Pitchers With 100+ PA And No Strikeouts As Batter

Posted by Steve Lombardi on September 15, 2011

Since 1901, how many pitchers have come to the plate at least 100 times in a season and never whiffed that year?

Rk	Player	PA	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SH	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Johnny Sain	104	1946	28	BSN	NL	40	94	6	28	2	1	0	17	0	0	10	2	0	0	.298	.298	.340	.638	*1
2	Carl Cashion	112	1912	21	WSH	AL	42	103	7	22	5	1	2	12	8	0	1	0	2	0	.214	.270	.340	.610	*1/9
3	Jack Coombs	127	1912	29	PHA	AL	56	110	10	28	2	0	0	13	14	1	2	0	1	2	.255	.344	.273	.617	*1
4	George Mullin	109	1912	31	DET	AL	38	90	13	25	5	1	0	12	17	0	2	0	0	0	.278	.393	.356	.748	*1
5	Russ Ford	125	1912	29	NYY	AL	40	112	15	32	8	0	1	8	6	0	7	0	2	1	.286	.322	.384	.706	*1/47
6	Walter Johnson	157	1912	24	WSH	AL	55	144	16	38	6	4	2	20	7	0	6	0	2	0	.264	.298	.403	.701	*1
7	Jean Dubuc	113	1912	23	DET	AL	40	108	16	29	6	2	1	9	3	1	1	0	0	1	.269	.295	.389	.684	*1/9
8	Fred Blanding	109	1912	24	CLE	AL	39	93	13	21	2	0	1	9	5	2	9	0	0	1	.226	.280	.280	.560	*1
9	Vean Gregg	107	1912	27	CLE	AL	37	97	3	17	4	1	0	13	2	0	8	0	1	2	.175	.192	.237	.429	*1
10	Bob Groom	123	1912	27	WSH	AL	43	103	11	12	1	0	0	6	7	1	12	0	0	0	.117	.180	.126	.306	*1
11	Buck O'Brien	104	1912	30	BOS	AL	37	94	4	13	1	1	0	6	6	0	4	0	0	0	.138	.190	.170	.360	*1
12	Eddie Plank	106	1912	36	PHA	AL	37	90	5	24	2	1	0	9	4	1	11	0	0	2	.267	.305	.311	.616	*1
13	Ed Walsh	154	1912	31	CHW	AL	62	136	12	33	4	1	0	12	14	0	4	0	0	1	.243	.313	.287	.600	*1
14	Jack Warhop	102	1912	27	NYY	AL	39	92	12	19	2	0	0	6	7	1	2	0	2	1	.207	.270	.228	.498	*1
15	Ed Willett	122	1912	28	DET	AL	37	115	6	19	4	1	2	10	4	0	3	0	0	1	.165	.193	.270	.463	*1
16	Smoky Joe Wood	141	1912	22	BOS	AL	43	124	16	36	13	1	1	13	11	0	6	0	0	2	.290	.348	.435	.784	*1
17	Ray Caldwell	159	1911	23	NYY	AL	59	147	14	40	4	1	0	17	11	0	1	0	5	0	.272	.323	.313	.636	*1/79
18	George Mullin	109	1911	30	DET	AL	40	98	4	28	7	2	0	5	10	0	1	0	1	0	.286	.352	.398	.750	*1
19	Ed Walsh	160	1911	30	CHW	AL	63	155	22	34	3	0	0	9	1	1	3	0	0	0	.219	.229	.239	.468	*1
20	Jack Coombs	152	1911	28	PHA	AL	52	141	31	45	6	1	2	23	8	0	3	0	5	0	.319	.356	.418	.774	*1
21	Walter Johnson	134	1911	23	WSH	AL	42	128	18	30	5	3	1	15	0	0	6	0	1	0	.234	.234	.344	.578	*1
22	Russ Ford	109	1911	28	NYY	AL	37	102	10	20	2	1	0	8	3	0	4	0	2	0	.196	.219	.235	.454	*1
23	Eddie Plank	105	1911	35	PHA	AL	40	94	7	18	2	0	0	10	5	0	6	0	0	0	.191	.232	.213	.445	*1
24	Smoky Joe Wood	105	1911	21	BOS	AL	44	88	15	23	4	2	2	11	10	1	6	0	1	0	.261	.343	.420	.764	*1
25	Doc White	152	1910	31	CHW	AL	56	126	14	25	1	2	0	8	14	0	12	0	2	0	.198	.279	.238	.517	*18/9
26	George Mullin	137	1910	29	DET	AL	50	129	15	33	6	2	1	11	8	0	0	0	1	0	.256	.299	.357	.656	*1/87
27	Chief Bender	106	1910	26	PHA	AL	36	93	6	25	3	2	0	16	6	3	4	0	0	0	.269	.333	.344	.677	*1
28	Ed Walsh	148	1910	29	CHW	AL	52	138	12	30	3	3	0	4	5	0	5	0	5	0	.217	.245	.283	.527	*1
29	Jack Coombs	142	1910	27	PHA	AL	46	132	20	29	3	0	0	9	7	2	1	0	3	0	.220	.270	.242	.512	*1
30	Russ Ford	112	1910	27	NYY	AL	36	96	8	20	1	5	0	7	9	1	6	0	1	0	.208	.283	.323	.606	*1
31	Walter Johnson	142	1910	22	WSH	AL	45	137	14	24	6	1	2	12	4	0	1	0	2	0	.175	.199	.277	.476	*1
32	Cy Morgan	115	1910	31	PHA	AL	36	99	10	14	1	0	0	9	3	1	12	0	1	0	.141	.175	.152	.326	*1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/15/2011.

