Tim Hudson, 200 Wins, and The Path To The Hall of Fame

Tim Hudson 2012 Topps Heritage

In previous generations, 300 wins was generally recognized as the milestone a pitcher could reach to assure his place in Cooperstown.  However, in an era with five-man rotations, pitch counts, and specialized bullpens, 300 wins has become a much harder goal to achieve.  Though 300 wins has never been a necessity for Hall of Fame election, 200 wins has always been somewhat of a prerequisite for a hurler to be a serious Hall of Fame candidate.  Only relief pitchers or dominant starters with abbreviated careers, like Sandy Koufax, have been elected without 200 wins.  Barring injury, three pitchers, Roy Halladay, CC Sabathia, and Tim Hudson should surpass the 200-win milestone this season.  Halladay is practically a lock for the Hall of Fame and would basically have to pitch his way out of the Hall at this point.  Sabathia's strong performances as the ace of the New York Yankees have put the big left-hander on a likely road toward Cooperstown.  Hudson, on the other hand, is not necessarily seen as being on a path to the Hall of Fame, but the veteran right-hander is in the process of quietly putting together an intriguing Hall of Fame case.

While Halladay and Sabathia have both won Cy Young Awards and become household names as aces of high-profile teams, by comparison, Hudson's impressive career has flown somewhat under the radar.  Yet going into this season, "Huddy's" wins, win/loss percentage, ERA, and innings pitched are almost identical to Halladay's and Sabathia's.  Moreover, based on Baseball Reference's Similarity Scores, the two most similar players to Hudson are Halladay and Sabathia.

	W-L	W/L %	ERA	IP	SO
Hudson	197-104	0.654	3.42	2682.1	1801
Halladay	199-100	0.666	3.31	2687.1	2066
Sabathia	191-102	0.652	3.50	2564.1	2214
	WAR	WAA	ERA+
Hudson	55.7	32.4	126
Halladay	65.9	41.4	134
Sabathia	55.0	30.7	125

Traditional stats like wins and ERA only tell half the story--by using sabermetric stats to judge their careers Halladay stands out in comparison while Hudson holds a slight edge over Sabathia.  However, Sabathia is five years younger than the 37-year old Hudson and one can assume that the Yankee hurler will be pitching several seasons after Hudson retires--although that is certainly not a given as Sabathia has already amassed over 2,500 innings at a relatively young age.  Pitchers with as heavy a workload at Sabathia's age have had mixed levels of success in the latter part of their careers--as for every Tom Seaver who continued to pitch effectively and become a Hall of Famer, there is a Wes Ferrell whose career was basically done after so many innings, or others like Mickey Lolich who were largely ineffective.  Hudson himself had Tommy John surgery and missed the last two months of 2008 and nearly all of 2009, but has come back strong, going 49-26 with a 3.19 ERA in the three full seasons since.  In 2012, Hudson, Halladay, and Sabathia each battled through small injuries that kept them under 30 starts and experienced a degree of drop in performance, with Halladay actually seeing the largest drop of the three.

Tim Hudson 2003 Donruss

"Huddy" did gain his share of notoriety as part of the Oakland Athletics' "Big Three" along with Barry Zito and Mark Mulder, though the pitching trio was always a bit overshadowed by their General Manager Billy Beane as well as MVP winning power hitters Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada.  In his sophomore season, Hudson played a pivotal role in Oakland's 2000 AL West division crown win, going a perfect 7-0 in his final seven starts with a stunning 1.16 ERA and capped it all off with the division clinching win on the last day of the regular season.  In addition, Hudson led the AL with a .769 win/loss percentage, tied David Wells for the league lead with 20 wins, and finished second to Pedro Martinez in the Cy Young Award vote--largely on the strength of those final seven starts.  Two years later, Hudson would play just as important a role in helping the Athletics secure the division crown, going 8-0 with a 1.75 ERA over the last two months of the season--picking up four of those wins during Oakland's memorable 20-game winning streak.  In six excellent seasons with the Athletics, "Huddy" helped the team win three division titles and one Wild Card, going 92-39 with a 3.30 ERA and 136 ERA+.

