Evening star., 1939-12-23
Rates Top in Earned
Run Averages and
Number Of Wins
Also HurIs Most Frames,
Faces Most. Botters,
Shares Other Leeds
BY JUDSON BAILEY,
Associated Press Sports Writer.


NEW YORK, Dec. 23.-The Ma
tional League pitcher Of the year
was and is William Henry (Bucky)
Walters, jr., of the Cincinnati Reds.
The baseball writer's who chose
him the most valuable player In his
league had the same idea several
weeks ago, but it took the pitch
ing averages announced today to
show what great singer the
lanky righthander really was dur
ing the 1899 season.
He led all hurlers in his league
in earned run rating, with an av-
erage of 2.29 a game; won the most
games, q; pitched the most in
nings, 3l9, the most complete games,
81; faced the most batters, 1888;
tied with one other for the most
strikeouts, 1877; tied with two others
for starting the most games, 36, and
tied with two others for allowing
the most sacrifice hits.
Viewed from any angle those dig
its make the former Philadelphia
inflelder a pretty immense indi-
vidual, even overshadowing his
towering teammate, Paul Derringer,
whose slightly better percentage
record and heroic but futile feats
in the World Series served for awhile
to confuse the issue.
His First Big Season.
1t was the first season that
Walters averaged less than AIT
earned runs, and inasmuch as he
had only two shutouts among the
q games he won, the fact that his
average was so low came as some
thing of a surprise.
Chicago's Bill Lee, In topping the
league last year, had 2.66 rating
and no hurler had equaled Walters
mark since Carl Hubbell of the New
York Giants came up with his SEN
sational 1.66 in 1893.
Hubbell, incidentally, confounded
some of the casual observers who
believed him fading by compiling a
2.75 average to rank second in
earned runs and in addition finished
10th in won-lost percentage.
On the other hand the earned
run rating of the National League
pitchers in general was not as good
as last year, only II being under
four per inning, where 81 made the
grade in 1888. Another sad COM
mentary was the fact that only IL
pitchers, working 10 or more COM
plete games, had better than a 500
percentage.
The 10 leaders rated on earned
runs, with their average:
Walters, 2.2s: Hubbell, 2.75; Der
ringer, 1880; Hugh Casey, Brooklyn,
1888; Lou Fette, Boston, 2.96;
Claude Passeau, Philadelphia Chi
cago, 1928; Larry French, Chicago,
3.2s; Bill Lee, Chicago, 345; Curt
Davis, st. Louis, 3.625, and Luke
Hamlln, Brooklyn, 1888.
Derringer Leading Winner.
The 10 leaders rated on percent
age, with games won and lost:
Derringer, 25-7; Walters, Pill:
French, 1873; Harry Gumbert, New
York, 1911; Hamlin, 2O-13; Casey,
1910: Davis, 22-16; Forrest Press
nell, Brooklyn, 81; Lee, 1915, and
Hubbell, 11-9.
One league pitching record was
broken as Clyde Shoun of the st.
Louis Cardinals worked in SO games,
none Of them complete, to surpass
the old mark of 81 set by Mace
Brown of Pittsburgh in 1888. Shoun
also finished the most games, IS.
Bill Hoffman, a rookie who per-
formed in only three contests with
the Phillies, tied the mark for hit
ting the most batsmen in an inning,
striking three in the fifth inning
of game against the Giants.
Sharing strike-out honors with
Walters was Passeau, while the
shut-out king was Fette, with six.
Derringer allowed the most hits,
321. The leading losers were Bob
Klinger of the Pirates and Max
Butcher, who divided his time be-
tween the Phillies and Pirates. Each
dropped II decisions.
Leaving the double no-hit per-
formance of Johnny Wander Nicer
in 1888 high and dry, no pitcher
could uncover a spotless game last
season. Three, Lon Warneke of the
Cardinals, Bill Posedel of the Boston
Bees and Fette got as close as a
one-hitter and Fette, on four other
occasions, had three-hitters. There
also were 10 two-hit pitching chores