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User:Sewageboy/sandbox/Walter Johnson

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Professional career

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1907–1909: Debut and early years

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In 1907, Johnson was pitching in a semi-professional league in Idaho when he was scouted by Cliff Blankenship, a Washington Senators player who had been sent on the scouting assignment by manager Joe Cantillon while recovering from an injury. Blankenship convinced Johnson to come to Washington and play for US$450 per month; Johnson officially joined the Senators in July 1907, at the age of 19. On August 2, he made his major league debut in a game against the Detroit Tigers at Boundary Field in Washington. In the game, Johnson faced eventual Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, who reached base with a bunt, and Sam Crawford, who hit a home run. Johnson was pulled from the game to allow Blankenship to pinch hit for him. Johnson pitched eight innings, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out three. After his debut, The Washington Post suggested that Johnson was the most promising pitching prospect in the league, and Cobb said that "every one of us knew we’d met the most powerful arm ever turned loose in a ball park."[1][2]

In his second start on August 7, Johnson recorded his first win and first complete game, doing so against the Cleveland Naps. On September 7, Johnson threw his first shutout in a game against the Boston Americans at the Huntington Avenue Grounds and followed it up with another shutout against the New York Highlanders at Hilltop Park on September 12. Johnson finished his rookie season with a 5–9 win–loss record, 1.88 earned run average (ERA), and 71 strikeouts in 110+1⁄3 innings pitched. He threw a complete game in 11 of his 12 starts and made two relief appearances.[3]

Johnson was considered a standout on the losing 1908 Senators team that would ultimately finish second-to-last in the American League standings. On July 28, he pitched 16 innings and allowed only one run while striking out 15 against the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park – the Senators could not break a 1–1 tie until a Bob Unglaub RBI single in the 16th, and the game gave Johnson only his second win in 10 starts on the year.[4] During an early September series against the last-place Highlanders, Johnson started three consecutive games and threw a shutout each time, improving his season record from 7–8 to 10–8 in the span of four days.[5] Despite his team's losing record, Johnson was credited with an influence on the AL pennant race. He threw a complete game and allowed one run against the Cleveland Naps on September 24 at League Park, kicking off a road series win with two weeks left in the season. The Naps would proceed to finish second to the Tigers by half a game, missing out on a trip to the World Series.[6] Johnson finished the season 14–14 with a 1.65 ERA and 162 strikeouts across 256+1⁄3 innings.[7]

A T206 trading card of Johnson from 1909

By 1909, Johnson began to develop acclaim among baseball fans and the sports media. Detroit sportswriter H. G. Salsinger regarded him as the best pitcher in baseball, and Senators manager Cantillon compared his impact on the AL to that of Ty Cobb.[8] In January 1909, during the offseason, Johnson turned down a contract offer from the Senators and held out for a higher salary.[9] In March, he arrived for spring training in Galveston, Texas, and signed a contract. Newspapers reported that Johnson had arrived to camp at an increased weight of 204 pounds (93 kg), speculating that it would improve his strength in his pitching.[10] He finished the season with a 2.22 ERA with 164 strikeouts in 296+1⁄3 innings but posted a 13–25 record as the Senators lost 110 games and finished last in the AL.[11]

1910–1912: Emergence as a league leader

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On Opening Day 1910, Johnson pitched a one-hit shutout of the eventual World Series champion Philadelphia Athletics. On September 28, he struck out 10 batters in a win over the Chicago White Sox to bring his season total to 307, eclipsing the AL single-season strikeout record set by Rube Waddell in 1903.[12] Despite another second-to-last finish for the Senators in 1910, Johnson posted a winning record for the first time in his career, going 25–17 with a 1.36 ERA. He appeared atop league leaderboards for the first time, leading the majors in games started (42), complete games (38), strikeouts (313), and innings pitched (370).[11]

In July 1911, Johnson partook in the Addie Joss Benefit Game, an unofficial exhibition organized to raise funds for the family of late Cleveland pitcher Addie Joss. As a member of the All-Star team assembled to face the Naps in Cleveland, Johnson pitched three innings in relief of Smoky Joe Wood, allowing only one hit and no runs while being credited with the win. Johnson finished the season with a 25–13 record, 1.90 ERA, and 207 strikeouts in 322+1⁄3 innings pitched.[11] He received votes for the Chalmers Award, the predecessor to the modern MVP award, and finished fifth among AL finalists.[13]

Johnson surrendered four runs in a loss to the back-to-back champion Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park on Opening Day in 1912 but threw a three-hit shutout against the team four games later during Washington's first home game of the year, and the Senators were noted as having their best team in years.[14] Johnson began the season by pitching 46 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.[15] He particularly enjoyed success against the Boston Red Sox, with whom the Senators were competing for the AL pennant – in five starts, he won three games, including two shutouts.[16] Despite Johnson's efforts and Washington's improved 91–61 record, the team finished 14 games behind Boston in the pennant race. Johnson finished the season at 33–12 with a 1.39 ERA and a majors-leading 303 strikeouts in 369 innings.[11]

