Born To Pitch: A Journeyman Hurler's Link To Immortals Cobb and Ruth

Ed Wells was certain of two things.

He knew, in his words, “I was born to pitch.”

Moreover, that he had no desire to farm for a living.

Wells was very likely the last living soul to have a playing connection with two of baseball’s principal luminaries.

As a farm boy living in rural Ashland, Ohio, Ed read about Ty Cobb’s slashing style on big league diamonds and was hooked. Cobb, considered surly by most involved in baseball, became Wells boyhood idol.

After his playing days, Wells spoke approvingly of the Georgia Peach.

“I never saw any of that in Cobb. He was always great to me.”

After completing his sophomore year at Bethany College in West Virginia, Wells signed a professional contract with

the Detroit Tigers. The deal permitted Wells to attend classes and play ball during the summer months.

He spent the 1922 season with Class A Ludington, Michigan, compiling a 13-10 mark and a tidy 1.93 ERA.

Detroit brought Wells up to Detroit in early June of 1923. He arrived by train around breakfast time early one

morning and headed directly to the hotel where Cobb and many of the players were staying. Wells said it

never occurred to him that others might not be early-risers like himself, a habit from his childhood days on the farm.

He went directly to Cobb’s room and knocked.

The sleepy Tiger manager opened the door to find a wide-eyed young rookie staring at his idol.

Said Wells later, “I didn’t realize ballplayers slept late and Cobb could have been furious with me

for waking him up. But he wasn’t.” He seemed “amused” by the fresh-faced kid from Ohio and “was as gracious

and polite as he could be.”

Wells’ major league debut occurred on June 12, 1923 and he continued to pitch for Detroit until late

in the 1927 season.

His best year was 1926.

Wells tied for the American League lead in shutouts that season with four and rang up 33 consecutive scoreless innings.

During the Detroit years, Ed cultivated a bond with his adult hero, the Yankees’ Babe Ruth.

Ed knew how to get Ruth out, a feat that many others could rarely achieve.

Wells recollects that he probably pitched to Ruth over 300 times and never allowed Ruth a home run.

His strategy? “I threw him nothing.” Nothing?

“In my first time to pitch to Babe, my catcher Johnny Bassler, came to the mound and asked me,

‘What are you going to throw him?’ ‘And I said, nothing.’

Wells later confided that it was a pitch he called a “nothing ball”. In reality, it was a tantalizingly slow curve ball that Ruth and other players had difficulty timing because Wells mixed it between his very good fastball and another type of slow-breaking curve ball that he threw.

Wells, with a sagging record, was assigned to Birmingham (AL) of the AAA Southern League before the season’s end in 1927 to develop another pitch to complement his fastball.

At Birmingham, he was remarkable. For the remainder of 1927 he appeared in 15 games with the Barons and chalked up a 13-1 won-loss record and a natty 2.39 ERA.

The 1928 season with Birmingham was equally impressive. While Wells worked in relative obscurity with the AAA Barons, Ruth was compiling his once-record home run season. Ruth finished the year with 60.

Wells wrote his name in the Birmingham record book with a 25-7 record in 38 appearances and a glitzy 2.78 ERA.

That season landed him on the all-time Barons team as the left-handed pitcher.

Wells’1928 season also attracted the notice of the Yankees and of Ruth, who had enjoyed little success against Wells.

The next installment will focus on Wells, Ruth and the Yankees.