
Complete Games
– 16
Wins – 8
Losses – 13 [18,
tied with six others]
PCT - .381
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 2 [10,
tied with eleven others]
Innings Pitched
– 208.2
Hits – 176
Runs – 96
Earned Runs – 55
Home Runs – 3
Bases on Balls
– 55
Strikeouts – 130
[2]
ERA – 2.37 [1]
Hit Batters – 13
[13, tied with Bill Carrick, Al Orth & Bill Phillips]
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 2
League-leading
ERA was -0.04 lower than runner-up Ned Garvin
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Batting
PA – 82, AB – 81,
R – 6, H – 14, 2B – 2, 3B – 3, HR – 0, RBI – 9, BB – 0, SO – 15, SB – 1, CS – N/A,
AVG - .173, GDP – N/A, HBP – 1, SH – 0, SF – N/A
Fielding
Chances – 66
Put Outs – 12
Assists – 49
Errors – 5
DP – 1
Pct. - .924
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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, 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. Despite his time missed with the club, Waddell was still able
to lead the NL in ERA.
Aftermath of 1900:
Early in the 1901 season the Pirates sold Waddell to the Chicago Orphans (now Cubs) where he produced a 14-14 record with a 2.81 ERA, 26 complete games, and 168 strikeouts over 243.2 innings pitched. Waddell quit the losing club, played more semipro ball, and in the offseason joined a barnstorming team that traveled through California, where he became a fan favorite. In 1902 he signed with Los Angeles of the California League but was soon persuaded to join the American League’s Philadelphia Athletics, reuniting him with manager Connie Mack. Waddell produced well under the guidance of the patient Mack, and his 1902 record was 24-7 with 26 complete games and a league-leading 210 strikeouts over 276.1 innings, and as Mack carefully noted, attendance rose on days when Waddell was scheduled to start. In a July game against Baltimore, he became the first AL pitcher to strike out the side on just nine pitches. Possessor of an excellent fastball and devastating curve, Waddell had another fine season for the A’s in 1903, again leading the league in strikeouts (302) while compiling a 21-16 tally (despite a 13-3 start), 34 complete games, and 324 innings. Easily distracted and prone to missing starts to go fishing or play marbles with street kids, Waddell became famous for his antics, both on the field and off. Stories of opposing players being able to occasionally easily sidetrack him in juvenile fashion were likely pure mythology, as was the belief that he would disappear during games to chase fire engines, although he was known to assist firefighters on occasion. He played some semipro football and was seen leading parades and wrestling alligators in Florida during spring training. Catcher Osee Schrecongost, something of a wacky character in his own right, became his regular battery-mate with excellent results. Off the field, Waddell married for a second time (he had one earlier short marriage), but Mack’s hopes that marriage would stabilize Waddell proved to be in vain. He often neglected his new bride, and while the marriage lasted nearly seven years, it was very stormy. Mack even hired a detective to keep tabs on his wayward pitcher, to no avail. Suspended at one point by Mack (who handled him with noteworthy aplomb) he returned and signed a contract for 1904 in which he promised to “live up to the regular rules”. Following the season, he performed in a bit role in a theatrical melodrama which sought to take advantage of his notoriety and popularity with the public. He failed to complete the play’s run. In 1904 he lived up to his promises of better behavior and posted a 25-19 record with a 1.62 ERA, 39 complete games, 8 shutouts, 383 innings pitched, and a league-leading 349 strikeouts. He also stepped in during a game in which outfielder Danny Hoffman was knocked unconscious by a pitch and carried his injured teammate off the field, hailed a carriage, and accompanied him to a nearby hospital where he sat at Hoffman’s bedside for most of the night. 1905 was another excellent season for Waddell in which he produced a 27-10 tally to lead the AL in wins and winning percentage (.730) and he also topped the circuit in ERA (1.48), games pitched (46), and strikeouts (287) while also compiling 328.2 innings, 27 complete games, and 7 shutouts. His most significant performance was in going a full 20 innings in a matchup against Boston ace Cy Young, won by the A’s by a 4-2 score. The A’s won the pennant but Waddell didn’t pitch in the World Series loss to the New York Giants due to a shoulder injury incurred during a scuffle with a teammate over a straw hat (rumors arose that gamblers had persuaded him to sit out the Series). Waddell’s record dropped to 15-17 in 1906 with a 2.21 ERA and he still led the AL in strikeouts with 196. His drinking became more problematic during the season. Waddell rebounded in 1907 to 19-13 with a 2.15 ERA and he led the AL in strikeouts for the sixth consecutive season with 232. It would prove to be his last season of topping the league in strikeouts. It was also his last year with the Athletics. Mack dealt him to the St. Louis Browns (now Baltimore Orioles) “in the interest of team harmony”. He had a solid season with the Browns in 1908, going 19-14 with a 1.89 ERA and 232 strikeouts over 285.2 innings. Waddell’s performance dropped off in 1909 to 11-14 with a 2.37 ERA, 16 complete games, and 141 strikeouts over 220.1 innings. He appeared in only 10 games with the Browns in 1910 before being released in August. He finished the season pitching for Newark in the Eastern League. Catching on with the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association in 1911, he produced a 20-17 tally with a 2.79 ERA but his performance dropped off thereafter and his playing career came to an end in 1913. For his major league career, Waddell compiled a 193-143 record with a 2.16 ERA, 261 complete games, 50 shutouts, and 2316 strikeouts over 2961.1 innings. In his brief period with the Pirates he produced an 8-15 record with a 2.62 ERA, 16 complete games, 2 shutouts, and 134 strikeouts over 216.1 innings. He missed his only opportunity to pitch in the World Series in 1905. Waddell contracted tuberculosis and died at age 37 in 1914. While confined to a sanitarium in San Antonio, Connie Mack and A’s ownership partner Ben Shibe paid for his medical care. As Mack summed up, “he was the greatest pitcher in the game, and although widely known for his eccentricities, was more sinned against than sinner. He may have failed us at times but to him, I and the other owners of the Athletics ball club, owe much.” Rube Waddell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946 in recognition of his power pitching prowess that was remarkable for his era.
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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 will also include
Misc. players who don’t otherwise qualify but received MVP votes or were
contributors to teams that reached the postseason.
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