1913–1915: First MVP award

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Johnson opened the 1913 season with a 2–1 victory over the New York Yankees at home. Thereafter, he proceeded to compile a 55+2⁄3-inning scoreless streak, spanning all of April and lasting until May 14. The streak remains an American League record but has been since surpassed on the major league level by Don Drysdale in 1968 (58 innings) and Orel Hershiser in 1988 (59 innings).[17] On August 2, 1913, the Senators hosted "Walter Johnson Day" at National Park with U.S. president Woodrow Wilson in attendance – Johnson was reported to be not at his best due to a cleat wound and a sore foot but still led Washington to victory with a complete game, two-run outing.[18] He finished the season by winning the Triple Crown and setting career highs in wins at 36–7, ERA at 1.14, shutouts at 11, ERA+ at 259, and walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) at 0.780.[11] His 15.1 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) in 1913 is the seventh-most all-time for a pitcher and the most since 1900.[19] Johnson was voted the AL MVP for the first time in his career.[20]

In 1914, Johnson's numbers regressed from his MVP season. He recorded over 30 wins in each of the previous two years but was not winning games at the same rate in 1914, including a 9–7 record midway through June.[21] Umpire and sportswriter Billy Evans attributed Johnson's struggles to his increased use of the curveball, which he argued was a point of success for teams like the Athletics and also a detriment to his fastball velocity.[22] On October 5, Johnson faced rookie Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox for the first time, retiring him for an out in one at-bat.[23] He finished the season at 28–18 with a 1.72 ERA and 225 strikeouts in a career-high 371+2⁄3 innings.[11]

On May 14, 1918, Johnson pitched an 18-inning shutout against the Chicago White Sox at Griffith Stadium, the longest outing of his career, and tied with three other pitchers for the longest shutout in major league history.[24] On August 4, Johnson pitched a 17+1⁄3-inning complete game – he did not pitch a full bottom of the 18th inning because he surrendered a walk-off hit with one out.[25]

  1. ^ Grillo, J. Ed (August 3, 1907). "Lose Two to Tigers". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Larkin, Kevin (October 2020). "August 2, 1907: The Train Departs the Station: Walter Johnson makes major-league debut". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  3. ^ "Walter Johnson 1907 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Grillo, J. Ed (July 29, 1908). "Bob Unglaub's Third Hit Wins Sixteen-Inning Game for Walter Johnson". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  5. ^ Grillo, J. Ed (September 8, 1908). "Johnson Pitches Third Shut-Out in Three Days Against New York". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  6. ^ Goold, Paul (October 11, 1908). "Walter Johnson Helped to Guide the Course of the Pennant". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  7. ^ "Walter Johnson 1908 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  8. ^ "Walter Johnson - Greatest Pitcher". The Charlotte Observer. The Washington Post. 6 April 1909. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  9. ^ Grillo, J. Ed (January 14, 1909). "Walter Johnson, Nationals' Premier Pitcher, Joins Hold-Out Squad". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  10. ^ Rice, Thomas S. (March 5, 1909). "Walter Johnson Falls in Line With "Bill" Burns and Milan". The Washington Times. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d e f "Walter Johnson Stats". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  12. ^ Jackson, Joe S. (September 29, 1910). "Nationals Come East in Sixth Place — Johnson Realizes His Ambition". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  13. ^ "1911 Awards Voting". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  14. ^ Peet, William (April 20, 1912). "Griff's Nationals Gain Revenge Over Athletics". The Washington Herald. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  15. ^ "Senator" (May 4, 1912). "Walter Johnson Blemishes Heretofore Good Record". The Washington Times. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  16. ^ "Walter Johnson 1912 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  17. ^ Simon, Andrew (September 11, 2022). "The 10 longest scoreless-inning streaks". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  18. ^ Peet, William (August 3, 1913). "Johnson Tames the Jungaleers to Tune of 3 to 2". The Washington Herald. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  19. ^ "Single-Season Leaders & Records for WAR for Pitchers". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  20. ^ "1913 Awards Voting". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  21. ^ "Walter Johnson 1914 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  22. ^ Evans, Billy (November 1, 1914). "Walter Johnson's Speed Slackened When He Started Using Curve Ball". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  23. ^ "Washington Senators vs. Boston Red Sox Score". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. October 5, 1914. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  24. ^ "Shutout Records by Pitchers". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  25. ^ "Walter Johnson 1918 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
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