Cicotte, Johnson, Walsh, Wood? Ten Best Starting Pitchers From the 1910s

The 1910s decade is interesting to write about because it is the single best decade in the history of Major League Baseball for starting pitcher numbers, other than the 1870s and the first decade of the 1900s.  

There were 69 starting pitchers from the 1910s who pitched in at least 200 games.

If a player does not appear on the list of the 69 eligible players list, then they either didn’t reach 200 games or I consider them a pitcher from the first decade of the 1900s or the decade of the 1920s. The 1920s will be covered in a separate article, and I just wrote an article on the 10 best pitchers from the first decade of the 1900s.

Pitchers will only be in one decade. For example, Walter Johnson will appear in this article. So, he will not appear in my 1920s article, which I will write at a later date; and, of course, he did not appear in my article on the first decade of the 1900s.

An Explanation of the Stats

The statistics used will be Games Pitched, Games Started, Innings Pitched, ERA, ERA+, W, W%+, H/9 (OBA), WHIP (OOB%), SHO, SHO/40 (per 40 games started), K and K/BB (ratio). I will also letter-grade their length of career.

First, I will include their raw career numbers. These are simply their career numbers.

Second, I will include their adjusted career numbers, if they had a long career (which most have).

Adjusted career is this: Let’s take Wilbur Cooper, for example. Cooper is a starting pitcher from the 1910s that had a long career. So in order to find his real numbers, I have to exclude some late seasons during his career to find the numbers that he really carried during his career, since he pitched past his prime.

With Cooper, I’d exclude his last two seasons. That is his adjusted career. Again, this can only be done with long career players. If I don’t list an adjusted career under a player’s raw career numbers, then it means they didn’t play long enough to adjust for their long career or it means they didn’t have any bad seasons.

Third, I will include peak career numbers. Many like short peaks, not me. I include the best seasons equaling at least 200 games for a peak. It takes away the possibility of a pitcher having one or two lucky seasons. The 200-game peak will let us know how good the pitcher was at his best.

Note: W%+ is a statistic that I have invented. It takes the team's winning percentage into account. It is very complicated as different weights are applied to seasons depending on how many games and innings pitched a pitcher accumulated during a single season. Having said that, here’s the simple version.

If a starting pitcher has a career .500 W% during the 2000s and that pitcher pitched for the Yankees. Well, .500 is not good. But, if that pitcher pitched for the Royals, then .500 is good. This is the reasoning behind W%+. It is to W% what ERA is to ERA+. It’s not foolproof, but neither is ERA+, just another piece of the puzzle and far, far more important than raw W%.

The 69 Starting Pitchers

Here are the 69 starting pitchers from the 1910s that reached at least 200 games (listed in alphabetical order): Babe Adams, Red Ames, Jim Bagby, Bill Bailey, Fred Beebe, Chief Bender, Rube Benton, Joe Benz, Bernie Boland, Ray Caldwell, Larry Cheney, Eddie Cicotte, Jack Coombs, Wilbur Cooper, Hooks Dauss, Dave Davenport, Dixie Davis, Al Demaree, Phil Douglas, Jean Dubuc, Cy Falkenberg, Ray Fisher, Art Fromme, Bert Gallia, Vean Gregg, Bob Groom, Earl Hamilton, Bob Harmon, Harry Harper, Claude Hendrix, Bill James, Walter Johnson, Elmer Knetzer, Jimmy Lavender, Lefty Leifield, Dutch Leonard, Al Mamaux, Rube Marquard, Erskine Mayer, George McQuillan, Willie Mitchell, George Mogridge, Guy Morton, Gene Packard, Pol Perritt, Jeff Pfeffer, Pat Ragan, Ed Reulbach, Nap Rucker, Dick Rudolph, Reb Russell, Slim Sallee, Pete Schneider, Ferdie Schupp, Jim Scott, Tom Seaton, Jim Shaw, Sherry Smith, George Suggs, Jeff Tesreau, Fred Toney, Lefty Tyler, Hippo Vaughn, Ed Walsh, Jack Warhop, Carl Weilman, Kaiser Wilhelm, Ed Willett, and Smoky Joe Wood.

The Top 10

10. Nap Rucker (1907-1916)

Career Length Grade: D+

Raw Career: 336 G, 272 GS, 2,375.1 IP, 2.42 ERA, 119 ERA+, 134 W, 118 W%+, 7.9 H/9, 1.18 WHIP, 38 SHO, 5.6 SHO/40, 1,217 K, and 1.7 K/BB

Peak Career: 200 G, 158 GS, 1,403 IP, 2.42 ERA, 125 ERA+, 81 W, 119 W%+, 7.9 H/9, 1.17 WHIP, 24 SHO, 6.0 SHO/40, 741 K and 1.8 K/BB (exclude his 1907, 1908, 1913, and 1914 seasons)

His teams were horrible and, basically, the laughing stock of the league during most of his career. They were good during his last two seasons and actually made it to the World Series during his last season in 1916. But other than those last two seasons, they were horrid.