.
So, it's never been done after 1946. And, I would be willing to bet that it never happens again - the way the game has changed and all. Heck, it didn't happen between 1913 and 1945, for what it's worth.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 15th, 2011 at 9:58 am and is filed under Season Finders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

37 Responses to “Pitchers With 100+ PA And No Strikeouts As Batter”

Ed Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 10:08 am
What would the list look like for non-pitchers?
Ben Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 10:14 am
The strikeout totals for 1910-1912 are missing, so those are just the pitchers who had 100 PA.
deal Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 10:15 am
I don't think BR has K info for batters from 1910-1912 - see Ty Cobb
not sure any of these batters qualify other than Sain (1946)

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cobbty01.shtml
Ben Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 10:18 am
Only three players since 1913 have had 100 PA with no strikeouts: Lloyd Waner (234 PA in 1941), Bill Rariden (108 PA in 1920), and Sain.
Steve Lombardi Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 10:32 am
Ben, Deal - thanks
kds Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 11:08 am
Career Sain had 24 BB and only 20 Ks. Is there any other pitcher with more walks than strikeouts in a career of some length? (Say, 500+ PA.)
mik Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 11:12 am
Sain also had no BB, so he put the ball in play 104 times that season. Nicely done!
Artie Z Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 11:19 am
Since 1990, there have only been 6 seasons in which a pitcher has had 100 or more PAs in a season. Dontrelle Willis (2005) is the only pitcher to do this since 1999, and he had 6 PAs as a pinch hitter. Randy Johnson (1999), Darryl Kile (1997), and Maddux (1991-1993) are the only other pitchers with more than 100 PAs in a season in that time span.

If you go back to the 1980s there were about 3 pitchers a year who would reach the 100 PA mark - they were usually the same guys (Valenzuela, Gooden, Andujar, Carlton, Rogers, Hershiser, and Mario Soto did this more than once). Fernando, Carlton, Rogers, and maybe Soto might have done this in 1981 as well had it not been for the strike.

I thought Sain's 0 strikeouts might have been a fluke (or even a data entry error), but he has an impressive PA/K for his career. He had 856 PAs with only 20 Ks, so he struck out every 42.8 PAs.
Artie Z Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 11:27 am
@6 - Sain (24 to 20), Fred Hutchinson (66 to 30 in 734 PAs), Johnny Marcum (36 to 32 in 580 PAs), and Doc Crandall (118 to 111 in 1033 PAs) are the only pitchers who started their careers after 1891 to do this.

I would have thought that Crandall was suspect since his years span 1910-1912 but apparently we have NL strikeouts during that time. While primarily a pitcher, Crandall did play some second base. Now I see it - probably some more evidence about the true quality of the Federal League. Crandall was a second basemen/pitcher in the Federal League in 1914-1915 - if you remove those years he falls off of this list. In AL/NL play Crandall had 33 Ks and 64 BBs.
Andy&Mandy Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 11:50 am
FAILpost. How did you not notice all the players from 1910-1912?
Lawrence Azrin Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Steve,

Despite the gaffe, the above list is interesting for a look at hitting performance by full-time starting pitchers in 1910-1912. Jack Coombs appears to be the best of these, with his runs scored/RBI totals really sticking out. It doesn't appear to be a fluke, as he had 5 SB and 9 EXBH.

Interesting that (in general) the pitchers who were decent hitters, laid down fewer sacrifice bunts than the lousy hitters. Maybe even back then, they understood that you shouldn't automatically "give up" an out in every obvious bunt situation?
Brian Wells Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
So apparently Walter Johnson had at least 433 consecutive plate appearances without a strikeout(1910-1912).That is incredible!
Brian Wells Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
Ok,I see now.I knew there had to be a catch.Ha Ha.Too incredible to be true!
kds Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
@9, Thanks Artie Z. Those 3 did not turn up in my search because I added a requirement that more than 90% of games be as pitchers. While Hutch and Marcum did not play any other positions in the field, (Except 3 innings at1B in one game in his last season by Hutchinson.), their batting games are more than 100 higher than their pitching games for each of them. So they must have been used as pinch hitters many times.
BunnyWrangler Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Doc Crandall's name was mentioned, and I think that he's a really interesting player. He's the only pitcher with a significant amount of plate appearances whose career OPS+ was over 100, and it's over 100 even if you ignore the two Federal League years.

He also had a career ERA+ over 100, and, again, this is true even if you don't count his two seasons in the Federal League.
Richard Chester Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Does anyone know the record for most consecutive AB without a SO by a player regardless of position? I was able to determine that Lloyd Waner had at least 279 such AB from 8/4/40 through 4/19/42.
BunnyWrangler Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 1:58 pm
I don't, but I did find that Joe Sewell had a span of 400+ during 1929.
Brent Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Richard Chester @16:

I would look at how Joe Sewell grouped his strikeouts first to try to find a longer streak. Starting in 1925, he had single digit Ks every year for the rest of his career, with a low of 3 in 1932 (in 576 plate appearances)
Richard Chester Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
@15
Doc Crandall was the first pitcher to be used consistently in relief. He received his nickname from writer Damon Runyon who called him "the physician of the pitching emergency". On 8/7/18 while pitching for minor league LA in the PCL his attempted no-hitter was broken up in the ninth inning with two out by his brother.
Richard Chester Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
@17, @18

From 5/19/29 to 9/19/29 Sewell had 436 consecutive AB without a SO. From 9/12/31 to7/27/32 his streak was 336 AB. I was unable to determine when he struck out in the games prior to and just after those streaks.
Brendan Burke Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Yeah, the post should have mentioned that batter K data for those years is missing.
Jeff Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Since Sain, the highest number of PA's by a pitcher in a season without a K is 40 by Sid Hudson for the 1947 Senators. The last time a pitcher made it through an entire season without striking out with at least 20 PA was 1977 (Max Leon, Braves). 10 PA? Aaron Cook, 2002 Rockies.
After striking out twice in his first 8 PA of the season, Livan Hernandez has not struck out since, spanning 53 PA's.
The Original Jimbo Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Isn't it obvious the moment you see the list that something is clearly wrong with the data....
Andrew Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 4:35 pm
Failure.
Hector Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Is the fail the original mistake, or repeatedly pouncing on it many hours after it was politely discovered and explained in comments 2&3?

While we're at it, what a travesty they let OJ try on the gloves!
Vinnie Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
This is the same oversight that was made on another post a few years ago about fewest grounded into DPs in a season that also produced a zero total because there was no data available during those seasons.
Evil Squirrel Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Ah, I am reminded of this classic cartoon....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcqdzJ-nnpE
maTt Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
For a future list, how about a list of pitchers with at least 60 (or 80 or so) PAs without a sacrifice, sorted by PAs? I'm curious as to the breakdown of decent hitters versus inept batsmen in said list.
David Moody Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
Earl Wilson, in1968, had only 1 SH in 92 PAs. Of course, when you're hitting behind Ray Oyler and his OPS+ of 20, what chance do you have?
Richard Chester Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
@28

Here's a list of the top 20

Rank___ Player______ AB

1 Clint Hartung_______ 378
2 Bob Chesnes______ 172
3 Mike Regan _____ 103
4 Davey Dunkle____ 102
5 Tom Fisher______ 99
6 Herman Fink_______ 93
7 Herman Besse____ 90
8 Ham Iburg______ 87
9 Carl Doyle______ 82
10 Emil Kush______ 82
11 Jesse Stovall_____ 78
12 Frank Oberlin _____ 77
13 Tom McGuire_____ 71
14 Don Kaiser_____ 68
15 Rube Kisinger____ 66
16 Hersh Freeman ___ 63
17 Ambrose Puttmann 63
18 Larry Bearnarth__ 62
19 Lefty Wilkie_____ 62
20 George Boehler__ 60

Clint Hartung was also a part-time outfielder who was once hailed as the next Babe Ruth.
Jonathan Frankel Says:
September 15th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
@ 16, @ 17, @18, @20

Willie Keeler of the Brooklyn Superbas went 507 at-bats from his 3rd at-bat on May 6, 1899 through his last at-bat on May 13, 1900.

He struck out in the 3rd inning of the May 6, 1899 game (called) against Kid Nichols
and his streak ended versus St. Louis's Jack Powell in his 1st at-bat in the 1st inning of his May 14th, 1900 game.
John Autin Says:
September 16th, 2011 at 1:03 am
@29, David -- I think Earl Wilson was too dangerous of a hitter to bunt him much, especially in that era. In '68, he had 7 HRs and 17 RBI in just 88 ABs, with a 118 OPS+. That culminated a 5-year run that totaled 29 HRs & 79 RBI in 444 ABs, with a 99 OPS+.
Doug Says:
September 16th, 2011 at 2:33 am
The longest games streak in 2011 without striking out belongs to a pitcher. Livan Hernandez has not struck out in 26 straight games, and counting. He last whiffed on Apr 17th against Marco Estrada of the Brewers.

The last time a player had a 60 game streak without striking out was Greg Gross in 1979-80. All other streaks of 60 games or more occurred in 1958 or earlier: 9 in the 1920s; 5 in the 1930s; 5 in the 1940s; and 3 in the 1950s. Here are those 60-game streaks, showing games and AB.
Joe Sewell 1929-05-19 1929-09-19 115 436
Nellie Fox 1958-05-17 1958-08-22 98 396
Stuffy McInnis 1924-05-22 1924-08-30 93 364
Joe Sewell 1931-09-12 1932-07-27 84 336
Dale Mitchell 1947-08-17 1948-06-06 78 323
Sam Rice 1929-05-19 1929-08-01 70 295
Lloyd Waner 1940-08-04 1942-04-19 85 279
Joe Sewell 1930-05-27 1931-04-26 86 270
Joe Sewell 1925-05-31 1925-08-01 62 250
Debs Garms 1940-05-12 1940-09-13 70 243
Ty Cobb 1926-05-16 1927-05-05 74 241
Charlie Hollocher 1922-08-15 1923-06-05 63 240
Johnny Cooney 1939-06-11 1939-09-28 65 231
Dale Mitchell 1952-05-29 1952-08-13 62 222
Buck Jordan 1937-09-08 1938-07-31 68 214
Clint Courtney 1954-04-13 1954-07-10 60 198
Johnny Bassler 1925-08-08 1926-05-22 68 194
Stuffy McInnis 1924-09-04 1925-08-14 61 190
Ernie Lombardi 1935-07-24 1936-04-28 61 185
Johnny Peacock 1944-09-08 1945-07-08 63 165
Johnny Sain 1942-05-20 1947-06-22 64 154
Larry Woodall 1926-06-09 1927-05-17 63 154
Greg Gross 1979-07-03 1980-04-26 67 143
RobMer Says:
September 16th, 2011 at 2:45 am
I have one question: What changed in 1913?
RobMer Says:
September 16th, 2011 at 2:47 am
Okay, I guess I should have read the posts prior. The data on strikeouts was missing.
RobMer Says:
September 16th, 2011 at 2:52 am
@23... No. : -)
Frank Clingenpeel Says:
September 16th, 2011 at 7:42 am
The one that amuses me was Big Ed Walsh, who made this list in 1910 and 1911 -- a couple of years after he LED HIS TEAM in home runs {1908}. Now, there was a renaissance {sp?} man!

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