WHY I THINK ED REULBACH SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN
By- Damien
Ed Reulbach was a staff workhorse, a master of control, and a consistent winner. Reulbach set the NL record for leading the league in winning percentage three times, and he did it in three straight seasons. He also had ERAs of 1.42, 1.65, 1.69, 1.78, and 2.03 in five separate seasons, yet never won an ERA title. Compare him with the average Hall of Fame pitcher. He has a 72 point advantage in career ERA, which is by far the most important pitching statistic, and a 43 point advantage in career winning percentage. Big Ed Reulbach started his career with the Cubs in 1905, going 18-14 and completing 28 of his 29 starts. He went 19-4 in 1906 to lead the NL in winning percentage and also did so in 1907 and 1908 with records of 17-4 and 24-7, winning World Series rings in each season. The Cubs wouldn’t win another World Series until 2016. Reulbach went 19-10 in 1909 before falling to 12-8 in 1910. He regrouped himself in 1911 with a 16-9 mark before falling again to 10-6 in 1912. He went a combined 8-9 in 1913 with the Cubs and the Brooklyn Superbas (later the Dodgers). Reulbach went 11-18 despite a 2.64 seasonal ERA in 1914 as the Superbas changed their names to the Robins and was traded to the Federal League Newark Pepper for the 1915 season. He had his last big year with the “Peps” in 1916 with a 21-10 record but was traded to the Boston Braves. Reulbach went 7-7 in two seasons with the Braves before retiring. Ed Reulbach was a great pitcher and a winning ballplayer who was even worthy of Cooperstown.
LIFETIME STATISTICS
Games Pitched career: 399 season high: 46 in 1908
Starts career: 300 season high: 35 in 1908
Complete Games career: 200 season high: 28 in 1905
Shutouts career: 40 season high: 7 in 1908
Games Finished career: 80 season high: 14 in 1912
Wins career: 182 season high: 24 in 1908
Losses career: 106 season high: 18 in 1914
Winning Percentage career: .632 season high: .826 in 1906 led NL: .826 in 1906, .810 in 1907, .774 in 1908
ERA career: 2.28 season low: 1.42 in 1905
WHIP career: 1.143 season low: 0.963 in 1905
Innings Pitched career: 2,632 ⅓ season high: 297 ⅔ in 1908
Strikeouts career: 1,137 season high: 152 in 1905
Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 3.9 season high: 4.7 in 1905
Walks career: 892 season high: 106 in 1908
Strikeouts Per Walk career: 1.27 season high: 2.08 in 1905
Saves career: 13 season high: 4 in 1912
Fielding Percentage career: .946 season high: .968 in 1906
Double Plays career: 37 season high: 7 in 1908
Putouts career: 137 season high: 18 in 1906
Assists career: 815 season high: 91 in 1909 (he had 90 in 1915)
DID YOU KNOW?
-nicknamed “Big Ed”
-had the lowest qualifying ERA of any rookie pitcher since the turn of the 20th century
-is the only pitcher in MLB history to throw two shutouts in one day, a feat he accomplished against the Brooklyn Dodgers on September 26, 1908
-pitched eight innings with five hits and no earned runs allowed on his MLB debut, but still got credited with the loss
-pitched 6 ⅔ innings while allowing two earned runs during his final MLB game
-allowed the fewest hits per nine innings in 1905 (6.4) and the MLB 1906 (5.3), the latter being the seventh fewest of all time
-faced over 1,000 batters in a season five times
-had a 2-0 career World Series record and had an 0.75 ERA in the 1907 Series
-had two sacrifice hits in the 1906 World Series
-hit six doubles and two triples in 1908
-also played one game as a rightfielder and two as a pinch hitter
-ranks 18th in career ERA, 20th in the fewest hits allowed per nine innings (7.2), and 47th in the fewest home runs allowed per nine innings (0.1)
-was the last surviving member of the 1908 Cubs, and he passed away on July 17, 1961, which was also the day that Ty Cobb died
Nah. He was great for five years (97-39), but he was also backed by a great defense and offense, so he can't get all the credit for that. And outside of his first five years he was just okay, not much more than average. He definitely deserves to be remembered more than he is now, but I can't advocate his selection to the Hall of Fame.
ReplyDeleteHis ERAs, though they look stunning, are not incredible in the context of his era. His 2.28 ERA gave him a very good, but not insane 123 ERA+. The year he had a 3.12 ERA, he was below-average. His ERAs were still great, but need to be contextualized.