Ed Walsh

For other people named Ed Walsh, see Ed Walsh (disambiguation).

Ed Walsh
Pitcher
Born: May 14, 1881(1881-05-14) Plains Township, Pennsylvania
Died: May 26, 1959(1959-05-26) (aged 78) Pompano Beach, Florida
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 7, 1904 for the Chicago White Sox
Last MLB appearance
September 11, 1917 for the Boston Braves
Career statistics
Win–Loss record	195–126
Earned run average	1.82
Strikeouts	1736
Shutouts	57
Teams
As Player Chicago White Sox (1904 – 1916) Boston Braves (1917) As Manager Chicago White Sox (1924)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion: 1906 Best career ERA (1.82) in Major League history Second-best WHIP (1.00) in Major League history American League ERA champion: 1907, 1910 American League wins champion: 1908 4-time American League innings pitched leader 4 20-win seasons 1 40-win season 6 sub-2.00 ERA seasons 5 seasons of 200+ strikeouts
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1946
Election Method	Veteran's Committee

Edward Augustine Walsh (May 14, 1881 – May 26, 1959) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He holds the record for lowest career ERA, 1.82.

Baseball career

Born in Plains Township, Pennsylvania, Walsh had a brief though remarkable major league career. He made his major league debut in 1904 with the Chicago White Sox and pitched his first full season in 1906, going 17–13 with a 1.88 ERA and 171 strikeouts. From this season through 1912, Walsh averaged 24 victories, 220 strikeouts and posted an ERA below 2.00 five times. He also led the league in saves five times in this span. His finest individual season came in 1908 when he went 40–15 with 269 strikeouts, 6 saves and a 1.42 ERA. In 1910, he posted the lowest ERA (1.27) for a pitcher with at least 20 starts and a losing record.

A 1911 Ed Walsh T205 Tobacco Card

In 1910, the White Sox opened White Sox Park, which was soon nicknamed Comiskey Park by the press in honor of team owner Charles Comiskey. The name was officially changed to Comiskey Park in 1913. A story, perhaps apocryphal, states that Zachary Taylor Davis, the architect who later designed Wrigley Field across town, consulted Walsh in setting the park's field dimensions. Choosing a design that favored himself and other White Sox pitchers, rather than hitters, Walsh not only made Comiskey Park a "pitcher's park" for its entire 80-year history, but he can be said to be the man who "built" Comiskey Park.^{[citation needed]}

Interviewed for Lawrence Ritter's book The Glory of Their Times, Hall-of-Famer Sam Crawford referred to Walsh's use of a pitch that was later outlawed: "Big Ed Walsh. Great big, strong, good-looking fellow. He threw a spitball. I think that ball disintegrated on the way to the plate, and the catcher put it back together again. I swear, when it went past the plate, it was just the spit went by".

Walsh was a workhorse who pitched an average of 375 innings annually during the six-year period, 1907-1912. After the 1912 season, Walsh reportedly requested a full year off to rest his arm. Nevertheless, he showed up for spring training the following season, contending, "The White Sox needed me—implored me to return—so I did". As baseball historian William C. Kashatus observed, "It was a mistake".

Walsh's playing time began dwindling in 1913. It has been claimed that he came into spring training in poorer physical shape than other members of the White Sox pitching staff, and his pride led him to try to keep up with the other pitchers in terms of pitch speed before getting into adequate shape, thereby causing damage to his pitching arm. "I could feel the muscles grind and wrench during the game, and it seemed to me my arm would leap out of my socket when I shot the ball across the plate", Walsh later recalled. "My arm would keep me awake till morning with a pain I had never known before". He pitched only 16 games during the 1913 season, and a meager 13 games over the next three years.

By 1916 his arm was dead. He wanted a year off, but Charles Comiskey released him instead. He attempted a comeback with the Boston Braves in 1917, but was let go, ending his major league career. He later did some pitching in the Eastern League and gave umpiring a try, after which he was a coach for the White Sox for a few years. He retired with 195 wins, 126 losses and 1736 strikeouts. His career 1.82 is the lowest major league ERA ever posted, but is unofficial since ERA was not an official statistic in the American League prior to 1913.

Walsh was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. In 1999, he ranked Number 82 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Walsh died on May 26, 1959.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
• List of Major League Baseball saves champions
• List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
• List of Major League Baseball wins champions
• Major League Baseball titles leaders
• Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time

References

• Coffey, Michael (2004). 27 Men Out: Baseball's Perfect Games. New York: Atria Books. ISBN 0743446062.
• Kashatus, William C. (2002). Diamonds in the Coalfields: 21 Remarkable Baseball Players, Managers, and Umpires from Northeast Pennsylvania. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786411764.

External links

• Ed Walsh at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Doc White Harry Krause	American League ERA Champion 1907 1910	Succeeded by Addie Joss Vean Gregg
Preceded by Rube Waddell Walter Johnson	American League Strikeout Champion 1908 1911	Succeeded by Frank Smith Walter Johnson
Preceded by Addie Joss & Doc White	American League Wins Champion 1908	Succeeded by George Mullin
Preceded by Smoky Joe Wood	No-hitter pitcher August 27, 1911	Succeeded by George Mullin
Preceded by Johnny Evers	Chicago White Sox Manager 1924	Succeeded by Eddie Collins