American baseball player (1884-1960)
Baseball player
Jack Warhop
|
---|
|
Pitcher
|
Born:
(
1884-07-04
)
July 4, 1884
Hinton, West Virginia
, U.S.
|
Died:
October 4, 1960
(1960-10-04)
(aged 76)
Freeport, Illinois
, U.S.
|
Batted:
Right
Threw:
Right
|
|
September 19, 1908, for the New York Highlanders
|
|
August 12, 1915, for the New York Yankees
|
|
Win?loss record
| 69?92
|
---|
Earned run average
| 3.12
|
---|
Strikeouts
| 463
|
---|
|
---|
|
|
John Milton Warhop
(July 4, 1884 ? October 4, 1960) was an American baseball
pitcher
who played eight seasons in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) from 1908 to 1915 for the
New York Highlanders / Yankees
.
Considered by baseball insiders and historians as an unlucky pitcher, Warhop had a career 69?92 win?loss record, but with a 3.12
earned run average
while playing for mostly
second division
Highlanders/Yankees teams. Of his 92 losses, the Yankees did not score a run in 23, and he holds the MLB record for losing the most 1?0 games with five in 1914. In 1915, Warhop allowed
Babe Ruth's
first two career home runs. He was released after the 1915 season and played a number of seasons in
minor league baseball
and semi-professional teams until his late 40s or early 50s.
Warhop had an underhand
submarine
delivery, which gave him the nickname "Crab"
[1]
and was also known for his rather small size.
[2]
[3]
Early life
[
edit
]
Warhop was born in
Hinton, West Virginia
. He spent his early life working as a
fireman
for the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad
.
[1]
Warhop played for local semi-professional teams sponsored by the railway company.
[4]
He drew the attention of several minor league teams, and in 1906, Warhop signed with the
Class-D
Freeport Pretzels
of the
Wisconsin?Illinois League
in 1906 to start his professional career.
[5]
[6]
His debut campaign included a
no-hitter
on
Independence Day
against the
La Crosse Pinks
.
[7]
From 1906 to 1908, Warhop had an 82?20 win?loss record and 330
strikeouts
, with a career high 30 wins in 1907.
[4]
[6]
After pitching to a 29?7 record for the
Williamsport Millionaires
in 1909, people throughout both the
National League
and
American League
started to take notice of his ability. As many as a dozen teams were interested in Warhop, and he signed a $1,000 contract ($33,911 in today's dollars) with the
Detroit Tigers
.
[2]
However, they soon sold Warhop to the Highlanders without appearing in a single game with the Tigers.
[8]
Major League Baseball career
[
edit
]
1908?1912
[
edit
]
Warhop made his debut on September 9, 1908. He ended up with a 1?2
win?loss record
with a 4.46
earned run average
(ERA) in five games that year.
[3]
Warhop became a regular fixture in the
starting rotation
in 1909. He pitched a three hitter against the
Cleveland Nats
on August 10, 1909 and finished the year with a 13?15 win?loss record, a 2.40 ERA, and 21
complete games
in 36 games pitched as the Highlanders finished fifth in the
American League
(AL).
[3]
However, Warhop led the AL in
hit batsmen
in 1909 (26) and 1910 (18), which might have been caused by his unorthodox pitching style.
[3]
In 1910, Warhop pitched to a 14?14 win?loss record, a 3.00 ERA and 11
errors
(the most among AL pitchers).
[3]
[9]
: 22
He was respected throughout baseball, and
Baseball Magazine
once called him the "unluckiest pitcher in the American League".
[1]
The
1911
season saw Warhop post a 12?13 record, a 4.16 ERA and 15 hit batsmen (the third highest in the league).
[3]
His starts throughout the season were mixed; some were poor or marred by bad luck. He was
shelled
on May 9 in a 10?0 loss against a
Detroit Tigers
lineup featuring
Ty Cobb
,
Sam Crawford
and
Jim Delahanty
, giving up
runs
in each of the first four innings.
[10]
However, he improved a few weeks later on May 20, when he limited the
St. Louis Browns
to four hits.
[11]
This began a quality stretch for Warhop, who won five consecutive games by July 17?a result of an improvement in his
control
.
[12]
Then, during an August 21 road game against the Tigers, he lost a 5?4
walk-off
game in the eleventh inning, in part due to his own unsuccessful strategy in fielding two
bunts
. On both occasions, he threw to second base but was too late, and the
baserunners
were able to advance safely and load the bases. The Highlanders lost when
Earle Gardner
booted
a routine
ground ball
by
Bill Donovan
in a rushed attempt to throw out the
go-ahead
runner at
home plate
.
