Highlighted Year: Charlie “Togie” Pittinger, 1902

Pitcher, Boston Beaneaters

Age: 30

3^rd season with Beaneaters

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 175 

Prior to 1902:

A native of Greencastle, Pennsylvania, Charles Pittinger played semipro baseball where he demonstrated an outstanding fastball in addition to bouts of wildness. He also developed an effective curve. In 1895 he pitched in the Cumberland Valley League with Martinsburg and Carlisle. Signing with Roanoke of the Virginia League in 1896 he was released after one appearance and he returned to the Cumberland Valley League with the Chambersburg Maroons where he posted a 5-7 record and 2.91 ERA with 10 complete games and 44 strikeouts over 99 innings pitched. Late in August he joined Milton of the Central Pennsylvania League where he finished out the year. Starting 1897 with a town team in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Pittinger excelled and moved on to Brockton of the New England League where he produced a 14-4 tally and 1.01 ERA with 16 complete games and 52 strikeouts over 170 innings. Signed by the Beaneaters for 1898, during spring training he was notified of his wife’s illness and went home to care for her and their daughters. Farmed out to Brockton, Pittinger went 6-0 in seven appearances and returned to Boston, where he went unused before joining a semipro team in August. Requesting that the Beaneaters trade or release him, the club turned down offers for him and he was sent to the Springfield Ponies of the Eastern League in 1899, where he compiled a 9-5 record before leaving the team for the remainder of the season due to another apparent episode of bad health on the part of his wife. He stuck with Boston in 1900 and although the pattern of family illness again caused his departure from the club, he returned in June and was sent down to Worcester of the Eastern League where he went 13-5 with 18 complete games. Returning to the Beaneaters in September he experienced difficulties and finished with a major league record of 2-9 with a 5.13 ERA. Actively shopped in the offseason, Pittinger returned to Boston in 1901 and showed improvement as he compiled a 13-16 tally for the fifth-place club with a 3.01 ERA, 27 complete games, and 129 strikeouts over 281.1 innings. Along the way he suffered a scare when hit in the head by a batted ball in a game against Brooklyn. Although he lost consciousness, he was back in action a few days later. Having received overtures from the American League, he signed a contract with the Beaneaters for 1902. Despite an imposing physique and apart from his nickname of “Togie”, he was regularly mocked in the press for his appearance and called “Horse Face” and “Dog Face”.

1902 Season Summary

Appeared in 46 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 46 [2]

Games Started – 40 [2]

Complete Games – 36 [2]

Wins – 27 [2, tied with Vic Willis]

Losses – 16 [8, tied with Bill Phillips, Pop Williams & Henry Thielman]

PCT - .628 [9]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 7 [4]

Innings Pitched – 389.1 [2]

Hits – 360 [2]

Runs – 139 [4]

Earned Runs – 109 [2]

Home Runs – 4 [3, tied with Frank Kitson, Mal Eason & Luther Taylor]

Bases on Balls – 128 [1]

Strikeouts – 174 [3]

ERA – 2.52 [17]

Hit Batters – 16 [3]

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 6 [10, tied with four others]

League-leading bases on balls issued were +17 ahead of runner-up Bill Donovan

Midseason Snapshot: 11-8, ERA - 3.15, SO - 78 in 168.1 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 9 (in 9 IP) vs. St. Louis Cardinals 9/10

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) vs. Pittsburgh 6/14

Batting

PA – 153, AB – 147, R – 6, H – 20, 2B – 1, 3B – 1, HR – 0, RBI – 10, BB – 1, SO – 56, SB – 0, CS – N/A, AVG - .136, GDP – N/A, HBP – 1, SH – 4, SF – N/A

Fielding

Chances – 109

Put Outs – 20

Assists – 83

Errors – 6

DP – 2

Pct. - .945

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The Beaneaters (aka Nationals) went 73-64 to finish third in the NL, 30.5 games behind the pennant-winning Pittsburgh Pirates. The pitching staff led the league in saves (4, tied with St. Louis Cardinals) & bases on balls issued (372). The slow-starting Beaneaters finished May in fourth place at 15-19 before rallying in June and July to advance to third at 42-37. A lesser performance in August and September, during which Pittinger went 7-7, locked the club into its third-place finish.

Aftermath of 1902:

Strongly pursued by American League clubs during the 1902 season, Pittinger signed a two-year contract with the Beaneaters at $4000 per year. Prior to 1903 spring training, he injured his arm while practicing with the Dickinson College baseball team and went on to post a disappointing 18-22 record and 3.48 ERA with 35 complete games, 3 shutouts, and 140 strikeouts over 351.2 innings while also leading the league with his 22 losses and in hits allowed (396), home runs allowed (12), and walks issued (143), while also unleashing 14 wild pitches. Furthermore, off the field in a family tragedy, Pittinger’s oldest daughter died. With the Beaneaters disappointed in Pittinger’s pitching performance, he returned in 1904 and had a marginally better season as he compiled a 15-21 tally and 2.66 ERA with 35 complete games, 5 shutouts, and 146 strikeouts over 335.1 innings although he still topped the circuit in walks issued (144). In the offseason, his relationship with the Beaneaters having soured beyond repair, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. On the field with the Phillies in 1905, Pittinger had a fine season, tying for the most pitching appearances in the NL with 46 and posting a 23-14 record with a 3.09 ERA, 29 complete games, 4 shutouts, and 136 strikeouts over 337.1 innings. Off the field there was another tragedy as his wife died from a heart ailment. He held out in 1906 and missed spring training and further lost time due to health problems on his way to a disappointing 8-10 tally and 3.40 ERA in only 20 appearances. Initially refusing to sign with the Phillies for 1907, Pittinger threatened to jump to the Tri-State League but finally reported to the Phillies and went 9-5 with a 3.00 ERA until the effects of diabetes caused him to leave the club and ended his career at age 35.For his major league career he produced a 115-113 record with a 3.10 ERA, 187 complete games, 23 shutouts, and 832 strikeouts and 734 walks over 2040.2 innings. With Boston he went 75-84 with a 3.08 ERA, 141 complete games, 16 shutouts, and 616 strikeouts and 545 walks over 1471.2 innings. Following his playing career he operated a restaurant and grocery store in Carlisle, Pennsylvnia prior to his death from the effects of diabetes in 1909 at age 37, his short life having been mired in tragedy and controversy. 

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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.