WHY I THINK ADOLFO (DOLF) LUQUE SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK ADOLFO (DOLF) LUQUE SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Dolf Luque has a pretty unique Hall of Fame case. The first Latino pitcher in MLB history, Luque didn’t land a regular starting job until 1920, his age 29 season, but he didn’t relinquish it until 1931. He pitched his final game in 1935, still proving his value as an ageless reliever. Luque’s fastballs and curves led him to a legendary season in 1923, when he won 27 games and posted a 1.93 ERA in the midst of the hardest hitting period in baseball history. However, Luque was also known as a hard luck pitcher, as he had six seasons (count ‘em - six!) in which he had a losing record despite an above average ERA. The worst of these seasons were 1922, when he went 13-23 despite an ERA of 3.31, and 1925, when he won a second NL ERA Title and still managed to drop 18 games. Dolf Luque started his career with the Boston Braves in 1914, but only pitched four games for the club in 1914-15. He pitched in Cuba for the next few years, and got a job in 1918 with the Reds. His 10-3 mark in 1919 helped him to a spot in the rotation in 1920, and he established himself as one of the best pitchers of the decade. During the roaring 1920’s, Luque won two ERA Titles, tossed 21 shutouts, and averaged almost 250 innings per season, not counting his successes in the Cuban Winter League. In 1930, Luque was traded to the Dodgers and went 14-8. He slowly moved out of the rotation and into the bullpen, and by 1933, he was a full time stopper, going 8-2 with a 2.69 ERA in 35 games for the New York Giants. Luque also won his second World Series ring (his first was in 1919, the “Black Sox Series”), and took the win in deciding Game 5, making him the oldest pitcher ever (43 years and 64 days) to win a Fall Classic game. He had two more fine seasons out of the pen before he finally decided to hang up his spikes in 1935. Dolf Luque was an excellent pitcher, a tough competitor, and a big part of two World Series teams. If he hadn’t had such awful luck, he definitely would have won over 200 games, and quite likely 250. I’m pretty sure he belongs in the Hall of Fame. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games Pitched career: 550 season high: 41 in 1921 and 1923 

Starts career: 367 season high: 37 in 1923 

Complete Games career: 206 season high: 28 in 1923 

Shutouts career: 26 season high: 6 in 1923 led NL: 3 in 1921, 6 in 1923, 4 in 1925 

Games Finished career: 128 season high: 22 in 1932 and 1933 

Wins career: 194 season high: 27 in 1923 led NL: 27 in 1923 

Losses career: 179 season high: 23 in 1922 led NL: 23 in 1922 

Winning Percentage career: .520 season high: .771 in 1923 led NL: .771 in 1923 

ERA career: 3.24 season low: 1.93 in 1923 led NL: 1.93 in 1923, 2.63 in 1925 

WHIP career: 1.288 season low: 1.098 in 1920 led NL: 1.172 in 1925 

Innings Pitched career: 3,220 ⅓ season high: 322 in 1923 

Strikeouts career: 1,130 season high: 151 in 1923 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 3.2 season high: 4.3 in 1925 

Walks career: 918 (24 intentional) season high: 88 in 1923 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 1.23 season high: 1.79 in 1925 

Saves career: 29 season high: 7 in 1934 

Fielding Percentage career: .958 season high: 1.000 in 1929 led NL P: 1.000 in 1929 

Double Plays career: 36 season high: 7 in 1930 

Putouts career: 188 season high: 21 in 1921 led NL P: 17 in 1923 

Assists career: 787 season high: 84 in 1925 

Caught Stealing Percentage career: .528 season high: .727 in 1929 

Pickoffs career: 59 season high: 8 in 1930 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-nicknamed “The Pride of Havana” 

-finished 13th in the NL MVP Award voting in 1925 and 25th in 1933 

-allowed the fewest hits per nine innings in the NL in 1920 (7.3), 1923 (7.8), and 1925 (8.1) 

-allowed the fewest home runs per nine innings in the NL in 1923 (0.056) 

-pitched 9 ⅓ innings in World Series play, allowing no runs and striking out 11 batters 

-batted over .300 in three different seasons and .500 (1-for-2) in World Series play 

-homered off of Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes in 1924 

-was the oldest player in the NL in 1934 and 1935 

-also played one game at third base, one in leftfield, three as a pinch hitter, and five as a pinch runner 

-was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1967, the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1957, and the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985