After the 2004 season, the money-conscious Athletics traded Hudson to the Atlanta Braves--at the time one of baseball's most recognizable franchises.  In his first year in Atlanta, the Braves won their unprecedented 14th-straight NL East division title.  Hudson did his part, finishing '05 with a 14-9 record, a 3.52 ERA, and 121 ERA+.  However, since that time the Braves have failed to win another division title, only making the playoffs in 2010 and 2012 as a Wild Card.  In addition, shortly after Hudson's trade to Atlanta, Time Warner sold the team and TBS stopped solely airing Braves games, costing the team a lot of its national visibility.  Moreover, aside from trading for Hudson, Atlanta's front office has fared poorly as most of the team's acquisitions have been free agent busts such as Derek Lowe or ill-advised trades like the '07 trade deadline deal for Mark Teixeria--whom the franchise gave up Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia to acquire.  Hudson's finest season as a Brave came in 2010 when he went 17-9 with a 2.83 ERA and 138 ERA+.  Hudson beat the NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies on the last day of the regular season to clinch the '10 Wild Card and ensure that skipper Bobby Cox reached the postseason in his final year.  While it is true that the Braves teams Hudson has played on have had a hard time living up to the "America's Team" glory days of the '90's, the blame does not fall on "Huddy" who has been a leader both on the mound and in the clubhouse for Atlanta, going 105-65 with 3.52 ERA and 118 ERA+ in eight seasons with the franchise.

Tim Hudson 2005 Topps Heritage

In his fourteen years in the majors, Hudson has never had a losing season and his eight seasons of 15 wins or more is tied with Halladay, Sabathia, and Andy Pettitte for the most by an active pitcher.  In addition, the consistent Hudson has had thirteen double-digit win seasons against just three double-digit loss seasons.  Hudson's most difficult year was 2006 when his win/loss percentage was .520 with a 4.86 ERA and 92 ERA+-- by far career worsts for "Huddy" in each of those categories.  Hudson's uncharacteristic '06 season marked the only time in his 14-year career that his win/loss percentage was under .600 and his ERA+ fell below 110.  Aside from '06, the only other season Hudson finished with an ERA north of 4.00 was in 2000, when his ERA was 4.14--yet still good enough for 9th lowest in the offense-heavy AL.  "Huddy's" 197-104 career record gives the right-hander a stellar .654 win/loss percentage.  Barring a late career swoon, Hudson should retire with well over 200 wins and an excellent win/loss percentage of .625 or higher.  While wins and win/loss percentage have become devalued compared to sabermetric stats such as WAR and ERA+, in baseball history, only 18 pitchers have retired with over 200 wins and a win/loss percentage of .625 or higher.  Of those 18 hurlers, 13 are in the Hall of Fame and, of the other five, three (Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina, and Pedro Martinez) are likely to be voted in once eligible, one (Bob Caruthers) pitched during the underrated 19th century, and the other (Roger Clemens) would probably already be in the Hall of Fame had he not been linked to PEDs.

In 2012, Hudson completed his age 36 season, according to Baseball Reference's Similarity Scores the two pitchers whose careers are the most similar to Hudson's through age 36 are Kevin Brown and David Cone.  Hudson has more wins and a better win/loss percentage at 36 than both Brown and Cone though most of his other statistics are slightly less impressive.  Like Hudson, both hurlers were in the closing stages of putting together excellent careers that would make for great Hall of Fame debates.  In addition, Brown and Cone were somewhat overshadowed by Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux in much the same way Hudson has been overshadowed by Halladay and Sabathia.  While many of their statistics may be similar, Halladay and Sabathia have received far more recognition during their careers than the underrated Hudson.

	W-L	W/L %	ERA	IP	SO
Hudson age 36	197-104	0.654	3.42	2682.1	1801
Brown age 36	180-118	0.604	3.18	2776.1	2021
Cone age 36	180-102	0.638	3.19	2590.0	2420
Brown career	211-144	0.594	3.28	3256.1	2397
Cone career	194-126	0.606	3.46	2898.2	2668
	WAR	WAA	ERA+
Hudson age 36	55.7	32.4	126
Brown age 36	61.7	37.7	130
Cone age 36	61.7	38.5	129
Brown career	68.5	40.3	127
Cone career	62.6	36.4	121