In fact, they usually carried a .415-.435 winning percentage. That’s why his .500 career W% is actually great when you consider how bad his teams were. It’s why his W%+ is great, even though his raw W% is just mediocre; and players like Rucker are why I invented the stat, W%+.

By the way, that 1916 World Series, Rucker did pitch two scoreless innings during that World Series to finish out his career. It was his last season.

Rucker had a large assortment of pitches in his arsenal that kept hitters off balance. His arsenal included a fastball, curveball, and a knuckleball, among others.

He is actually brought up on many historians' short lists of the best knuckleballs in the history of Major League Baseball.

“Nap Rucker was easily the greatest slow ball pitcher that I have ever seen. He relied on that tantalizing floater almost solely in critical moments…He used a sailer that seemed to hang in the air as if he had tied a string to it. Many a batter almost broke his back swinging at that ball before it got to him.”— John McGraw, HOF third baseman/manager, about 10 years after Rucker retired

His knuckleball and other arsenal of pitches helped him lead the League in SHO twice during his career; and in a career that only saw him start just over 270 games, he recorded almost 40 SHO by the time he was through.

There are certainly two or three players on the "Honorable Mentions" list that have good arguments to take this 10th and final spot from Rucker. But his overall numbers get him this spot, even with his slightly below-average length of career.

9. Wilbur Cooper (1912-1926)

Career Length Grade: B+

Raw Career: 517 G, 408 GS, 3,480 IP, 2.89 ERA, 116 ERA+, 216 W, 110 W%+, 8.8 H/9, 1.23 WHIP, 35 SHO, 3.4 SHO/40, 1,252 K, and 1.5 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 469 G, 371 GS, 3,199 IP, 2.74 ERA, 120 ERA+, 202 W, 111 W%+, 8.6 H/9, 1.20 WHIP, 33 SHO, 3.5 SHO/40, 1,191 K, and 1.6 K/BB (exclude his last two seasons)

Peak Career: 211 G, 164 GS, 1,445.2 IP, 2.34 ERA, 134 ERA+, 97 W, 119 W%+, 8.2 H/9, 1.15 WHIP, 13 SHO, 3.2 SHO/40, 603 K, and 1.7 K/BB (include his 1912, 1914, 1916, 1918, 1920, and 1922 seasons)

Some pitchers from the dead ball era had trouble when the live ball era began, but Cooper was every bit as good in the 1920s as he was in the 1910s. In fact, he won at least 20 games during four of the first five seasons of the 1920s, leading the league one season.

By the time his career was through, he had recorded over 215 wins.

He also led the League in SHO during his career and recorded 35 SHO by the end of his career.

Cooper still remains one of the 20 best left-handed starting pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball.

He also easily remains one of the 20 best starting pitchers in the history of MLB that is not in the HOF, righty or lefty.

He was the real deal, and had the longest career of any pitcher in this top 10, other than Walter Johnson.

8. Hippo Vaughn (1908-1921)

Career Length Grade: C

Raw Career: 390 G, 331 GS, 2,730 IP, 2.49 ERA, 120 ERA+, 178 W, 113 W%+, 8.1 H/9, 1.20 WHIP, 41 SHO, 4.9 SHO/40, 1,416 K, and 1.7 K/BB

Peak Career: 237 G, 209 GS, 1,758 IP, 1.92 ERA, 147 ERA+, 122 W, 116 W%+, 7.5 H/9, 1.11 WHIP, 32 SHO, 6.2 SHO/40, 936 K, and 1.9 K/BB (exclude his 1908, 1911, 1912, 1915, 1920, and 1921 seasons)

He began pitching in Major League Baseball as a teenager during the 1908 season.

He won at least 20 games during five of the last six seasons of the 1910s, from 1914-1919, and led the league once in wins during that streak.

He also led the league in Ks twice and, at one time or another during his career, he led the league in ERA, SHO, ERA+, WHIP, and H/9.

His peak actually includes seven of the 13 seasons of his career and he posted a 1.92 ERA during those seven seasons.

Vaughn had an average length of career while Cooper (in the No. 9 spot) had a long one, but Vaughn gets this spot ahead of Cooper because his numbers are simply better. In fact, Vaughn has a better ERA, ERA+, W%+, H/9, WHIP, SHO, SHO/40, K, and K/BB. That’s nine categories that we consider to be of great importance and Vaughn is better than Cooper in all nine of them. Cooper, not in a one.

Some respected historians will have Cooper ahead of Vaughn, even though Vaughn has better numbers than Cooper in all nine of those categories.

They likely do this because Cooper had a longer career and he pitched more seasons in the miserable 1920s than Vaughn. These two things do need to be adjusted for, and it does help narrow the gap.

