20th Century Runner-up Pitchers Quiz

Answer: Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson

In 1904, Mathewson posted 33 wins for the New York Giants, only to be second to teammate Joe McGinnity's 35 victories. In 1912, it happened again, as Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators, or Nationals, as they were also known, finished one win back of Boston's "Smokey" Joe Wood.

Answer: Carl Lundgren

While Joe Tinker, Crab Evers, and Frank Chance are the better known members of the great Chicago Cubs teams of the early 1900s, it was their pitching that got them to three straight World Series victories. In 1907, Carl Lundgren posted an ERA of 1.17, which was bested by teammate Jack Pfiester and his ERA of 1.15.

In fact, the 1907 Cubs had five starters with an ERA under 2.00. The others were Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown (1.39), Ed Reulbach (1.69), and Orval Overall (1.70). Their team ERA of 1.73 stands as the modern day record, bettering the previous record of 1.76 that they had set the year before (1906).

In 1909, while finishing 2nd to the Pittsburgh Pirates, they again led the league, this time at 1.75.

Answer: George Mullin

Something that has gone by the wayside in this era of pitching specialists, a complete game was once a source of pride for pitchers. It was important to finish what you started. In 1904, Detroit's George Mullin recorded 42 CGs, but finished 2nd to Jack Chesbro of the New York Highlanders (Yankees), who finished 48 of the games that he started.
Prior to 20th century: in 1892 Cy Young had 48 CGs, to finish 4th behind the leader Hutchinson with 67.

Answer: Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown

Nicknamed "Three Finger" due to the fact that he lost part of his right index finger in a childhood farming accident, Brown tossed nine shutouts for the 1908 Cubs. Leading the league that year was Christy Mathewson, with 12. On a side note, Ruth also threw nine shutouts, but that occurred in 1916, when he led the American League.

He also led the league in ERA (1.75), and posted 23 wins while leading the Boston Red Sox to the World Championship.

Answer: Rod Beck

In 1998, while pitching for the Cubs, Beck recorded 51 saves, two short of San Diego's Trevor Hoffman, who led the NL with 53.

Answer: Pedro Martinez

Martinez, then with the Montreal Expos, notched 305 Ks on his belt in 1997. Future BoSox teammate Curt Schilling was the league leader, finishing with 319 for Philadelphia.

Answer: Bob Stanley

Primarily a reliever for the 1978 Boston Red Sox, Stanley just did manage to record enough wins to qualify for this category, posting a 15-2 record, good for a winning percentage of .882. However, Yankee fans will remember that 1978 was also the year of "Louisiana Lightning," as Ron Guidry posted an incredible 25-3 record and lead the league with an .893 winning percentage.

Answer: Bobo Newsom

Born Louis Norman Newsom (he gave himself the nickname "Bobo" for reasons known only to himself), this colorful character walked an incredible 192 batters while pitching for the old St. Louis Browns in 1938. That was the same year that Feller walked 208 while pitching for Cleveland, taking ol' Bobo off the hook.

Answer: Jack Powell

While it's now unheard of for a pitcher to throw 300 or more innings in a season, it was the norm as recently as the late 1970s, when pitchers such as Nolan Ryan, Phil Niekro and Jim Palmer routinely worked 300+. However, no pitcher threw more than Jack Powell of the New York Highlanders did and not lead the league.

In 1904, Powell's 390.1 innings pitched was bested by teammate Jack Chesbro's arm-wearying 454.2 IP.

Answer: Jack Morris

As Sparky Anderson's go-to guy for the Detroit Tigers, Morris gave up a whopping 40 taters to opposing batters in 1986. While this would have been enough for any hitter to lead either league in HR that season, he wasn't even in the ballpark, so to speak, when stacked up against Bert Blyleven of the Minnesota Twins, who yielded an amazing 50 long balls. Ironically, Morris posted what is probably his strongest season ever during his 18 seasons in the big leagues, by going 21-8, with 3.27 ERA, 15 CG, 6 SHO and 223 Ks.