Unfortunately, Brown and Cone both struggled after their age 36 season and neither made it past their first year on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot, as they both failed to pick up the five percent of the vote required to appear on future ballots.  Brown pitched for four more years after his age 36 season but battled injuries and ineffectiveness, retiring on a sour note after two tumultuous seasons with the New York Yankees which included an embarrassing loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS.  Going into his age 37 season, Cone was coming off a memorable '99 campaign which included a perfect game in July, followed by a rocky ending to the regular season, and concluded with a spectacular postseason where Cone won his fourth World Series ring.  Shockingly, Cone would completely fall apart in 2000, going 4-14 with an unfathomable 6.91 ERA and 70 ERA+.  For 2001, Cone signed with the Boston Red Sox and rebounded to have a so-so year, at the end of which he retired, only to stage an ill-fated 18 inning comeback in 2003 for the Mets.  Cone finished his career with a 194-126 record, 3.46 ERA, 121 ERA+, and 62.6 WAR.  Even though Cone retired with strong sabermetric stats, his inability to reach 200 wins likely doomed his Hall of Fame chances.  Brown, on the other hand, was able to surpass 200 wins, retiring with a 211-144 career record, 3.28 ERA, 127 ERA+, and 68.5 WAR.  However, Brown's appearance in the Mitchell Report for purchasing human growth hormone and Deca-Durabolin from Kirk Radomski cost his borderline Hall of Fame candidacy fair judgment.  While Brown and Cone are ineligible to appear on future BBWAA Hall of Fame ballots, their Hall of Fame candidacies could get a second chance when they become eligible for the Veterans Committee, which judges the careers of failed BBWAA candidates that have been retired 21 or more years with peers from the same era.

Reaching 200 wins represents an important step for Hudson to be viewed as a serious Hall of Fame candidate.  However, Hudson must avoid the pitfalls that befell Brown and Cone in the final years of their careers and continue to pitch effectively into his late thirties to have a realistic shot at Hall of Fame election through the BBWAA.  Otherwise, like Brown and Cone, "Huddy's" time on the BBWAA ballot will be brief and his Hall of Fame candidacy will fall into the hands of the Veterans Committee.  Nevertheless, with 49 wins in his three full seasons since Tommy John surgery, the possibility of Hudson winning over 250 games is not out of the question and if the right-hander is able to pitch well and remain a consistent winner then the path to the Hall of Fame will become much clearer.

----by John Tuberty

Sources:  Baseball Reference, Baseball Reference Play Index, Mitchell Report

Also read:
Comparing Dwight Evans' OBP, WAR, and OPS+ To Hall of Fame Inductees Of The Last Thirty Years

Why Dwight Evans Is a Much Better Candidate For The Hall of Fame Now Than He Was 15 Years Ago

An Interview With Patrick Languzzi, The Man Behind The Petition To Get Dwight Evans Back On The Hall of Fame Ballot

An Interview With Patrick Languzzi, The Man Behind The Petition To Get Dwight Evans Back On The Hall of Fame Ballot

Dwight Evans 1987 Topps

Under current Hall of Fame voting rules, the Expansion Era Committee meets once every three years to vote on retired players who are no longer eligible for election by the BBWAA, have been retired 21 or more seasons, and made their biggest contributions to the sport after 1972.  In addition to the retired players, the Expansion Era ballot also includes retired managers, umpires, and executives from the post-1972 era.  One player who is eligible to be included on December's Expansion Era ballot is former Red Sox right fielder, Dwight Evans.

Despite owning impressive career totals such as 385 home runs, 2,446 hits, and 8 Gold Glove Awards, Evans struggled to draw support in BBWAA Hall of Fame voting and fell off the ballot after failing to draw the necessary five percent needed to stay on the ballot on a very crowded 1999 election.  However in recent years, Evans has become a popular Hall of Fame debate in the sabermetric community and several articles have been written in support of his overlooked Hall of Fame candidacy.  One particular writer, Patrick Languzzi is spearheading a campaign to put Dwight Evans on December's Expansion Era ballot.  Languzzi, who writes for MLB Reports as the Hall of Fame Correspondent, created his own website, Call to the Hall, which is devoted to bringing awareness to Dwight Evans' overlooked Hall of Fame candidacy.  Languzzi even started a petition which calls for Evans to be selected as one of the twelve finalists on December's Expansion Era ballot.  Languzzi was nice enough to take the time for me to interview him about his Call to the Hall website and petition.

What do you feel makes Dwight Evans a Hall of Famer and what led you to support his Hall of Fame candidacy?

Most people would agree that Evans' defense was of Hall of Fame caliber, but what a lot of people don't know is that he also had offensive Hall of Fame numbers.  For instance, during his 20 year career ('72-'91), no one in Major League Baseball reached base more than Dwight Evans (3,890) and ONLY Reggie Jackson hit more home runs in the American League during that time period.  Dwight Evans also led the American League in HRs during the decade of the 1980's (256) and led all of Major League Baseball in extra base hits (605) and runs created (1,067).  And, if you go back to the inception of the American League in 1901 until Evans retired in 1991, he ranks as one of the four most prolific right handed home run hitters in league history, trailing only Hall of Famers Jimmie Foxx, Al Kaline, and Harmon Killebrew in home runs during that time.

I had always felt that if Jim Rice were to ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame, that you could make a case for Evans.  It was at the time of Rice's induction in 2009, that my wife challenged me to do the research since I felt so strongly.  The more I uncovered, the more convinced I became, and once the Red Sox and some local BBWAA writers took an interest, I knew I was probably on to something.


Since you mentioned the Red Sox interest, are you able to expand on that?

The Red Sox have been great to me and very supportive.  I reached out to them three years ago with some offensive statistics on Evans.  It wasn't nearly as comprehensive as what I have now, but enough to catch their attention.  Now it's become a body of work of his combined play.  I worked with Dick Bresciani, the team historian. Bresciani was the person responsible for putting together Jim Rice's Hall of Fame case for the BBWAA in Rice's last year (2009) of eligibility (in which he ended up getting inducted).  His advice to me was to stay away from the rhetoric and stick to the stats, he claims the only thing Hall of Fame voters would be in interested in would be statistics to support why Evans (or any player for that matter) should be in the Hall of Fame.


Tell us about your Call to the Hall website and the online petition.

It was another challenge from my wife that led me to create a website called: Call to the Hall.  She simply stated, "why don't you build a site, this way you can educate people on Evans' accomplishments if you feel so strongly that he deserves the Hall of Fame."

The site is designed to help educate fans on Dwight's Hall of Fame credentials and career accomplishments, including: Video Footage, an On-line Petition, Hall of Fame Player Comparisons, Unique Achievements, Endorsements and more.

I created an on-line petition so that the general public could cast their own vote, should they want to support Evans.  I felt that if enough people supported any given cause, in this case Evans, that whoever it [petition] was directed to, might take the cause into more consideration.

Dwight Evans salutes the Fenway faithful

Patrick, you, along with Nick Carfardo of the Boston Globe were recently interviewed by Tom Caron on the New England Sports Network (NESN) to discuss Evans' overlooked Hall of Fame candidacy (see link below).  What was that experience like?

http://nesn.com/2012/12/dwight-evans-hall-of-fame-candidacy-languishes-with-veterans-committee-video/

The experience was validating for me, meaning, when I started this project, I never imagined it would have gone as far as it has, and gotten the attention it's drawn.  It's great to see that I'm not the only one that feels that Evans' case deserves to be revisited.

You mention in the NESN clip that you got a chance to meet Dwight, what can you tell us about meeting him?

Through all of my research, I've gotten to know Evans, and what I've found is that he is extremely humble and unwilling to discuss himself as a possible Hall of Fame candidate.  He was humble as a player too.  A good example of this is the clip from the 1987 All-Star game (see link to clip below) when Dwight fields a fly ball and fires a strike to home plate, Tim Raines the player at third holds from tagging up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfoKeKlqzpU&feature=youtu.be

What I like about it was after Dwight fires the ball in, he just turns and begins his walk back out to right field.  There's no arrogance or poor sportsmanship involved.  Players nowadays would be staring down runners after a throw like that. He did just the opposite.

I asked him about that play, he stated that it wasn't like him to act in any other manner, that he was just doing his job by trying to keep the runner from scoring.

Most humble athlete I've EVER had the opportunity to meet.

ANOTHER reason I'd love to see him get inducted.

H-U-M-B-L-E !!!!

What is your favorite Dwight Evans moment?

My all-time favorite moment is one that Dwight NEVER mentioned, even after I got to know him.  I had to see it for myself on his [NESN] TV biography, then asked him about it.  His reply was simple, "it wasn't about me, so why would I tell you?"  While in the thick of the 1982 AL East Division race, Dwight hit two home runs at the request of his son Tim, who was in the hospital having one of his more than 30 surgeries.  Most of his teammates didn't even know his kids were so sick.  His wife Susan said that he [Dwight] never wanted anyone to think he was using it as an excuse for why he had a bad day at the park if he didn't do well.

See, what most people don't know, is that Dwight has two sons with a life threatening disease called Neurofibromatosis or NF.  What's not included in the article (below), is that his son Tim asked him to hit a home run the night before he hit the two, which he did.

Dwight's quotes about that night are included in an article David Laurila wrote for Fangraphs below:

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/dwight-evans-hall-of-fame-individual/


Earlier in our discussion you mentioned that you felt Dwight's fielding may have overshadowed his offense?  Would you mind elaborating, especially given that he played right field in one of the toughest ballparks in all of Major League Baseball?

Sure, Dwight is arguably the best right fielder of his era, and had one of the greatest outfield arms the game has ever seen.  So when most think of Dwight Evans, they recall his fielding and incredible arm.  But what a lot of people don't know or realize, is that he had offensive Hall of Fame numbers to go along with it.

As I mentioned earlier, Dwight led the American League for the entire decade in home runs and all of MLB in extra base hits as well as winning five-straight Rawlings Gold Glove awards.  The ONLY other player that comes close to this combined accomplishment is Hank Aaron with three Gold Gloves in his entire career.  Pretty good company if you ask me.

Patrick Languzzi: on Twitter @patricklanguzzi

Why do you think Evans fell off the BBWAA ballot so quickly?

We can speculate and theorize, but if you go back and look at the Hall of Fame voting [ballot] between '97 and '99, their [Rice and Evans] votes dropped during the McGwire and Sosa home run barrage.  I'm not convinced that was coincidental. I think the writers may have been enamored with what was going on with the home run in baseball at the time.  I also feel strongly that the perception on Evans was that of a great defensive player with a phenomenal arm, so it's easy to overlook his offensive accomplishments.

I agree that the '98 home run race was a major factor.  I also think the '99 Hall of Fame ballot played a large role in Dwight falling off the ballot.  Aside from this year's ballot with Bonds, Clemens, Biggio, Piazza, Schilling, and Sosa, the only other ballot crowded with such a statistically impressive group of first time nominees was the '99 ballot with Nolan Ryan, George Brett, Robin Yount, Carlton Fisk, and Dale Murphy.  I believe that with the focus expanding to include sabermetric stats that Evans certainly would have picked up a lot of votes in the 2000's, possibly even enough to be elected by the BBWAA...which leads me to my final question:  How much do you think the emergence of stats like his OBP, WAR and OPS+ impact his Hall of Fame candidacy?

Personally, I believe they strengthen his case.  Obviously the voters weren't focused on sabermetrics when Dwight was on the ballot and seem to take those types of stats into more consideration with today's candidates.  I think you put it best in one of your past articles, "when you look past Dwight's traditional stats and focus on his career .370 OBP, 62.8 WAR, and 127 OPS+, he's on par with the BBWAA inductees of the last thirty years."

----by John Tuberty

Sources:  Call to the Hall, Baseball Reference, Baseball Reference Play Index, Fangraphs, Baseball Hall of Fame, NESN

Related articles:  Comparing Dwight Evans' OBP, WAR, and OPS+ To Hall of Fame Inductees Of The Last Thirty Years

Why Dwight Evans Is a Much Better Candidate For The Hall of Fame Now Than He Was 15 Years Ago

Wes Ferrell: Pre-Integration Era Veterans Committee Hall of Fame Candidate

Wes Ferrell is one of ten candidates eligible for the Pre-Integration Era Hall of Fame vote that will take place during December's Winter Meetings in Nashville.  The Pre-Integration Era Committee votes on candidates who made their biggest contributions to the game between 1871 and 1946.  The Committee is a 16-member panel made up of retired Hall of Famers, major league executives, and veteran media members.  Each member of the panel can vote for up to four of the ten candidates.  A candidate must carry 75% of the vote to be elected.

Wes Ferrell (1908-1976) 193-128 .601W/L% 4.04ERA 323GS 2,623.0IP 985K

Career (’27-’41) 57.2WAR 35.8WAA 116ERA+

Wes Ferrell burst onto the scene as a 21-year old rookie for the 1929 Cleveland Indians, winning 21 games and finishing behind only George Earnshaw for the American League lead in wins.  Ferrell's 3.60 ERA that year may not look all that strong but it was good enough for seventh in the AL as pitchers during this time had the misfortune of plying their trade during one of the most hitter-friendly eras in baseball history.  Moreover, the hitters' advantage over their pitching counterparts was even more significant in the offense-heavy AL where the league average ERA consistently stayed well north of 4.00.  Ferrell followed up his excellent rookie season with an even more impressive sophomore campaign, going 25-13 with a 3.31 ERA, this time finishing runner-up to Lefty Grove in both AL wins and ERA.  Ferrell won 22 games in 1931, including an April 29 no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns.  The young right-hander once again finished runner-up to Grove in AL wins, marking the third year in a row he was second in that category.  As good as his '31 season was on the mound, Ferrell may have been even more impressive at the plate, hitting .319 with 9 home runs and 30 RBI in just 128 plate appearances.  In addition, Ferrell's 152 OPS+ was higher than any of the regular hitters on the team and the 9 home runs he hit set a single season record for pitchers that still stands today.  Ferrell even helped his cause in his no-hit win, drilling a home run, a double, and driving in 4 runs.  Cleveland was so impressed with Ferrell's hitting that he was often called upon to pinch hit between starts.

Wes Ferrell 1933 Goudey

Ferrell added 23 more wins to his ledger in 1932, giving the 24-year old an amazing 21 or more wins in each of his first four full seasons.  Moreover, despite pitching his home games at hitter-friendly League Park, Ferrell consistently finished among the league leaders in ERA.  Yet, despite all his success, things were falling apart for Ferrell in Cleveland.  Competitive but also combative, Ferrell sometimes let his emotions get the best of him when his teammates made errors.  Though he averaged nearly 300 innings pitched per year, arm troubles bothered Ferrell as early as the Spring of 1930.  Ferrell's arm woes made him reluctant to throw his fastball, much to the chagrin of his manager Roger Peckinpaugh and the Cleveland front office.  Ferrell's often contentious relationship with Peckinpaugh smoldered over when the team suspended the righty ten days without pay after he refused to hand the ball over to his manager during a poor outing late in the '32 season.  A change of managers from Peckinpaugh to legendary Hall of Fame hurler Walter Johnson in June of the following year relieved some of the tension surrounding Ferrell.  However, despite the managerial change, Ferrell had his first off-year winning just 11 games, while losing 12, with a 4.21 ERA.  In fact, Ferrell struggled so mightily in the second half of the season--going 3-5 with a 6.13 ERA--that the team took him out of the rotation and played him regularly in left field for the final three weeks of the season.  Ferrell hit well but struggled to track down balls hit to left and his lack of range in the field drew lots of criticism.

Ferrell's trial run in left was considered a failure and many felt his best pitching days were behind him so during the offseason, the Cleveland front office tried to trade him but was unable to deal the fiery right-hander.  When Cleveland decided to cut his salary, Ferrell returned home to North Carolina and opted to sit out the start of the season.  Finally on May 25, Cleveland officially parted ways with their temperamental superstar, trading him to the Boston Red Sox where he joined brother Rick to form a pitcher-catcher brother battery.  Despite missing nearly two full months due to the contract holdout, Ferrell bounced back strong in his first season in Beantown going 14-5 with a 3.63 ERA.  Moving from Cleveland's League Park to Boston's Fenway Park gave Ferrell little relief as in Boston like Cleveland he pitched his home games at a notorious hitter's park.  Despite the unfriendly confines, Ferrell continued to stay among the league leaders in ERA.  The following year, Ferrell had one of his finest campaigns, leading the AL with 25 wins despite pitching on a team that barely finished above .500.  Ferrell also paced the league with 322.1 innings pitched and 31 complete games.  In addition, Ferrell hit .347 with 7 home runs and 32 RBI in just 179 plate appearances.  Moreover, Ferrell's .347 batting average, .427 OBP, and 141 OPS+ were easily higher than all of Boston's regular hitters.  Ferrell's strong performance on the mound and with the bat netted him a league high 10.4 WAR and earned him a runner-up finish behind Hank Greenberg in the 1935 AL MVP vote.

