1932 Washington Pilots

1932 Washington Pilots / Franchise: Washington Pilots / BR Team Page

Record: 17-30-0, Finished 6th in East-West League (1932 EWL)

Managed by Frank Warfield (16-30) and Webster McDonald (7-11)

Ballpark: Griffith Stadium

History, Comments, Contributions

The 1932 Washington Pilots were members of the short-lived East-West League. They led the league with 30 losses, but did not have the worst winning percentage as several teams did not stay in the loop for long, unlike the Pilots. The Pilots not only suffered losses on the field, but player-manager Frank Warfield died late in the season and had to be replaced by Webster McDonald.

The bright spot was the offense as their 105 OPS+ was second in the league. Hall-of-Famer Mule Suttles played first and hit .333/.439/.622 (191 OPS+) with 26 RBI in 28 games; he spent some of the season with Detroit and led the EWL in doubles, OPS+ and RBI. 3B Dewey Creacy (who also played for Detroit) batted .310/.409/.504 for a 151 OPS+ and led the league in walks. C Eppie Hamilton (.368/.403/.493, 146 OPS+), 2B/1B Sammy Hughes (.351/.426/.456, 144 OPS+) and SS Jake Dunn (.302/.345/.481, 127 OPS+) also all hit very well. The outfield wasn't as strong with the bat but RF Bert Johnson (.278/.310/.372, 88 OPS+) led the EWL with six triples and LF/SS Willie O'Bryant (.266/.310/.284, 65 OPS+) led with 21 steals. CF Bill Evans hit .336/.372/.410 for a 116 OPS+. The team had a lot of turnover and five other position players appeared in at least 20 games: C Mack Eggleston (.324/.395/.382, 115 OPS+), 2B Warfield (.205/.333/.261, 65 OPS+), CF Sam Warmack (.321/.368/.506, 140 OPS+), LF Benny Jones (.247/.375/.315, 91 OPS+) and LF/P Leroy Matlock (.234/.272/.247, 43 OPS+).

The pitching was not as sharp with a 91 ERA+ despite many hurlers who had fine Negro League careers. Tom Richardson (5-8, 6.06, 72 ERA+) led the league in losses, complete games and runs allowed, while McDonald was sharper (5-5, 4.09, 107 ERA+). Also pitching at least five games were Bun Hayes (5-6, 4.68, 93 ERA+), Matlock (1-3, 4.31, 101 ERA+), Chet Brewer (3-4, 3.92, 122 ERA+), Ted Trent (3-3, 6.48, 67 ERA+) and Nip Winters (1-4, 4.10, 107 ERA+). Brewer led the league in wild pitches, Hayes in homers allowed and McDonald in hit batsmen.

All stats listed are per the Seamheads database 3/17/2021; other sources vary