WHY I THINK CARL MAYS SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK CARL MAYS SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

The only reason why Carl Mays is not in Cooperstown is on account of the tragic event that occured on August 16, 1920. Mays was pitching for the Yankees against the Indians’ shortstop Ray Chapman, when he unloaded a submarine pitch - some say that it was an illegal spitball - headed for Chapman’s head. Chapman, known to lean over the plate, took a little too long to dodge the ball and was hit in the head by the pitch. He died the next day. That was the only time that a player died as a direct result of an injury suffered in an MLB game. The tragedy and the following controversies clouded the memory of Mays’s incredible pitching over fifteen seasons, and how his fastballs and curves made him one of the very best pitchers of the era. He was also one of the finest hitting pitchers ever with a lifetime .268 mark and a great fielding pitcher, with a career fielding percentage 14 points above the league average. Carl Mays started his career with the Red Sox in 1915, leading the league in saves and games finished as the best reliever in the AL. He got a job as a starter in 1916 and was lights out, as he had a combined 2.10 ERA, two World Series rings, and two 20 win seasons from 1916 through 1919. The live ball era kicked into effect in 1920 and Mays won 26 games, most of them before the Chapman tragedy, and led the Majors with 27 wins in 1921. He was an ace starter on the first Yankee dynasty that came almost entirely from the Red Sox, who sold off their whole star studded lineup to New York. Mays won 13 in 1922, went 5-2 in 81 ⅓ innings in 1923, and was sold to the Cincinnati Reds for the 1924 season. He gave the Reds their money’s worth that year with a 20-9 mark but was only available for 51 ⅔ innings in 1925. Mays enjoyed one last fine season in 1926 when, at the age of 34, he won 19 games and topped the 280 inning marker for the fifth time in his career. He stuck around through 1929, producing a 13-10 record and a better than average ERA of 3.97, before retiring. Carl Mays was a great pitcher, a fine hitter, and a good fielder whose overall record and talents as a pitcher were indeed worthy of election to the Hall of Fame. I offer my sincerest prayers and condolences for both Chapman and Mays.  

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games Pitched career: 490 season high: 49 in 1921 led AL: 49 in 1921 

Starts career: 325 season high: 38 in 1921 

Complete Games career: 231 season high: 30 in 1918 and 1921 led AL: 30 in 1918 led NL: 24 in 1926 

Shutouts career: 29 season high: 8 in 1918 led AL: 8 in 1918, 6 in 1920 

Games Finished career: 124 season high: 27 in 1915 led AL: 27 in 1915 

Wins career: 207 season high: 27 in 1921 led AL: 27 in 1921 

Losses career: 126 season high: 14 in 1919 and 1922 

Winning Percentage career: .622 season high: .750 in 1921 led AL: .750 in 1921 

ERA career: 2.92 season low: 1.74 in 1917 

WHIP career: 1.207 season low: 1.060 in 1918 

Innings Pitched career: 3,021 ⅓ season high: 336 ⅔ in 1921 led AL: 336 ⅔ in 1921 

Strikeouts career: 862 season high: 114 in 1918 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 2.6 season high: 3.6 in 1919 

Walks career: 734 season high: 84 in 1920 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 1.17 season high: 1.75 in 1924 

Saves career: 31 season high: 7 in 1915 and 1921 led AL: 7 in 1915 and 1921 

Fielding Percentage career: .968 season high: .993 in 1917 led AL P: .992 in 1920 

Double Plays career: 59 season high: 10 in 1926 

Putouts career: 174 season high: 22 in 1917 

Assists career: 1,138 season high: 122 in 1918 led AL P: 118 in 1917, 122 in 1918, 94 in 1922 led NL P: 94 in 1924, 117 in 1926 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-cousin of Joe Mays 

-nicknamed “Sub” 

-refused to pitch on Sundays 

-pitched three innings without allowing an earned run to win his MLB debut 

-pitched seven innings while only allowing one earned run in his final MLB game 

-pitched two complete game wins on August 30, 1918, by the scores of 12-0 and 4-1

-finished 22nd in the NL MVP Award voting in 1926 

-allowed the fewest home runs per nine innings in the NL in 1926 (0.1) 

-went 3-4 with a 2.35 ERA in four World Series, including 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in the 1918 Series 

-batted as high as .406, .353, and .343 in three different seasons 

-hit one of his five career home runs off of Urban Shocker and one off of Lefty O’Doul 

-had a .363 career caught stealing percentage at pitcher, more than twice as high as the league average 

-among MLB pitchers, ranks 13th in career assists 

-also played 12 games as a pinch hitter