WHY I THINK BOBBY MATHEWS SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK BOBBY MATHEWS SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Bobby Mathews was one of the finest all around pitchers of his time. Along with his fastball, he is often credited as the first pitcher in MLB history to throw a breaking ball, and his experimental pitch dumbfounded many opposing hitters. His overall record of 297 wins and a 2.86 ERA are no doubt Hall of Fame worthy, so I will make this brief. He started his career with the Fort Wayne Kekiongas in 1871, going 6-11 but topping the National Association in shutouts at age 19. Mathews played for the Baltimore Canaries in 1872, going 25-18 for the second of his seven big league teams. He spent the next four seasons with the New York Mutuals, winning 121 games and recording a combined ERA of 2.44. Mathews threw 129 ⅓ innings for the Cincinnati Reds in 1877 and stayed out of baseball for the entire 1878 season. He produced another great season in 1879 but took another season off in 1880. Mathews went only 5-8 in 125 ⅓ innings in 1881 despite a 3.02 ERA, but found his winning ways again in 1882 with 19 victories. After that he completed three seasons in a row with 30 wins and another with 13. He was 34 years old that season, much worn by over 500 complete games, and retired after a 3-4 season in 1887. Bobby Mathews was a great workhorse on the mound and a consistent winner. The fact that he is not in the Hall of Fame makes no sense at all considering the Hall’s own standards, especially considering how close he got to earning his magical 300th win. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games Pitched career: 578 season high: 70 in 1875 

Starts career: 568 season high: 70 in 1875 led NA: 70 in 1875 

Complete Games career: 525 season high: 69 in 1875 led NA: 69 in 1875 

Shutouts career: 20 season high: 4 in 1874 led NA: 1 in 1871, 4 in 1874 

Games Finished career: 12 season high: 4 in 1872 and 1881 

Wins career: 297 season high: 42 in 1874 

Losses career: 248 season high: 38 in 1875 led NA: 38 in 1875 

Winning Percentage career: .545 season high: .698 in 1883 

ERA career: 2.86 season low: 1.90 in 1874 

WHIP career: 1.237 season low: 1.045 in 1884 

Innings Pitched career: 4,956 season high: 625 ⅔ in 1875 led NA: 625 ⅔ in 1875 

Strikeouts career: 1,528 eason high: 286 in 1884 and 1885 led NA: 57 in 1872, 79 in 1873, 101 in 1874 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 2.8 season high: 6.1 in 1885 led NA: 1.6 in 1873 and 1874 led NL: 4.8 in 1882 led AA: 6.1 in 1885 

Walks career: 532 season high: 62 in 1873 led NA: 52 in 1872, 62 in 1873 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 2.87 season high: 6.95 in 1882 led NL: 6.95 in 1882 led AA: 6.55 in 1883, 5.02 in 1885 

Saves career: 3 season high: 2 in 1881 led NL: 1 in 1879, 2 in 1881 

Fielding Percentage career: .812 season high: .881 in 1885 (the league fielding percentage was .851) 

Double Plays career: 24 season high: 4 in 1875 

Putouts career: 296 season high: 44 in 1875 

Assists career: 806 season high: 106 in 1875 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-is credited as one of the inventors of the spitball 

-won the first game in MLB history on May 4, 1871, a shutout 

-pitched a 4-0 one-hitter on May 22, 1875, and was perfect other than the hit 

-is the only player ever to win 50 game or pitch in 100 games in three different Major Leagues 

-had a .545 career winning percentage despite the fact that 1,924 of his 3,497 career runs allowed were unearned 

-won the most career games without reaching 300 or the Hall of Fame 

-pitched the most homerless innings in the NL in 1877 

-allowed the fewest walks per nine innings in his league in 1882 and 1883 (both 0.7), and his 0.966 career mark is the 13th best of all time 

-allowed only 0.1 home runs per nine innings across his career 

-batted .270 in 1871 and was the hardest batter in the league to strike out, with none across the entire season 

-drove in 30 runs in 1874 and 22 in 1872 

-hit his only career home run off of Tommy Bond, the best pitcher and player not in the Hall of Fame (see an earlier article for more on him) 

-ranks sixth in career complete games and batters faced, 15th in innings pitched, 24th in wins, and 25th in starts 

-also played nine games at third base, two at shortstop, and 80 in the outfield