[13]
At the end of the season his desperation culminated in him unsuccessfully requesting that the league change his win?loss record to 14?11, under the mistaken belief that his 12?13 record was incorrect.
[14]
Warhop's penchant for tough luck was best exemplified in the
1912
season, when he finished with a 10?19 record?the second highest number of losses in the AL?despite compiling a 2.86 ERA and 6.7
Wins Above Replacement
(WAR). Both his ERA and WAR were tenth best in the AL, though he also finished second in hit batsmen (16) and fifth in errors as a pitcher (7).
[3]
In a July 5 road game against the
Washington Senators
, he entered the game in the second inning and lost 6?5 in a walk-off, despite dueling
Walter Johnson
up to the 16th inning.
[15]
Then, in a game on August 22, he held the
Chicago White Sox
to just two
hits
and no runs in the first five innings. While pitching with a 3?0 lead, Warhop surrendered one run in the sixth inning, before getting shelled in the seventh, giving up four runs and the lead. After another four runs were given up in the ninth inning, the Highlanders lost the game 9?4.
[16]
Towards the end of the season, Warhop was again on the losing side of a bad luck game, when he lost a 3?0
pitchers' duel
against the St. Louis Browns, having held them scoreless for the first five innings.
[17]
1913?1915
[
edit
]
A sore arm in
1913
caused Warhop to pitch ineffectively and have just seven
games started
.
[9]
: 22
He recovered by
1914
; however, Warhop was on the unfortunate end of a hard-luck campaign. He had an 8?15 win?loss record with a 2.37 ERA.
[3]
However, the Yankees were one of the worst offensive and defensive teams in baseball, which caused Warhop to be on the losing end of five 1?0 games, a present-day Major League Baseball record shared with five other pitchers.
[1]
[9]
In one of those games, on July 25, Warhop shutout the Chicago White Sox for twelve innings before losing 1?0 in the 13th, due to two errors?one of which was committed by himself on an errant throw to first base after a
sacrifice bunt
.
[4]
[18]
His first win of the season finally came on June 25 against the
Boston Red Sox
.
[19]
He led the American League in home runs allowed at the end of the season with eight, a very high number in the
dead-ball era
. His pitching style included an underhand,
submarine
delivery, which he abandoned by 1914.
[9]
: 22
[20]
[21]
He gave up
Babe Ruth
's first career home run on May 6, 1915, while Ruth was a member of the Boston Red Sox. Warhop threw a fastball in the third inning, and Ruth hit the ball to the upper right field stands. Warhop won the game 4?3 in extra innings. When interviewed about it many years later, Warhop shrugged it off, stating "that's one way to be remembered".
[8]
A little over three weeks later, on June 2, he gave up Ruth's second career home run in a 7?1 Yankee defeat.
[1]
In what would be his final season in Major League Baseball, Warhop had a 7?9 win?loss record and a 3.96 ERA, while leading the American League in home runs allowed (7) for the second consecutive year.
[3]
He was released alongside
first baseman
Charlie Mullen
and
catcher
Ed Sweeney
on August 14 and then sold to
Jack Dunn
of the
Richmond Climbers
in the
International League
, but Warhop didn't play a game with them.
[6]
[22]
According to one historian, however, Warhop was released because Yankee management thought he was a "
jinx
" to the club, as during Warhop's tenure?with the exception of the 1910 season?the Highlanders/Yankees finished no higher than fifth in the division.
[4]
Warhop led the Yankees in games pitched four times (1908, 1909, 1912, 1914),
saves
three times (1909, 1910, 1912), and complete games once (1909).
[9]
: 593
His 114 career hit batsmen is a Yankees team record and ranks in the top 100 on the
MLB all-time hit batsmen list
.
[3]
Later life
[
edit
]
After leaving the Yankees, Warhop played in the minor leagues, including stints in the
Pacific Coast League
and the International League, until the late 1920s.
[20]
He was
player?manager
for the
Class-B
Norfolk Tars
of the
Virginia League
in 1921 and won 20 games for the team.
[6]
In 1927, he pitched and won both games of a
doubleheader
, a rare achievement, while with
Bridgeport
of the
Eastern League
at age 42.
In 1928, Warhop became the manager for the
Sally League
Spartanburg
team.
[24]
He played semi-professional baseball until the age of 50, when he retired and became a
butler
for a large house in
Long Island
.
[1]
[8]
He married Grace Nichols on November 23, 1907. They later divorced, and he married Frances Helsinger in 1918. Warhop died at age 76 in
Freeport, Illinois
, where his professional baseball career began.
[25]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Istorico, Ray (2008).
"The Unluckiest Pitcher in the League"
.
Greatness in Waiting: An Illustrated History of the Early New York Yankees, 1903?1919
. Jefferson:
McFarland and Co.
pp. 148?150.
