WHY I THINK WILL WHITE SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK WILL WHITE SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

If anybody out there has ever heard of Will White, you may remember him for one of two reasons. It could be that he was the brother of Hall of Famer Deacon White, or that he was the first MLB player ever to wear glasses on the field. White was also a dominant right handed pitcher who relied on excellent control, a sharp-breaking curveball and old-fashioned pitching smoke to go 229-166 with a 2.28 career ERA from 1877 through 1886. One of his main weapons on the mound was intimidation (he ranks eighth all time with 221 hit batsmen), and when batters hit by pitches started to advance to first base, White had to rely more on his pitching guile and velocity. White still holds several major league records to the day, including season records for the most starts (75), complete games (75), innings pitched (680) and batters faced (2,906), all of which he accomplished in 1879. Will White started his career with the Boston Red Stockings in 1877 with a 2-1 record. He went 30-21 in 1878 with the Cincinnati Reds with a 1.79 ERA and went 43-31 with a 1.99 mark and 232 strikeouts in 1879. White had an 18-42 record in 1880 but didn’t pitch badly at all (2.14 ERA). White was still sent to the Detroit Wolverines and went 0-1 with them. He was traded to the American Association Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1882 and finished out his career with them. He went 40-12, 43-22, 34-18, 18-15 and 1-2 before hanging up his glove. White had a combined 2.51 ERA with the Red Stockings, including 1.54 in 1882 and a league leading 2.09 ERA in 1883 while also striking out 100 or more batters for three straight years at a time when strikeouts were very scarce. Will White was a fantastic pitcher with a brilliant ERA and a whole lot of wins for a pitcher of only eight full seasons. He won so many games so quickly that he needs to be inducted into the Hall of Fame soon, before he gets forgotten. Here is an attempt to keep his pitching remembered. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games Pitched career: 403 season high: 76 in 1879 led NL: 76 in 1879 

Starts career: 402 season high: 75 in 1879 led NL: 75 in 1879 

Complete Games career: 394 season high: 75 in 1879 led NL: 75 in 1879 led AA: 52 in 1882 

Shutouts career: 36 season high: 8 in 1882 led AA: 8 in 1882, 6 in 1883, 7 in 1884 

Games Finished career: 1 season high: 1 in 1879 

Wins career: 229 season high: 43 in 1879 and 1883 led AA: 40 in 1882, 43 in 1883 

Losses career: 166 season high: 42 in 1880 led NL: 42 in 1880 

Winning Percentage career: .580 season high: .769 in 1882 led AA: .769 in 1882 

ERA career: 2.28 season low: 1.54 in 1882 led AA: 2.09 in 1883 

WHIP career: 1.111 season low: 1.000 in 1883 

Innings Pitched career: 3,542 ⅔ season high: 680 in 1879 led NL: 680 in 1879 led AA: 480 in 1882 

Strikeouts career: 1,041 season high: 232 in 1879 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 2.6 season high: 3.3 in 1878 

Walks career: 496 season high: 104 in 1883 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 2.10 season high: 3.76 in 1878 

Saves career: 0 

Fielding Percentage career: .887 season high: .957 in 1882 (the league fielding percentage was .888) 

Double Plays career: 10 season high: 3 in 1882 

Putouts career: 118 season high: 23 in 1882 and 1883 

Assists career: 715 season high: 223 in 1882 led AA P: 223 in 1882 

DID YOU KNOW?

-cousin of Elmer White 

-nicknamed “Whoop-la” 

-had a .580 career winning percentage despite the fact that 948 of his 1,844 career runs allowed were unearned

-also holds the 28th and 50th highest season totals in batters faced

-was a switch hitter 

-refused to play on Sundays 

-also played five games in rightfield 

-his 1.54 ERA in 1882 is the 44th lowest mark in MLB history

-set the all time record for assists in a season by a pitcher in 1882, and it is still the second highest total in MLB history (behind Hall of Famer Ed Walsh’s 227 in 1907) 

-led the AA in batters faced 1882 (1,975) 

-hit 28 doubles, seven triples and one home run as a batter 

-went 44-27-1 (.620) as a manager 

-ranks 16th in career ERA, 33rd in WHIP and 17th in both complete games and the fewest walks allowed per nine innings  (1.3)

-is a member of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame