20-Game Losers

You have to be a very good pitcher to lose 20 games in one season. Why would a manager keep putting you out there to pitch, time after time, if you didn't have a chance to win the game? More than 25 percent of the pitchers in the National Baseball Hall of Fame are pitchers who lost 20 or more games in a single season. One of them even lost 20 or more games for 10 years in a row

The names in this book are often well-known names. Cy Young lost more than 20 games in three different seasons. Other 20-game losers were Steve Carlton, Walter Johnson, Phil Niekro, Robin Roberts, and Red Ruffing, to name a few.

We've included here every one of the 23 Hall of Famers who are 20-game losers, as well as some lesser-known names, over sixty biographies in all. Mike Maroth and Brian Kingman, the two most recent pitchers to lose 20 games, are here. So is Jack Nabors thanks to his 1-20 season. You will find Guy Hecker, whose record of 52-20 constituted the best winning percentage of any 20-game loser. And we feature one woebegone pitching staff which had four 20-game losers in the same season.

By our count 499 major-league pitchers have had seasons in which they lost 20 or more games. Only two of them had ERAs over 6.00. This take on pitching records offers plenty of quirks to explore. 53 members of SABR combined their efforts to create this truly fascinating book.

Contents:

20-GAME LOSER, PROFILES OF THE 20-LOSS SEASONS by David E. Skelton

THE VANISHING 20-GAME LOSER by Barry Mednick

PITCHERS:

STEVE ARLIN by Gregory H. Wolf

BILL BAILEY by Eric Frost

GEORGE BAUMGARDNER by Joe Schuster

BOOM-BOOM BECK by Paul E. Doutrich

GEORGE BELL by John Struth

BILL BONHAM by Joel Rippel

ED BRANDT by C. Paul Rogers III

BUSTER BROWN by Mark S. Sternman

HARRY BYRD by Armand Peterson

GEORGE CASTER by Chris Rainey

JOHN COLEMAN by Justin Mckinney

CLIFF CURTIS by Alan Drude

ART DITMAR by David E. Skelton

GUS DORNER by Paul Hofmann

CECIL FERGUSON by Jeff Findley

DANA FILLINGIM by Niall Adler

SAM GRAY by Gregory H. Wolf

DAN GRINER by Gregory H. Wolf

GUY HECKER by Bob Bailey

RANDY JONES by Alan Cohen

VERN KENNEDY by Joel Rippel

HENRY KEUPPER by Emmet R. Nowlin

BRIAN KINGMAN by Chad Moody

DON LARSEN by Charles F. Faber

MIKE MAROTH by Barbara Mantegani and Dave Raglin

AL MATTERN by Bob LeMoine

JIM MCCORMICK by Chris Rainey

STONEY MCGLYNN by Steve Schmitt

HARRY MCINTIRE by John Struth

JACK NABORS by Stephen V. Rice

ROLLIE NAYLOR by Phil Williams

SUNNY JIM PASTORIUS by Glen Sparks

ORLANDO PE A by Joel Rippel

SCOTT PERRY by Phil Williams

FRED SANFORD by Warren Corbett

JACK SCOTT by Skip Nipper

GEORGE ALLEN SMITH by Jeff English

JIM TOBIN by Gregory H. Wolf

CLYDE WRIGHT by Paul E. Doutrich

HALL OF FAMERS:

20-GAME LOSERS POPULATE THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME by Bill Nowlin

STEVE CARLTON by Cosme Vivanco

JACK CHESBRO by Wayne McElreavy

JOHN CLARKSON by Brian McKenna

CANDY CUMMINGS by David Fleitz

PUD GALVIN by Charles Hausberg

JESSE HAINES by Gregory H. Wolf

WALTER JOHNSON by Charles Carey

TIM KEEFE by Charlie Bevis

TED LYONS by Warren Corbett

RUBE MARQUARD by Joe Wancho

JOE MCGINNITY by Don Doxsie

PHIL NIEKRO by Tom Hufford

HANK O'DAY by Dennis Bingham

OLD HOSS RADBOURN by Brian McKenna

EPPA RIXEY by Jan Finkel

ROBIN ROBERTS by C. Paul Rogers III

RED RUFFING by Warren Corbett

AMOS RUSIE by Charles F. Faber

ED WALSH by Stuart Schimler

JOHN MONTGOMERY WARD by Bill Lamb

MICKEY WELCH by Bill Lamb

VIC WILLIS by Daniel R. Levitt

CY YOUNG by Bill Nowlin and David Southwick

A STAFF WITH FOUR 20-GAME LOSERS by Bill Nowlin

CHICK FRASER by Mike Lynch