But it doesn’t wipe out the fact that Vaughn was better in those nine categories. In other words, it narrows the gap, but it doesn’t close the gap all the way. Not if these two things are properly adjusted for.

This is why Vaughn is easily one of the 20 best left-handed starting pitchers in the history of MLB.

It’s also why he’s arguably one of the 10 best starting pitchers in the history of MLB that is not in the HOF, righty or lefty.

7. Ed Reulbach (1905-1917)

Career Length Grade: C-

Raw Career: 399 G, 300 GS, 2,632.1 IP, 2.28 ERA, 123 ERA+, 182 W, 103 W%+, 7.2 H/9, 1.14 WHIP, 40 SHO, 5.3 SHO/40, 1,137 K, and 1.3 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 394 G, 298 GS, 2,610 IP, 2.28 ERA, 123 ERA+, 182 W, 103 W%+, 7.2 H/9, 1.14 WHIP, 40 SHO, 5.3 SHO/40, 1,128 K, and 1.3 K/BB (exclude his last season)

Peak Career: 200 G, 157 GS, 1,410.2 IP, 1.82 ERA, 148 ERA+, 105 W, 106 W%+, 6.6 H/9, 1.06 WHIP, 30 SHO, 7.7 SHO/40, 636 K, and 1.4 K/BB (include his 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, and 1913 seasons)

Historically speaking, I can only begin to tell you what a tragedy it is that Reulbach is as forgotten as he is. Most of the players in this top 10 are not in the Hall of Fame either, but at the same time, they seem to get their due from historians.

Rucker and Reulbach are the two on this list that generally don’t get their due.

Reulbach ended his career with a 2.28 ERA and that 2.28 ERA still remains the 11th best ERA in the history of Major League Baseball for a starting pitcher.

In fact, he had less than a 2.05 ERA during each of his first five seasons and he had less than a 1.70 ERA during each of his first three seasons.

That’s simply incredible.

He also ended his career with 7.2 H/9 and that 7.2 H/9 still remains as the 11th best H/9 in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher.

In fact, he led the League in H/9 during each of his first two seasons in MLB.

As you can see, that puts him in the top 15 all-time in two very important starting-pitcher stats: ERA and H/9.

He also led the League in W% for three consecutive seasons from 1906-1908.

So he was a winner that the other team couldn’t hit or score against...but, other than that, he should be forgotten.

He led his Chicago Cubs to the World Series in four of the five seasons from 1906-1910. The Cubs were World Series champions during two of those four World Series. Of course, that World Series championship in 1908 is the last time the Cubs have won the World Series, as it has now been over 100 years.

In four different seasons in the World Series, Reulbach never lost a game. Not a one.

He was an incredible starting pitcher that took his teams to the World Series during four seasons, he never lost a game during World Series play, they captured two World Series titles, he led the League in W% three straight years, finished his career 11th all-time in ERA and 11th all-time in H/9.

How does this guy not get his due?

Not only should he be remembered, he should be in the Hall of Fame.

After all, his length of career was only ever-so-slightly below average.

He’s one of the 10 best starting pitchers in the history of MLB that is not in the HOF, period.

6. Chief Bender (1903-1925)

Career Length Grade: B-

Raw Career: 459 G, 334 GS, 3,017 IP, 2.46 ERA, 112 ERA+, 212 W, 109 W%+, 7.9 H/9, 1.11 WHIP, 40 SHO, 4.8 SHO/40, 1,711 K, and 2.4 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 431 G, 321 GS, 2,831.1 IP, 2.39 ERA, 115 ERA+, 205 W, 110 W%+, 7.8 H/9, 1.10 WHIP, 40 SHO, 5.0 SHO/40, 1,668 K, and 2.5 K/BB (exclude his 1916 and 1925 seasons)

Peak Career: 214 G, 153 GS, 1,423.3 IP, 1.88 ERA, 141 ERA+, 111 W, 117 W%+, 7.4 H/9, 1.03 WHIP, 22 SHO, 5.8 SHO/40, 805 K, and 2.9 K/BB (include his 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1913, and 1917 seasons)

He was born a member of the Ojibwa Indian tribe.

I can only begin to tell you the discrimination that he faced during his career. About 40 years later, Jackie Robinson faced the same type of discrimination, or worse. Many historians will tend themselves toward the fact that the discrimination that Bender faced wasn’t quite as bad as the discrimination that Robinson faced, but it was nearly a parallel.

Historians will also tend themselves toward the fact that Bender arguably handled the ugly face of discrimination with as much grace and integrity as Jackie Robinson. It’s, often times, a forgotten fact about Bender.

Like Jackie Robinson, almost everyone that got to know Bender, in the least bit, would be sure to point out what a nice and graceful man he was. There are a lot of parallels between Robinson and Bender as to their greatness, on and off the field.

