Highlighted Year: George Mullin, 1905

Pitcher, Detroit Tigers

Age:  25 (July 4)

4^th season with Tigers

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 188 

Prior to 1905:

A native of Toledo, Ohio, Mullin played semipro baseball in Wabash and South Bend, Indiana prior to signing with the Fort Wayne Railroaders of the Western Association in 1901. He produced a 21-20 record and 3.48 ERA. Strong and solidly built he joined the Tigers in 1902. He quickly established himself in Detroit’s pitching staff by compiling a 13-16 tally and 3.67 ERA with 25 complete games and 78 strikeouts over 260 innings pitched. He also batted .325 with 11 RBIs, proving to be a good pitcher who was a capable hitter. In 1903 he produced a 19-15 tally and 2.25 ERA while compiling 31 complete games and striking out 170 batters while issuing a league-leading 106 walks. Nicknamed “Big George” for his build, Mullin threw an excellent fastball and effective curve. Also known as “Wabash George” for the Indiana city that became his home, he followed up on his 1903 performance with a lesser won-lost record of 17-23 as the Tigers dropped to seventh place in 1904, although his ERA was a solid 2.40 and the workhorse pitcher accumulated 382.1 innings with 42 complete games, 7 shutouts, and 161 strikeouts, although he again topped the league by walking 131 batters. “Big George” was a canny hurler who utilized a number of stalling and distracting tactics such as walking off the mound, adjusting his belt, and talking to himself and opposing batters and fans (especially those who heckled him) in order to distract hitters.  

1905 Season Summary

Appeared in 47 games

P – 44, PH – 3, LF – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 44 [2]

Games Started – 41 [1, tied with Eddie Plank]

Complete Games – 35 [1, tied with Eddie Plank & Harry Howell]

Wins – 21 [6, tied with Frank Owen]

Losses – 21 [3, tied with Casey Patten]

PCT - .500 [17, tied with Earl Moore & Barney Pelty]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 1

Innings Pitched – 347.2 [1]

Hits – 303 [1]

Runs – 149 [1]

Earned Runs – 97 [3, tied with Al Orth]

Home Runs – 4 [13, tied with four others]

Bases on Balls – 138 [1]

Strikeouts – 168 [6]

ERA – 2.51 [15]

Hit Batters – 8

Balks – 1 [3, tied with Bill Hogg, Tom Hughes & Ed Barry

Wild Pitches – 6 [14, tied with four others]

League-leading innings pitched were +1 ahead of runner-up Eddie Plank

League-leading hits allowed were +3 ahead of runner-up Casey Patten

League-leading runs allowed were +4 ahead of runner-up Casey Patten

League-leading bases on balls issued were +31 ahead of runner-up Frank Smith

Midseason Snapshot: Midseason Snapshot: 11-13, ERA – N/A, SO - 101 in 182.1 IP

---

Most strikeouts, game – 10 (in 8 IP) at Washington 6/6

10+ strikeout games – 1

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 9 IP) vs. St. Louis Browns 5/4

Batting

PA – 150, AB – 135, R – 15, H – 35, 2B – 4, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 12, BB – 12, SO – 21, SB – 4, CS – N/A, AVG - .259, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 3, SF – N/A

Fielding

Chances – 160

Put Outs – 20

Assists – 134

Errors – 6

DP – 7

Pct. - .963

---

The Tigers went 79-74 to finish third in the AL, 15.5 games behind the pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics. The pitching staff led the league in walks (474). The Tigers, with an infusion of young talent, were in sixth place at 54-60 entering September, when a 25-14 surge to finish out the season lifted them into third place. Mullin won eight of his last ten decisions to contribute to the strong performance.

Aftermath of 1905:

Mullin topped the American League in walks issued for the fourth consecutive season in 1906 while posting a 21-18 tally and 2.78 ERA with 35 complete games, 2 shutouts, and 123 strikeouts over 330 innings. The Tigers won the pennant in 1907 and “Big George” contributed a 20-20 record and 2.59 ERA with 35 complete games, 5 shutouts, and 146 strikeouts over 357.1 innings. He lost both of his World Series starts against the Chicago Cubs despite going the distance in each with a 2.12 ERA (he lost Game 2 by a score of 3-1 and the decisive Game 5 by 2-0). Mullin had a lesser season in 1908, producing a 17-13 tally and 3.10 ERA with 26 complete games, one shutout, and 121 strikeouts over 290.2 innings. Detroit again won the pennant and lost to the Cubs, with “Big George” delivering the only win for the Tigers in his Game 3 start. Mullin won his first 11 decisions in 1909 on his way to a 29-8 record and 2.22 ERA with 29 complete games, 3 shutouts, and 124 strikeouts over 303.2 innings. The Tigers won a third straight pennant but once again lost the World Series, this time to Pittsburgh, and Mullin went 2-1 with a 2.53 ERA, winning Games 4 and 6. Brought into Game 7 in relief, he was unable to stop the Pirates from winning the game and Series. In 1910 he went 21-12 with a 2.87 ERA, 27 complete games, 5 shutouts, and 98 strikeouts over 289 innings. His 1911 performance was a still-solid 18-10 with a 3.07 ERA and 87 strikeouts over 234.1 innings. Dapper and jovial, he was also poor at maintaining his weight and staying in condition, Mullin ran into problems with Detroit management in 1912. Waived by the club in June, he went unclaimed and was reactivated. On his 32^nd birthday on July 4, he proved he wasn’t finished by hurling a no-hitter at home against the St. Louis Browns. He went on to finish the season with a 12-17 record and 3.54 ERA. A 1-6 start in 1913 led to his being sold to the Washington Senators in May where his performance remained mediocre. He finished the season with Montreal of the International League and jumped to the upstart Federal League in 1914 where he was 14-10 with a 2.70 ERA for Indianapolis. He stayed in the Federal League in 1915 with Newark, lasting for only 5 games. Thereafter he pitched and managed for semipro teams until 1919. For his major league career, Mullin produced a 228-196 record and 2.82 ERA with 353 complete games, 35 shutouts, 8 saves, and 1482 strikeouts over 3686.2 innings. With Detroit his record was 209-179 with a 2.76 ERA, 336 complete games, 34 shutouts, 6 saves, and 1380 strikeouts over 3394 innings. “Big George” appeared in 7 World Series games, 6 of them starts, and posted a 3-3 tally and 2.02 ERA, 6 complete games, and 35 strikeouts over 58 innings. The good-hitting hurler also batted .262 for his career with 139 RBIs. Following baseball he became a policeman back home in Wabash and died in 1944 at age 63. He was posthumously inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1962.  

---

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.