Ferrell followed up his excellent '35 season with a 20-15 campaign, the sixth time in his career he reached the 20-win mark.  Once again, Ferrell led the AL with 301 innings pitched and 28 complete games.  Ferrell's 7.7 WAR was third highest in the league and his 4.19 ERA, which was eighth best in the league, was deceptively strong since the league average ERA was 5.04--the highest in AL history.  Just as in Cleveland, turmoil surrounded Ferrell in Boston which led to difficulties with teammates as well as managers Bucky Harris and Joe Cronin.  In fact in one memorable incident, Ferrell slugged himself in the jaw and smashed his head into a concrete wall after being removed from the game during an ineffective start.

The following season Ferrell got off to a horrendous start going 3-6 with an alarming 7.61 ERA and on June 11 was traded, along with brother Rick to the Washington Senators.  Ferrell rebounded in Washington, completing an amazing 21 of 24 starts with a 3.94 ERA.  Still, his combined stat line in Boston and Washington for the '37 season was an unimpressive 14-19 record with a subpar 4.90 ERA--though he did lead the AL with 281 innings pitched and 26 complete games, the third year in a row the workhorse righty led in those categories.  The 14 wins gave the 29-year old Ferrell an amazing 175 wins before his thirtieth birthday.  Ferrell's stay in Washington was short-lived as he was released the following August.  At the time of his release, Ferrell led the team with 13 wins but sported a 5.92 ERA.  Ferrell's exit from the Capital City was likely hastened by critical comments he made about Senators owner Clark Griffith.  Ferrell was quickly signed by the New York Yankees, who would defeat the Chicago Cubs in the World Series that year.  Unfortunately for Ferrell, he was ineffective for the Bombers, going 2-2 with an 8.10 ERA and did not appear in the World Series.  Ferrell's combined record had rebounded to 15-10 in 1938 but his ERA ballooned to 6.28.  All the wear and tear from being a workhouse starter appeared to be taking its toll on Ferrell, who at season's end got elbow surgery after finishing '38 with career lows in both complete games and innings pitched.

Unfortunately, the elbow surgery did not breathe new life into Ferrell's arm and the righty was released by the Yankees the following May after just three starts.  Ferrell signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers for 1940 but once again was released in May.  The pattern repeated itself again in 1941 when Ferrell signed with the Boston Braves, only to be given his walking papers in May.  Though he was just 33-years old, Ferrell's release from Boston spelled an end to the passionate right-hander's major league career.  The North Carolina native spent the rest of the decade playing for Southeastern-based minor league teams.  Ferrell had been viewed as a defensive liability in his brief trial run as a Cleveland left fielder at the end of the 1933 season but in the minors was able to enjoy taking the field as an everyday position player without the pressures and scrutinies of a major league front office, beat writers, and fans.  In his stops to different minor league towns, Ferrell occasionally took the mound and usually served as player-manager.

Wes Ferrell 1934-36 Diamond Stars

Ferrell retired with a 193-128 record and .601 win/loss percentage--an even more impressive total considering he pitched for mediocre teams most of his career.  Ferrell had six 20-win seasons, including four in a row from 1929 to 1932.  Ferrell also finished in the top-5 in WAR for pitchers six times, four of which were runner-up finishes to the dominant Lefty Grove.  In addition, Ferrell was a workhorse, leading the AL in complete games four times and innings pitched three times.  Ferrell retired with a seemingly lackluster 4.04 career ERA, but that can largely be attributed to the offense-dominated era he pitched in.  In fact, Ferrell regularly placed among the top-10 in traditional ERA and adjusted ERA+, despite pitching most of his home games at League Park and Fenway Park.  And, when Ferrell's 4.04 career ERA is adjusted based on the league, home ballparks, and the time period he pitched in, it becomes a much more respectable 116 ERA+.

In addition to being one of the finest pitchers of his generation, Ferrell is regarded by many to be the greatest hitting pitcher of all-time.  In just 1,345 career plate appearances, Ferrell hit 38 home runs and drove in 208 runs with a .280 career batting average, .351 OBP, and 100 OPS+.  Moreover, Ferrell holds the major league record for career home runs by a pitcher with 37 of his 38 long balls coming in games in which he took the mound, as well as the single season record for a pitcher with 9 in 1931.  Ferrell's teams valued his bat so much that on days when he wasn't pitching, he was often called upon as a pinch hitter.  Interestingly enough, Ferrell actually finished his career with more home runs, a higher batting average, and OPS+ than his brother Rick, who was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1984.