Bender first pitched in Major League Baseball as an 18-year-old during the 1903 season. Very quickly, he collected an assortment of pitches that included a fastball, change-up, and an arsenal of curveballs, among others.

Bender helped his teams to five World Series in a 10-year stretch, from 1905-1914. They won the World Series championship during three of those five seasons.

He is a Hall of Famer that was a winner, leading the league in W% three times during his career.

He also finished his career with a 1.11 WHIP that still remains the 16th best WHIP in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher.

5. Babe Adams (1906-1926)

Career Length Grade: B

Raw Career: 482 G, 355 GS, 2,995.1 IP, 2.76 ERA, 117 ERA+, 194 W, 106 W%+, 8.5 H/9, 1.09 WHIP, 44 SHO, 4.9 SHO/40, 1,036 K, and 2.4 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 404 G, 323 GS, 2,698.2 IP, 2.52 ERA, 125 ERA+, 173 W, 108 W%+, 8.2 H/9, 1.06 WHIP, 44 SHO, 5.4 SHO/40, 973 K, and 2.6 K/BB (exclude his 1923, 1925, and 1926 seasons)

Peak Career: 214 G, 174 GS, 1,485.2 IP, 2.08 ERA, 154 ERA+, 107 W, 116 W%+, 7.7 H/9, 0.97 WHIP, 29 SHO, 6.6 SHO/40, 584 K, and 3.2 K/BB (include his 1909, 1911, 1913, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, and 1924 seasons)

Like James Dean, Babe Adams was born on a farm in Indiana. It’s the way we roll out here in Indiana. I was born in Indiana during the 1970s right behind a farm. In Indiana, if you weren’t born on a farm, you can bet your butt that there was one right down the street, at least back then.

Babe ended his career with a 1.09 WHIP, which still remains the ninth best WHIP in the history of Major League Baseball for a starting pitcher.

By the time his career was through, he had led the league in WHIP five times.

He had superb control and led the league in K/BB during four consecutive seasons from 1919-1922.

He won two World Series championships with Pittsburgh; one near the start of his career and one near the end of his career.

During those two World Series championships, he never lost a game and single-handedly won three of the games during the 1909 World Series with three complete games.

Combining the 1909 and 1925 World Series, he posted a 1.29 ERA, 6.4 H/9, and 0.93 WHIP.

Babe had an extremely good career up until the 1916 season. He had a horrible season that year and they sent him back to the Minor Leagues. So 1917, after a career already under his belt, he spent the entire season in the Minor Leagues. He was no spring chicken at that point, as he was in his mid-30s.

Many thought that was it for the Babe.

But he had something else in mind.

Instead of sulking on his luck, he pitched an incredible season in the Minor Leagues during that 1917 season, winning 20 games, posting a 1.75 ERA, and a 0.90 WHIP.

Of course, in 1918, they called him back up to the Major Leagues following that incredible season in the Minors. He ended up having five or six of the best seasons of his career back in the Major—past the age of 35.

I love those kinds of stories; the "fighting back when you’re down for the count" stories.

He was an amazing pitcher and he’s easily one of the 10 best starting pitchers in the history of MLB that is not in the Hall of Fame.

4. Eddie Cicotte (1905-1920)

Career Length Grade: B

Raw Career: 502 G, 361 GS, 3,223.1 IP, 2.38 ERA, 123 ERA+, 208 W, 105 W%+, 8.1 H/9, 1.16 WHIP, 35 SHO, 3.9 SHO/40, 1,374 K, and 1.7 K/BB

Peak Career: 219 G, 149 GS, 1,377.2 IP, 1.74 ERA, 164 ERA+, 101 W, 116 W%+, 7.1 H/9, 1.03 WHIP, 21 SHO, 5.7 SHO/40, 594 K, and 1.8 K/BB (include his 1913, 1914, 1916, 1917, and 1919 seasons)

As most of you know, Cicotte is banned from the game for his role in the throwing of the 1919 World Series.

I really like the film Eight Men Out, but there are a couple of things that bother me about it, if you’ll allow me to be picky about a movie that I do like.

First of all, they don’t pronounce his last name correctly during any point of the film. A slight oversight there, huh?

Secondly, the film really doesn’t bring into light nearly enough just how dominant Eddie Collins was. At the time, it was arguable if the best player on the team was Jackson, Cicotte, or Collins. The film almost makes Collins just seem like another run-of-the-mill player on that team, which he wasn’t.

And lastly, they made it look like Cicotte made it apparent that he threw the Series. He did throw it, for sure. I’m not arguing that. But if you watch the film you would swear that he must have posted a 16.70 ERA.

But the fact is, during the combined three games that he pitched in that World Series, he posted a 2.91 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Good numbers. That’s my point, it wasn’t as obvious as the film made it appear to be.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good film. Just wanted to point those things out to you.

Cicotte was at his peak when he was banned from the game. He already had a slightly above-average length of career by the time he was banned and would have almost surely had a flat-out long career, had he not been banned.

