WHY I THINK MATT KILROY SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK MATT KILROY SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Matt Kilroy holds the all time record for the most strikeouts in a single season. Period. That is an important enough record to guarantee its holder a place in Cooperstown on its own, in my opinion. Kilroy’s mark is 72 more than the second place finisher, Hall of Famer Hoss Radbourn, who had 441 in 1884. Kilroy was also an amazing pitcher even without that record, as he dominated hitters with an almost impossible to hit curveball and a blazing fastball. Kilroy also had one of the best strikeout to walk ratios of his time, 141 wins in 292 starts, and remarkable innings pitched totals. Matt Kilroy started his career with the American Association Baltimore Orioles in 1886, winning 29 games and recording his 513 strikeouts. Kilroy led the MLB in games pitched, starts, complete games, strikeouts, and strikeouts per nine innings. He went 46-19 with a 3.07 ERA and 217 strikeouts in 1887 and won 17 games in 1888. Kilroy went 29-25 with another 217 strikeouts and a brilliant 2.85 ERA in 1889. The rest of Kilroy’s career was rough, as he jumped from team to team and pitched 100 innings in a season only once more. During that time, Kilroy was still a quality pitcher, as he had a combined 2.76 ERA in 1891-1892 and won six games in 1898 with the Chicago Orphans after three years of inactivity. Matt Kilroy was a fine pitcher who won 46 games in a season and whiffed 513 batters* another year. He definitely deserves a spot in Cooperstown. 

*The circumstances in 1886 were that foul balls weren’t counted as strikes, even though the pitcher tossed underhand, because he pitched from a box 50 feet away from the plate. It took four strikes to fan a batter and six balls to walk him. 1886 was also the last season in which a batter could ask for either a high or low pitch. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games Pitched career: 303 season high: 69 in 1887 led AA: 68 in 1886, 69 in 1887 

Starts career: 292 season high: 69 in 1887 led AA: 68 in 1886, 69 in 1887 

Complete Games career: 264 season high: 66 in 1886 and 1887 led AA: 66 in 1886 and 1887, 55 in 1889 

Shutouts career: 19 season high: 6 in 1887 led AA: 6 in 1887 

Games Finished career: 12 season high: 3 in 1889 and 1890 

Wins career: 141 season high: 46 in 1887 led AA: 46 in 1887 

Losses career: 133 season high: 34 in 1886 led AA: 34 in 1886 

Winning Percentage career: .515 season high: .537 in 1889 

ERA career: 3.47 season low: 2.85 in 1889 

WHIP career: 1.313 season low: 1.129 in 1886 

Innings Pitched career: 2,435 ⅔ season high: 589 ⅓ in 1887 led AA: 589 ⅓ in 1887 

Strikeouts career: 1,170 season high: 513 in 1886 led AA: 513 in 1886 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 4.3 season high: 7.9 in 1886 led AA: 7.9 in 1886 

Walks career: 754 season high: 182 in 1886 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 1.55 season high: 2.82 in 1886 led AA: 2.82 in 1886 

Saves career: 1 season high: 1 in 1890 

Fielding Percentage career: .891 season high: .932 in 1888 (the league fielding percentage was .896) 

Double Plays career: 13 season high: 4 in 1889 

Putouts career: 184 season high: 39 in 1887 

Assists career: 610 season high: 157 in 1887 led AA P: 116 in 1886, 157 in 1887, 129 in 1889 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-brother of Mike Kilroy 

-nicknamed “Matches” 

-led the AA in batters faced in 1887 (2,492) 

-won both games of a doubleheader on July 26 and October 1, 1887 

-batted .438 in 1893 and .274 in 1889 

-hit 17 career triples 

-stole 67 career bases, including 20 in 1886 

-threw a 6-0 no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Alleghenys on October 6, 1886 

-pitched a complete game no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns on July 29, 1889, a 0-0 tie that went only seven innings; it was counted as another no-hitter but has been since disallowed 

-won both ends of a doubleheader twice in 1887, on July 26 and October 1 

-his 46 wins in 1887 are still the MLB season record for a lefthander 

-his 2,492 batters faced in 1887 are the 14th most of all time, and his 2,469 in 1886 rank 17th 

-also played one game at third base, two at shortstop, and 36 in the outfield