Courtesy of Scott Fennessy who is in the middle of his 1905 replay, comes another deadball favorite, 1905 Christy Mathewson. You can’t find a better representative of formidable pitching from the era than “Big Six”. He won 373 career games and his 2.13 ERA is fantastic even for the deadball era. He led his league in ERA six times and in wins four times.
In 1905, Mathewson led the league in all the major categories for the Giants. His 31 wins, 1.28 ERA, 206 strikeouts, and 8 shutouts were all best in the NL. He also led the league in K/BB ratio with a 3.22 mark ensuring a Z rating.
| Year | Tm | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905 | NYG | 31 | 9 | .775 | 1.28 | 43 | 37 | 32 | 8 | 3 | 338.2 | 252 | 85 | 48 | 4 | 64 | 206 |
Mathewson got the coveted A&B pitching grade in 1905, almost unheard of for full-time starting pitchers in APBA. There was a comment thread in an APBA Blog post by Scott that discussed exactly which starting pitchers did get the A&B rating. Reader Shawn Kaufman offers that Smokey Joe Wood, Walter Johnson, and Jack Chesbro have been recipients of the grade. I could be wrong but Ed Walsh may have received it too.
It’s interesting to note that Matty wasn’t a bad hitter in 1905. He hit .236 with 2 homeruns but probably more importantly he walked 10 times in 141 plate appearances. It’s not a super hitting card but considering his competition, it’s certainly serviceable. He even managed a 15-10 based on two steals.
Thanks again to Scott Fennessy for the suggestion. We’re not going to see too many A&B pitchers like this!
See other Monster Card Monday selections
Ed Walsh has (I happen to have the All-Time Franchise set) and he’s an A&B-XZ, as well as Christy’s teammate Joe McGinnity of the New York Giants was a A&B-YZ.
I would love to see that list of A&B starting pitchers. I still can’t believe 1968 Gibson wasn’t.