He had won over 20 games during three of his last four seasons before the banishment. There was no question that he was at his peak.

He is easily one of the 10 best starting pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball that is not in the Hall of Fame; and most historians think that he would be in the HOF, if not for the banishment.

For example, there are almost 60 starting pitchers in the HOF from MLB, and most historians will rate Cicotte between 40-55 all time on their starting pitcher lists. It depends on the historian, of course, but that’s where you’ll usually find him on lists by respected historians. Obviously, 40-55 is HOF caliber since there are 60 in the HOF.

By the way his usual ranking of 40-55 is too low, if you ask me. He should be higher on their lists, but that’s another story.

At the same time, many historians will have him higher than fourth on this list. I suppose what I’m saying is that we all agree that he was great. So historians rate him lower than me against starting pitchers from all decades, but they, often times, rate him higher than me within this decade. Huh? How’s that happen? Go figure.

The fact is, Cicotte ended his career with a 2.38 ERA that remains the 17th best ERA in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher.

By the time he was banned from the game at the peak of his career, he had already led the league in wins twice and he had also led the league, at one time or another, in W%, ERA+, ERA, WHIP, and K/BB.

So, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose aren’t the only ones who would be in the HOF if the banishments were lifted; Cicotte would, too.

Benny Kauff was also a very high-caliber center fielder that is banned; probably the best center fielder during the 1910s, other than Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker.

But Kauff had a short career (because of the banishment). Kauff is the only player in the history of Major League Baseball that remains banned from the game for something other than gambling.

Kauff was banned from the game for stealing a car. A crime that he was later acquitted of. You talk about some bullsh*t.

Kauff’s banishment is really a bigger injustice than Pete Rose or Buck Weaver. Kauff was no saint, but not really a bad guy and he simply didn’t deserve his banishment. And the banishment should have been lifted by Landis after it became apparently obvious that he didn’t steal the car.

But Kauff’s banishment wasn’t lifted. Gee, maybe they should lift it now since it was bullsh*t. Plus, he’s been dead for almost 50 years. Don’t get me started. Some say that Landis thought he did steal the car, even though he was acquitted of the crime.

I say, “So what?”

Let me throw this at you. Not that this will ever happen, but, what if Derek Jeter got arrested tonight for stealing a car.

Do you think he would receive a lifetime banishment from the game?

Of course he wouldn’t.

Stealing a car is not grounds for banishment.

There have been former MLB players that have been convicted of murder and haven’t been banned from the game.

So, how is Kauff banned for stealing a car, if he even did it all (which he probably didn’t)?

The fact is, Landis didn’t like Kauff and he told those close to him that Kauff was on his list of players to kick out when he was cleaning up the league. He told investigators that the next time Kauff looked at him cross-eyed, he was going to kick him out.

So, Landis had him investigated for throwing games because his name had come up in certain circles. The problem is, the investigators told Landis after thorough investigations, that Kauff had indeed been offered money to throw games. But he always refused. Kauff was clean, he wasn’t throwing games.

So, a year or so went by and then Kauff was arrested for car theft. Well, Landis saw his chance and that was it for Kauff.

I told you, it was bullsh*t.

I’m stopping now because I’m starting to get really pissed the more I think about it.

3. Smoky Joe Wood (1908-1920)

Career Length Grade: F

Raw Career: 225 G, 158 GS, 1,436.1 IP, 2.03 ERA, 146 ERA+, 117 W, 115 W%+, 7.1 H/9, 1.09 WHIP, 28 SHO, 7.0 SHO/40, 989 K, and 2.4 K/BB

Peak Career: 200 G, 143 GS, 1,304.2 IP, 1.93 ERA, 155 ERA+, 107 W, 114 W%+, 7.1 H/9, 1.07 WHIP, 27 SHO, 7.5 SHO/40, 919 K, and 2.4 K/BB (exclude his 1914, 1917, 1919, and 1920 seasons)

I don’t know where to start with Smoky Joe.

He led the League in W% twice during his career and by the time his career was through, at one time or another, he had also led the league in wins, ERA, and SHO.

I think I’ll just start with his mind-boggling, career ending stats.

He ended his career with a 2.03 ERA, which remains the third best ERA in the history of Major League Baseball for a starting pitcher.

He ended his career with a 146 ERA+ that is the fourth best ERA+ in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher, behind only Walter Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Lefty Grove.

He finished his career with 7.1 H/9, good for the eighth best H/9 in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher.

He finished his career with a .672 W% and that .672 W% still remains as the eighth best W% in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher.

He finished his career with a 1.09 WHIP and that 1.09 WHIP still remains as the ninth best WHIP in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher.

So, that puts him in the top 10 in five of the most important starting pitcher stats in the history of MLB. In fact, he’s the only player in history that is in the top 10 all time in all five of those categories. The only one.

Plus, there’s a sixth category that he’s in the top 10 in. His career 0.06 HR/9 still remains as the third best HR/9 in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher.

That’s six categories in the top 10 and the only player in the top 10 all time in all six of those categories.

Folks, he belongs in the HOF, even with his short career.

I’ll make you a deal. If anyone else ever comes along with 225 games and they are in the top 10 all time in six of the most important starting pitching stats in history, then we’ll put them in the HOF, too. It’ll never happen, but if it does, they’re in too. Right after we put Smoky in of course.

Deal?

Smoky Joe’s not just easily one of the 10 best starting pitchers in the history of MLB that is not in the HOF, he’s the best.

Along with Walter Johnson, he was likely the highest caliber of starting pitcher that the game has ever seen. I’m talking about caliber here.

He did have an "F" length of career grade and we have to take something away for that.

How much we take away, is the question.

Me, I’ll take him out of the top 10 all-time starting pitchers. But I will keep him in the top 20.

Now, most historians still rate him respectably. Most will rate him somewhere between 80-95. 60 in the HOF, so right outside of the HOF.

No way.

They will rate him a spot or two lower than me within this decade. You get the point; they rate him extremely well, but not as high as I do. They take too much away from him because of his short career.

I want to leave you with these great quotes from various sources. These quotes will help explain a bit of the dominance of Smoky Joe and will also help explain why his career was short. I have also included a couple of quotes about the famous duel between Walter Johnson and Smoky Joe.

These are all just great quotes that, when all read together, paint a great picture of the man, the career and the legend of Smoky Joe Wood.  

"There I was after the 1912 season, including the World Series I'd won 37 games and lost only six, struck out 279 men in days when the boys didn't strike out much, and I'd beaten Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson one after the other… And do you know how old I was? Well, I was 22 years old, that's all...and do you know something else? That was it...my arm went bad...and all my dreams came tumbling down around my ears like a damn house of cards…"

"The next five years, seems like it was nothing but one long terrible nightmare...the old zip was gone from that fast ball. It didn't hop any more, like it used to...still, in 1915 I led the league with an ERA of 1.49...so in 1916 I didn't play at all…I retired. I stayed on the farm...only 26 years old and all washed up. A has been...I stayed on the farm all through the 1916 season."

"That fall, though, I began to get restless...I could hit and I could run and I could field, and if I couldn't Pitch why couldn't I do something else?...1917, I was sold to Cleveland...all of 27 years old and a relic from the distant past…I'd hear fathers tell their kids, "See that guy over there? That's Smoky Joe Wood, used to be a great Pitcher long ago"...for five years I played in the Outfield for Cleveland. In 1921 I hit .366."— Smoky Joe Wood

"Can I throw harder than Joe Wood? Listen, my friend, there's no man alive can throw harder that Smoky Joe Wood."— Walter Johnson, HOF Starting Pitcher

"Although his candle was to burn out before too long, no Pitcher's ever burned brighter than Smoky Joe Wood's." —Henry Thomas, respected baseball historian

"Smoky Joe Wood, who belongs in the HOF...if there was a better Pitcher than Wood in Baseball, even Walter Johnson or Christy Mathewson, the difference was merely academic." —James Farrell, respected baseball historian

"Smoky Joe Wood. Was he ever something. I've seen a lot of great Pitching in my lifetime, but never anything to compare with him...I've never seen anything like Smoky Joe Wood." —Harry Hooper, HOF Right Fielder

"If you could time capsule back to 1915 and gather 100 of the most respected baseball historians alive. Gather them together one by one and ask all 100 of them who the five best Pitchers of the era are. One of the five names that all 100 would say is Smoky Joe Wood, all 100, not 99, all 100."

"Now, today, you ask 100 of the most respected baseball historians alive who the five best Pitchers from the era of the 1910s were. More times than not, Smoky Joe Wood is NOT one of the five names mentioned. I'm here to tell you, they were right then, we're wrong now."

"The fundamental problem with many respected historians today is they put too much weight on length of career. I'm not going to go so far as to say exactly what their definition of the word better should be. But I'll tell you this. Their definition of the word better should have less to do with the word longer and it should have more to do with the words higher caliber. Longer and higher caliber should both be in the equation, don't get me wrong, they just need to change the amount of weight they put on each. It's why even some of the most respected baseball historians today will rate George Uhle higher than Smoky Joe Wood."

"If you've never believed anything else I've ever written, believe this; George Uhle did not Pitch better than Smoky Joe Wood, he just Pitched longer than Smoky Joe Wood. For sakes, George Uhle's own Mother didn't think he was better than Smoky Joe Wood, but now historians are trying to tell you he was because he Pitched 500 games. That's twice as long as Smoky Joe Wood and half as good. Uhle wasn't bad, not trying to be hard on the old chap, but he was no Smoky Joe, few were."— Me, Michael Weir, baseball historian and author of this article

"That big game at Fenway Park on September 6, 1912. It was on a Friday. My regular Pitching turn was scheduled to come on Saturday, and they moved it up a day so that Walter and I could face each other."