Lefty Grove, Red Ruffing, Ted Lyons, and Lefty Gomez were contemporaries of Ferrell's, who also pitched in the AL during the high-scoring 1930's, but unlike Ferrell each of them were eventually voted into the Hall of Fame.  Of those Hall of Fame hurlers, only Grove can match Ferrell's career peak of six 20-win seasons over an eight year period, which for Ferrell, also included a pair of 25-win seasons in 1930 and 1935.  Despite his six 20-win seasons and heralded skill with the bat, Ferrell never drew more than 3.6% of the vote in BBWAA elections.  Ferrell could be difficult as well as volatile at times--something that may have hurt him in Hall of Fame voting.  Undoubtedly, having a career ERA north of 4.00 also cost Ferrell more than his fair share of Hall of Fame votes.  Ferrell's high career ERA was a by-product of its time as Hall of Fame contemporaries Lyons (3.67) and Ruffing (3.80) have the dubious honor of having the highest ERAs of any pitchers in Cooperstown.  Ferrell's career lacked the longevity of Grove, Lyons, and Ruffing, who each won 260 or more games.  However, in his abbreviated career, Ferrell was able to add a lot of value with the bat and, when compared sabermetrically to his Hall of Fame contemporaries, the combination of his contributions on the mound and in the batter's box bridges the gap to his enshrined peers.

			Ferrell compared to HOF contemporary pitchers
	From	To	W	L	W%	ERA	IP	WAR	pWAR	bWAR	WAA	ERA+
Ferrell	1927	1941	193	128	0.601	4.04	2623.0	57.2	45.1	12.1	35.8	116
Grove	1925	1941	300	141	0.680	3.06	3940.2	97.4	103.7	-6.3	65.7	148
Ruffing	1924	1947	273	225	0.548	3.80	4344.0	63.3	48.6	14.7	29.7	109
Lyons	1923	1946	260	230	0.531	3.67	4161.0	65.2	60.7	4.5	32.5	118
Gomez	1930	1943	189	102	0.649	3.34	2503.0	34.6	39.3	-4.7	14.9	125

Ferrell last appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot in December 2008 when the Veterans Committee voted on players who started their careers prior to 1943.  Ferrell garnered far more support on the '08 Veterans Committee ballot than he ever did in BBWAA voting, picking up exactly half the vote and finishing third highest of the ten nominees.  There is a decent chance Ferrell could be poised for election on the upcoming Pre-Integration Era Committee vote since the two players who finished ahead of him in the '08 vote will not be on the Pre-Integration Era ballot--Joe Gordon was elected on the '08 ballot and Allie Reynolds is now considered a Golden Era Committee candidate since the greater portion of his career came after 1946.  On the BBWAA ballot, the highest vote getting holdover from the previous election was Jack Morris who owns a 3.90 career ERA.  Coincidentally, if either Ferrell or Morris were elected they would have the highest career ERA of any pitcher in Cooperstown.  Though, in contrast to Morris, sabermetrics actually helps Ferrell's Hall of Fame candidacy more than hinders it.  However, unlike the '08 Veterans Committee ballot, the Pre-Integration Era ballot will combine former players with former executives, managers, and umpires such as former New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert and Deadball Era umpire Hank O'Day, so increased support for Ferrell is not a given.

	Ferrell and Morris compared to HOF pitchers with the highest career ERA
	From	To	W	L	W%	ERA	IP	WAR	pWAR	bWAR	WAA	ERA+
Ferrell	1927	1941	193	128	0.601	4.04	2623.0	57.2	45.1	12.1	35.8	116
Morris	1977	1994	254	186	0.577	3.90	3824.0	39.3	39.3	0.0	9.7	105
Ruffing	1924	1947	273	225	0.548	3.80	4344.0	63.3	48.6	14.7	29.7	109
Lyons	1923	1946	260	230	0.531	3.67	4161.0	65.2	60.7	4.5	32.5	118
Haines	1918	1937	210	158	0.571	3.64	3208.2	30.7	33.7	-3.0	7.1	109
Pennock	1912	1934	241	162	0.598	3.60	3571.2	39.8	38.8	1.0	10.5	106
Hoyt	1918	1938	237	182	0.566	3.59	3762.1	46.9	48.4	-1.5	16.6	112

----by John Tuberty

Sources:  Baseball Reference, Baseball Reference Play Index, SABR, Dick Thompson- The Ferrell Brothers of Baseball (Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub)

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