Pitcher, Chicago
Orphans
Age: 30
7th season
with Colts/Orphans
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’6” Weight: 156
Prior to 1900:
Born in a Missouri
log cabin, Griffith was a sickly youth in a farming family who first learned
about baseball from Civil War veterans. Small and unhealthy, he acted as a
mascot and water boy for the local town team. Moving with his family to
Illinois at age 12, he was considered too small for his high school team and
played in local pickup games as a catcher and pitcher. In 1887 he joined the nearby
Bloomington Reds as a pitcher. In an 1888 exhibition game against Milwaukee of
the Western Association, his pitching performance impressed the Milwaukee
manager and he signed a contract for $225 per month. The 18-year-old hurler
produced a 12-12 record for Milwaukee in 1888 with a 2.45 ERA and 125
strikeouts in 228 innings pitched. In 1889 his tally improved to 23-18 with 34
complete games, a 3.81 ERA, and 214 strikeouts. In 1891 he was lured into the
American Association, which was a major league at the time, and was 11-8 with
St. Louis until a sore arm led to his release in July. He was picked up by the
Boston Reds late in the season and found himself out of work when the league
disbanded. He headed west to play minor league ball in 1892 and ’93 and joined
the National League with the then-Chicago Colts late in the 1893 season. He
developed into a star, posting a 21-14 mark in 1894 and improving to 26-14 with
a 3.93 ERA in 1895. Lacking a powerful fastball, Griffith got by on control, as
he commanded a variety of breaking balls. He also utilized trick pitches like a
scuff ball, often ostentatiously scratching the ball against his spikes, which
was not illegal at the time, but caused one opposing team to bill him for the
cost of eleven damaged baseballs. He was also adept at quick-pitching batters,
not always allowing a hitter to get set prior to throwing the first strike.
Wily and crafty on the mound, he tried to outwit his opponents, typically with
success. His records from 1896 through 1899 were 23-11, 21-18, 24-10, and
22-14. He led the NL with 38 complete games in 1897, and with a 1.88 ERA in
1898. By 1898 the team was known as the Orphans, following the departure of
long-time player and manager Cap Anson, and was no longer as successful.
Griffith went 22-14 with a 2.79 ERA for the eighth-place Orphans in 1899.
1900 Season Summary
Appeared in 30
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 30
Games Started –
30 [13, tied with Frank Kitson & Al Orth]
Complete Games
– 27 [12]
Wins – 14 [18,
tied with Al Orth]
Losses – 13 [18,
tied with six others]
PCT - .519 [14]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 4 [1,
tied with Cy Young, Kid Nichols & Noodles Hahn]
Innings Pitched
– 248 [15]
Hits – 245
Runs – 126
Earned Runs – 84
Home Runs – 6 [16,
tied with Red Donahue]
Bases on Balls
– 51
Strikeouts – 61
[19]
ERA – 3.05 [9]
Hit Batters – 16
[9, tied with Wiley Piatt]
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 5
[19, tied with Cowboy Jones, Jack Dunn & Jim Hughey]
Batting
PA – 104, AB – 95,
R – 16, H – 24, 2B – 4, 3B – 1, HR – 1, RBI – 7, BB – 8, SO – 7, SB – 2, CS –
N/A, AVG - .253, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – N/A
Fielding
Chances – 72
Put Outs – 9
Assists – 57
Errors – 6
DP – 0
Pct. - .917
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The Orphans went 65-75 to finish tied for fifth with the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL, 19 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Superbas. The pitching staff led the league in complete games (137) and placed second in ERA (3.23). The good pitching, including by Griffith, was offset by weak hitting that kept the Orphans well out of contention.
Aftermath of 1900:
Griffith, who had become knowledgeable about the business side of baseball, became involved in the plans to turn the American League into a rival major league. He worked to recruit several NL players to sign with AL clubs for 1901, and he himself became player/manager of the new league’s Chicago White Sox, owned by his friend Charles Comiskey. The White Sox became the first AL pennant-winners, and Griffith contributed a 24-7 record with a 2.67 ERA, 26 complete games, and 5 shutouts. The club dropped to fourth place in 1902, although still with a winning record, and Griffith posted a 15-9 tally with a 4.18 ERA. Now nicknamed “The Old Fox” for his cleverness, he moved on as player/manager of the New York Highlanders in 1903. The future Yankees had been moved from Baltimore to New York with the hope of establishing the American League in the nation’s biggest market. In his last season as a full-time pitcher, Griffith went 14-11 with a 2.70 ERA as the Highlanders finished fourth with a 72-62 record. New York strongly contended in 1904 and, pitching in 16 games (11 of them starts) “The Old Fox” compiled a 7-5 mark with a 2.87 ERA. Inserting himself primarily as a reliever in 1905 and ’06, Griffith produced records of 9-6 and 2-2, with ERAs of 1.68 and 3.02. He resigned as manager during the 1908 season, unhappy with his team’s performance and his treatment by the club’s ownership (which led to lasting animosity toward the renamed Yankees in later years). Much sought to manage other teams, he chose to return to the National League with the Cincinnati Reds in 1909. Following a disappointing tenure in Cincinnati, Griffith returned to the American League as manager of the Washington Senators in 1912. Adept at developing new talent, he guided the revamped Senators to a surprising second-place finish. In his first few years as manager, Griffith purchased a 10% interest in the team for $27,000. Making a pitching appearance a year from 1912 to 1914, he ended his role as a playing manager permanently in the latter year. For his major league pitching career, he produced a 237-146 record with a 3.31 ERA, 337 complete games, 22 shutouts, and 955 strikeouts in 3385.2 innings. With Chicago in the NL his tally was 152-96 with a 3.40 ERA, 240 complete games, 9 shutouts, and 573 strikeouts in 2188.2 innings. He continued to manage the Senators through 1920, when, in partnership with William M. Richardson, he purchased 80% of the team’s stock. As a manager his record was 1491-1367 with one pennant. The Senators won AL pennants in 1924, ’25, and 1933 including a World Series title in 1924. He became known as a shrewd talent evaluator, who pioneered in the signing of Cuban players, and who was resourceful, stubborn, and outspoken. Griffith was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. His adopted son, Calvin, took over as the team’s owner following Griffith’s death in 1955 at age 85, and moved the franchise to Minnesota in 1961. He retained ownership of the Twins until 1984.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10),
runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20), pitching wins,
strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10), or have been
participants in the annual All-Star Games between the National and American
Leagues since 1933. This category will also include Misc. players who received
award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had
notable seasons in non-award years.