"Walter had already won 16 in a row, and his streak had ended. I had won 13 in a row and they challenged our Manager, Jake Stahl, to Pitch me against Walter, so Walter could stop my streak himself. Jake agreed, and to match us against each other he moved me up in the rotation from Saturday to Friday."

"The newspapers publicized us like prizefighters: giving statistics comparing our height, weight, biceps, triceps, arm span, and whatnot. The Champion, Walter Johnson, versus the Challenger, Smoky Joe Wood. That was the only game I ever remember in Fenway Park, or anywhere else for that matter, where the fans were sitting practically along the first-base and third-base lines."

"Instead of sitting back where the bench usually is, we were sitting on chairs right up against the foul lines, and the fans were right behind us. The overflow had been packed between the grandstand and the foul lines, as well as out in the Outfield behind the ropes. Fenway Park must have contained twice as many people as its seating capacity that day. I never saw so many people in one place in my life. In fact, the fans were put on the field an hour before the game started, and it was so crowded down there I hardly had room to warm up."

"Well, I won, 1-0, but don't let that fool you. In my opinion the greatest Pitcher who ever lived was Walter Johnson."— Smoky Joe Wood

"Walter Johnson set his record first. Walter finally lost a game in August, ending his streak at 16. But Walter hardly had time to accept congratulations, before up loomed Smoky Joe Wood, who looked as though he'd take the record right away from Walter before that very season had come to an end. When Walter's streak ended at 16 in August, Smoky Joe Wood had won about 9 or 10 in a row. But then Smoky Joe kept adding to it...11 straight...12 straight...13 straight."

"In early September we were scheduled to play Washington, and the public started to clamor for Walter Johnson himself to be allowed to Pitch for Washington when Smoky Joe Wood went for us. "Let Walter defend his record." That was the cry. Well, the owners were no fools. So when the Senators came to Boston for the series it was arranged that Walter Johnson and Smoky Joe Wood would oppose each other in one of the games."

"The crowd that jammed Fenway Park that day poured out onto the field, and the team benches were moved out along the foul lines so the fans could be packed in behind them. People were also standing all around the Outfield grass, held back by ropes. By then Smoky Joe had won 13 straight, and Walter really was defending his new record."

"Well, to make a long story short, Smoky Joe Wood beat Walter Johnson that day, and the score was exactly what you'd expect-1-0. In the 6th inning Tris Speaker hit one into the crowd standing in Left Field for a ground-rule double, he scored on a double by Duffy Lewis, and that was the whole story. Not another runner crossed home plate all day. That was probably the most exciting game I ever played in or saw."

"After that, Smoky Joe won 2 more games to tie Johnson's record at 16...So now they both hold the record...The tension on Smoky Joe was just terrific all that season. First the 16 straight, and then the World Series."

"I still remember talking to him before one of the World Series games and suddenly realizing that he couldn't speak. Couldn't say a word...Well, what can you expect? I think he was only about 22 when all this was happening. Mighty young to be under such pressure for so many months. But he still won 3 games in that 1912 World Series."— Harry Hooper, HOF Right Fielder

How we ever started blurring history so much as to not put Smoky Joe Wood in the Hall of fame is beyond me.

2. Ed Walsh (1904-1917)

Career Length Grade: C+

Raw Career: 430 G, 315 GS, 2,964.1 IP, 1.82 ERA, 146 ERA+, 195 W, 112 W%+, 7.1 H/9, 1.00 WHIP, 57 SHO, 7.2 SHO/40, 1,736 K, and 2.8 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 400 G, 292 GS, 2,800.2 IP, 1.76 ERA, 150 ERA+, 185 W, 112 W%+, 7.1 H/9, 0.98 WHIP, 55 SHO, 7.5 SHO/40, 1,680 K, and 3.1 K/BB (exclude his 1913, 1914, 1916, and 1917 seasons)

Peak Career: 201 G, 162 GS, 1,513.1 IP, 1.43 ERA, 167 ERA+, 100 W, 116 W%+, 6.6 H/9, 0.91 WHIP, 32 SHO, 7.8 SHO/40, 872 K, and 3.3 K/BB (include his 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, and 1915 seasons)

He led his 1906 Chicago team to a World Series victory in 1906. He pitched in two games, won both of them, posted a 0.60 ERA, 4.2 H/9, and 0.87 WHIP during those two games combined. Those are the kind of numbers he was capable of putting up.

In fact, he ended his career with a 1.82 ERA and that 1.82 ERA still remains as the best ERA in the history of Major League Baseball for a starting pitcher. He led the league in ERA twice during his career.

He ended his career with a 1.00 WHIP and that 1.00 WHIP still remains as the second best WHIP in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher. He led the league in WHIP twice during his career.