ISBN
9780786432110
.
- ^
a
b
Appel, Marty
(2012).
Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss
.
Bloomsbury Publishing
. pp. 50?51.
ISBN
9781608194926
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
"Jack Warhop Statistics and History"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Sports Reference LLC
. Retrieved
February 19,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Sutter, L. M. (2009).
"Fertile Soil"
.
Ball, Bat and Bitumen: A History of Coalfield Baseball in the Appalachian South
. Contributions to Southern Appalachian Studies. Vol. 21. Jefferson:
McFarland and Co.
pp. 106?107.
ISBN
9780786435944
.
- ^
"Jack Warhop, Ex-Tiger, Dies"
.
The Windsor Star
. Windsor, Ontario. October 5, 1960. p. 51
. Retrieved
February 20,
2023
– via
Associated Press
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Jack Warhop Minor League Statistics & History"
.
Baseball Reference Minors
. Sports Reference LLC
. Retrieved
February 20,
2023
.
- ^
"Boxscore: Freeport vs. La Crosse"
.
Oshkosh Daily Northwestern
. Oshkosh, WI. July 5, 1906. p. 6. Archived from
the original
on November 19, 2015
. Retrieved
February 23,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
Larson, Lloyd (May 8, 1959).
"Ruth 'First' Cousin Visits"
.
The Milwaukee Sentinel
. p. 29. Archived from
the original
on November 20, 2015
. Retrieved
August 3,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Gallagher, Mark (2003).
The Yankee Encyclopedia
(6th ed.). Sports Publishing LLC.
ISBN
1582616833
.
- ^
"Detroit's Sluggers Maul Yank Boxman; Jack Warhop's Delivery No Puzzle to Tigers ? Works Stingy with His Hits"
.
The New York Times
. May 10, 1911. p. 9
. Retrieved
February 24,
2023
.
- ^
"Browns Find Jack Warhop A Puzzle; Four Hits, as Many as Sweeney Made, All That St. Louis Could Gather"
.
The New York Times
. May 21, 1911
. Retrieved
February 24,
2023
.
- ^
"Warhop Gains Control"
.
Mansfield Daily Shield
. Mansfield, OH. July 17, 1911. p. 6
. Retrieved
February 20,
2023
.
- ^
"Warhop's Strategy Fails In Detroit; Twice Throws to Second to Head Off Runners Who Are Safe ? Loses Game"
.
The New York Times
. August 22, 1911. p. 8
. Retrieved
February 24,
2023
.
- ^
"Warhop Wants More Credit"
.
The Pittsburgh Press
. November 18, 1911. p. 8
. Retrieved
February 20,
2023
.
- ^
"Yankees Lose In Sixteenth Inning; Washington, with Johnson Pitching, Wins Out by Score of 6 to 5"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. July 6, 1912. p. 8
. Retrieved
February 24,
2023
.
- ^
"Warhop Hit Hard In Late Innings; Walsh Holds Yankees Down After His Team Goes Ahead in the Seventh"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. August 23, 1912
. Retrieved
February 24,
2023
.
- ^
"Red Sox Again Whip White Sox"
.
The Meriden Daily Journal
. Meriden, CT. September 13, 1912. p. 8
. Retrieved
February 20,
2023
.
- ^
"Errors Lose Long Battle For Warhop; White Sox Defeat Yankees, 1 to 0, in Thirteen-Inning Pitching Duel"
.
The New York Times
. July 26, 1914. p. S4-1
. Retrieved
February 24,
2023
.
- ^
"Yankees and Red Sox Each Win Game; Pitcher Jack Warhop Earns His First Victory This Year for New York"
.
The New York Times
. June 26, 1914. p. 9
. Retrieved
February 24,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"Jack Warhop Still Can Put Stuff on Ball"
.
The Washington Reporter
. Washington, PA. July 7, 1924. p. 12
. Retrieved
February 21,
2023
.
- ^
"Jack Warhop Tired of Failure Is Trying To Perfect The Cross-Fire Method of Delivery This Season"
.
Youngstown Vindicator
. Youngstown, OH. July 6, 1914. p. 10
. Retrieved
February 21,
2023
.
- ^
"Jack Dunn Gets Three Players from Yanks"
.
The Providence Evening Tribune
. Providence, RI. August 14, 1915. p. 11
. Retrieved
February 21,
2023
.
- ^
"News of Jack Warhop"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. June 16, 1928. p. 13
. Retrieved
February 21,
2023
.
- ^
Horner, Alice.
"Biographies in Stephenson County Illinois - W"
.
genealogytrails.com
. Genealogy Trails History Group
. Retrieved
February 21,
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]