The Round 6 pitchers have a decidedly New York flavor, with the Giants, Mets, and Dodgers well-represented. The hitters will also face several knuckleball hurlers and five Hall-of-Famers. The hitters will have their work cut out for them in this elimination Round.
Played as: Wilbur Wood
Full Name: Wilbur Forrester Wood
Nicknames: Wilbah
Lifetime: 164-156, 57 Saves, 3.24
Wilbur Wood had four distinct phases in his career: He made it to the bigs at 19 with his hometown Boston Red Sox in 1961, where he alternated between being excellent in the minors and getting beat up in the majors. By 1967, he was in what might have been his last spring training (by now with the White Sox), when he had the good fortune to have Hoyt Wilhelm as a teammate. Wood had been throwing a knuckball since his youth and Wilhelm convinced him that it was his ticket to stick in the bigs. What then followed was four solid years of relief pitching, where he led the league in appearances three times and had a WHIP of 1.19.
Then from 1971-75, Wood was reinvented as an old-school starting pitcher, leading the league thrice in starts and eating innings, averaging almost 350 per season over the period. The final phase of his career was his attempted comeback from a broken kneecap.
Quotable: “I wouldn’t be in the major leagues if it hadn’t been for Hoyt and the help he gave me with the knuckleball.”
Played as: Rube Marquard
Full Name: Richard William Marquard
Nicknames: Well, Rube, obviously!
Lifetime: 201-177, 20 Saves, 3.08
Look, don’t get me wrong. Rube Marquard was a fine pitcher. He helped lead his teams to five World Series appearances. He had a spectacular 19-game win streak in 1912. But the Hall-of-Fame? He would not have my vote. He definitely benefitted from having a chapter in the 1966 book, The Glory of Their Times, by Lawrence Ritter.
Quotable: “The entire importance of pitching lies in the ability to pitch to a ‘spot’ and put the ball where you want it.”
Played as: John Franco
Full Name: John Anthony Franco
Nicknames: N/A
Lifetime: 90-87, 424 Saves, 2.89
Truly one of the great modern relievers, John Franco retired with the fourth most saves all time – he’s still ranked seventh – and still remains the top save leader among lefties.
Quotable: “For those 14 years that I played here, I gave it my best, it wasn’t always easy, and I’m sure I kept a lot of you on the edge of your seats. But I had it under control all the time.”
Played as: Christy Mathewson
Full Name: Christopher Mathewson
Nicknames: Big Six or Matty
Lifetime: 373-188, 30 Saves, 2.13
In any serious conversation regarding the greatest pitcher of all time, Matty’s name is going to come up. It was a different game, of course, but he won 20 or more games 13 times, and 30 or more three times. It’s no wonder he was one of the original inductees into the Baseball Hall-of-Fame.
Quotable: “(Christy) Mathewson was the greatest pitcher who ever lived. He had knowledge, judgment, perfect control and form. It was wonderful to watch him pitch when he wasn’t pitching against you.” – Connie Mack (who saw enough great pitchers to have an educated opinion).
Played as: Jack Morris
Full Name: John Scott Morris
Nicknames: Black Jack or Mount Morris
Lifetime: 254-186, 0 Saves, 3.90
A consistently good pitcher for long time, Jack Morris won more games in the 1980s than any other pitcher and pitched a no-hitter on national television (back when that was a thing…). He was elected to the Hall-of-Fame in 2018.
Quotable: “I’m not going anywhere. This is my game.” Morris to manager Tom Kelly, who wanted to bring in a reliever for the tenth inning of the deciding game of the 1991 World Series.
Played as: Freddie Fitzsimmons
Full Name: Fred Landis Fitzsimmons
Nicknames: Fat Freddie
Lifetime: 217-146, 13 Saves, 3.51
Another of John McGraw‘s Giants and another knuckleballer for the hitters this season! Freddie pitched at the time baseball was transitioning from the deadball era to the power-laden pre-war era, and he managed the transition very well. His winning percentage was high, his WHIP reasonable, and his home run totals modest, thanks to his ability to keep the ball low.
Quotable: “If you ever saw Freddie pitch, you could never forget him. He would turn his back completely to the batter, as he was winding up, wheel back around and let out the most god-awful grunt as he was letting the ball go — rrrrrhhhhhooooo — like a rhinoceros in heat.” – Leo Durocher, Nice Guys Finish Last
Played as: Dazzy Vance
Full Name: Charles Arthur Vance
Nicknames: Dazzy, of course
Lifetime: 197-140, 12 Saves, 3.24
Imagine: You are 31 years old and still in the minors. Then, a fortuitous visit to the doctor removes the pain in your arm and – Voila! You are in the majors. And then you win 18 games and lead the league in strikeouts. And then you do it again the following year. Then you win 28 with 30 complete games! Before you know it, you are 44 years old with almost 200 wins. If that doesn’t merit a Hall-of-Fame induction, I don’t know what does.
Quotable: “My arm came back just as quickly as it went sore on me in 1915. I awoke one morning and learned I could throw without pain again.”
Played as: Frank Dwyer
Full Name: William Henry Terry
Nicknames: Billy
Lifetime: 197-196, 6 Saves, 3.74
A typical 19th century pitcher who was expected to go out to the mound every third game, he won more than he lost and managed to have a long enough career to amass almost 200 wins. He was the umpire for Cy Young‘s perfect game.
Quotable: I honestly couldn’t find anything!
Played as: John Ward
Full Name: John Montgomery Ward
Nicknames: Monte
Lifetime: 164-103, 3 Saves, 2.10
We’ve already seen John Ward and his spectacular mustache in the tournament… as a hitter! Ward qualified for Baseball’s Greatest Player Playoff based primarily on his 540 lifetime stolen bases and his election to the Hall-of-Fame. He won 64 games in Round 1 and was subsequently eliminated in Round 2 with 63 victories, placing him 551st out of our 600 contestants.
But before he was an exceptional shortstop and second baseman for the New York Giants, and prior to burning out his arm with almost 600 innings of work per year, Ward was a starting pitcher for Providence at the dawn of the National League, even going 47-18 in 1879. His pitching career was bright but short, lasting a scant seven years before he transitioned off the mound. He also was instrumental in the formation of the first baseball players’ union, the Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players, and the one-and-done Players League. An exceedingly interesting dude; I recommend this short biography.
Quotable: “Played an important part in establishing modern organized baseball,” The Hall-of-Fame of Fame plaque for John Montgomery Ward in Cooperstown.