WHY I THINK LON WARNEKE SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK LON WARNEKE SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Lon Warneke pitched in the heaviest hitting era in the history of baseball, yet still had career statistics that would look good in the 1960’s and was one of the best pitchers ever at the time of his retirement. He was a five time all-star, one of the greatest fielding pitchers in baseball history, and the owner of both the meanest fastball and curveball in the game when he was at his peak. Lon Warneke started his career with the Cubs in 1930, but pitched in only one game, in relief. He won two games in 1931 and had one of the best seasons that any pitcher ever had in 1932. Warneke won a league leading 22 games, led the Majors with a 2.37 ERA, and finished second in the NL MVP Award voting. Warneke was even better in 1933, posting 18 wins and an ERA of just 2.00, and pitched in the first ever all-star game. He won 20 or more games in each of the next two seasons, but never again won 20 after that. However, Warneke averaged 16 victories per season through 1941, pitching for both the Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals, but was allowed fewer innings in 1942. He split the season between the Cardinals and the Cubs, who had gotten him back, and in 181 innings, he went 11-11 with an impressive 2.73 ERA. By this time Warneke was no longer really a power pitcher, but he worked well on finesse, and allowed the fewest walks per nine innings in the NL that season. Warneke won four games with a 3.16 ERA in 1943 and entered the military, stating that he would be ready “to toss hand grenades at Hitler and Hirohito”, which cost him his 1944 season. He pitched 14 innings in 1945 before retiring. Lon Warneke was a fantastic pitcher and a war hero who essentially epitomized a baseball Hall of Famer for his entire career. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games Pitched career: 445 season high: 43 in 1934 

Starts career: 343 season high: 35 in 1934 

Complete Games career: 192 season high: 26 in 1933 led NL: 26 in 1933 

Shutouts career: 30 season high: 4 in 1932, 1933, 1936, 1938, and 1941 led NL: 4 in 1932 and 1936 

Games Finished career: 66 season high: 11 in 1935 

Wins career: 192 season high: 22 in 1932 and 1934 led NL: 22 in 1932 

Losses career: 121 season high: 13 in 1933, 1935, and 1936 

Winning Percentage career: .613 season high: .786 in 1932 led NL: .786 in 1932 

ERA career: 3.18 season low: 2.00 in 1933 led NL: 2.37 in 1932 

WHIP career: 1.245 season low: 1.123 in 1932 

Innings Pitched career: 2,782 ⅓ season high: 291 ⅓ in 1934 

Strikeouts career: 1,140 season high: 143 in 1934 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 3.7 season high: 4.4 in 1934 

Walks career: 739 season high: 82 in 1941 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 1.54 season high: 2.40 in 1935 

Saves career: 14 season high: 4 in 1935 

Fielding Percentage career: .988 season high: 1.000 in 1933, 1934, 1939, 1940, 1941, and 1942 led NL P: 1.000 in 1933, 1934, 1939, 1940, 1941, and 1942 

Double Plays career: 31 season high: 7 in 1932 and 1933 

Putouts career: 126 season high: 15 in 1934, 1935, and 1936 

Assists career: 538 season high: 72 in 1933 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-nicknamed “The Arkansas Hummingbird” 

-umpired 1,055 games from 1949 through 1955, and was the leftfield umpire when Willie Mays made his famous catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series 

-among MLB players from Arkansas, he has the most career wins, starts, complete games, shutouts, and innings pitched 

-is the only person ever to have both played in and umpired a World Series and an all-star game 

-struck out two and allowed no earned runs during his final MLB game to earn a three inning save 

-pitched a no-hitter on August 30, 1941 

-pitched one-hitters in his first two starts of the 1934 season 

-had a nine game winning streak in 1932 

-struck out over 100 batters in a season for five straight years (1932-1936) 

-also finished 12th in the NL MVP Award voting in 1935, 13th in 1934, 16th in 1937, 20th in 1933, 27th in 1941, and 30th in 1938 

-went 2-0 with a 0.54 ERA and a shutout in the 1935 World Series 

-struck out seven Yankees in Game 2 of the 1932 World Series, including Babe Ruth 

-batted .324 in 1938 and .300 in 1933 

-set the MLB record for pitchers by handling 227 straight errorless chances 

-had a .553 career caught stealing percentage at pitcher 

-also played one game as a pinch hitter and 13 as a pinch runner 

-among MLB pitchers, ranks 45th in career fielding percentage, having made only eight career errors 

-was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1961 and into the Reading Sports Hall of Fame in 2011