He ended his career with a 146 ERA+ and that 146 ERA+ still remains as the fourth best ERA+ in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher. He led the league in ERA+ twice during his career.

He ended his career with 7.1 H/9 and that 7.1 H/9 still remains as the eighth best H/9 in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher.

That puts him in the top 10 all time in four of the most important starting pitcher stats in history.

During his career, he also led the league in SHO three times, K/BB three times, and Ks twice.

He ended his career with a slightly-above-average length of career. And during a career with 315 games started, he posted almost 60 SHO.

He’s easily one of the 10 best starting pitchers to ever grace the fields of MLB.

Why was this HOFer so dominant?

Some say it was the pitchers ballpark that he pitched in. But that’s not it. In fact, ERA+ takes the ballpark into account and he’s fourth all time in ERA+. OK, say he’s first all time in ERA, but fourth all time in ERA+. That’s about right.

So don’t buy into that pitchers ballpark stuff because he’s still fourth all time in ERA+ when taking the ballpark into account.

Historians will usually rank him between 10-25 all time. Incredibly high, but not high enough. They refuse to put him in the top five because his career length was only slightly above average. They just bring up that pitchers ballpark sh*t to try and pull the wool over your eyes.

Trust me, it’s length of career that drags him out of their top five, not the damn ballpark he pitched in.

Hey, they still rank him as high as 10th all time sometimes anyway; not too far from where he should be.

The reason he was dominant wasn’t the ballpark. It was him; his arsenal of pitches, especially his spitball.

The pitch was legal back when Walsh played and most historians credit him with having the best spitball in the history of the game; and he threw it a lot.

“I think Ed Walsh’s ball disintegrated on the way to the plate and the catcher put it back together again. I swear, when it went past the plate it was just the spit went by.”— Sam Crawford, HOF right fielder

1. Walter Johnson (1907-1927)

Career Length Grade: A+

Raw Career: 802 G, 666 GS, 5,914.2 IP, 2.17 ERA, 147 ERA+, 417 W, 122 W%+, 7.5 H/9, 1.06 WHIP, 110 SHO, 6.6 SHO/40, 3,509 K, and 2.6 K/BB

Adjusted Career: 565 G, 472 GS, 4,271.1 IP, 1.75 ERA, 171 ERA+, 317 W, 128 W%+, 7.0 H/9, 1.00 WHIP, 87 SHO, 7.4 SHO/40, 2,692 K, and 3.1 K/BB (exclude his 1917, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1926, and 1927 seasons)

Peak Career: 223 G, 170 GS, 1,668 IP, 1.37 ERA, 223 ERA+, 139 W, 130 W%+, 6.6 H/9, 0.91 WHIP, 40 SHO, 9.3 SHO/40, 1,058 K, and 3.6 K/BB (include his 1912, 1913, 1915, 1918, and 1919 seasons)

He’s easily one of the 10 best starting pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. The fact is, he’s simply the best ever. Most historians would agree. Hey, no argument here.

The HOFer Johnson was almost to starting pitching what Babe Ruth was to hitting.

I wonder if anyone really knew he was bound to be the best starting pitcher in history when he started pitching in MLB baseball as a teenager during the 1907 season?

He won at least 20 games during all 10 seasons of the decade of the 1910s. He ended his career with 417 wins, which still remain second all time.

By the time his career was through, he had led the league in wins six times, including four consecutive seasons from 1913-1916.

He also led the league in W% twice during his career, even though his teams were often times sub-.500 teams.

His career 2.17 ERA still remains as the eighth best ERA in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher. He led the league in ERA five times during his career.

His career 147 ERA+ still remains as the third best ERA+ in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher. He led the league in ERA+ six times during his career.

His career 1.06 WHIP still remains as the fifth best WHIP in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher. He led the league in WHIP six times during his career.

His career 7.5 H/9 still remains as the 20th best H/9 in the history of MLB for a starting pitcher. He led the league in H/9 four times during his career.

He ended his career with 3.509 Ks and led the league in Ks 12 times during his career, including eight consecutive seasons from 1912-1919, the last eight seasons of the decade of the 1910s. He also led the league in K/BB nine times during his career, including six consecutive seasons from 1912-1917.

His career 110 SHO still remains as the most SHO in the history of MLB. He led the league in SHO seven times during his career, including three consecutive seasons from 1913-1915.

You can spend the rest of your life looking for better starting pitcher numbers and facts, but you won’t find them; this is it. He was it. He’s the best starting pitcher in MLB history, not to mention the 1910s.

The Honorable Mentions

Here are the 10 starting pitchers that just missed the top 10 for various reasons (listed in alphabetical order): Hooks Dauss, Claude Hendrix, Dutch Leonard, Rube Marquard, Jeff Pfeffer, Reb Russell, Slim Sallee, Jim Scott, Jeff Tesreau, and Fred Toney.