Red Ehret

From BR Bullpen

Red Ehret.jpg

Philip Sydney Ehret

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.

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Biographical Information[edit]

Philip "Red" Ehret pitched 11 seasons in the major leagues, and won two games in the equivalent of the World Series played in 1890 (he also hit .429 as a batter in that Series).

Ehret was born in Louisville, KY and pitched in the Western League at age 18. The next year, 1888, he was up part of the season with the Kansas City Cowboys for whom he went 3-2. He also played in the Texas League for part of 1888.

In early 1889, the team in his hometown, the Louisville Colonels, purchased him and he began a three-year stint with them. He went 10-29 the first year, but improved in 1890 to 25-14 as his ERA was second in the league. The following year, 1891, was less impressive as he went 13-13 and then jumped to the Western Association where he also pitched some in 1892.

In both 1888 and 1889 he had also played some outfield. He pitched 7 games in 1888 while appearing 10 times in the outfield, while in 1889 he pitched 45 games while appearing 22 times in the outfield and a few times in the infield. Ehret did hit .252 in 1889 on a team which hit .252 overall, but mostly he was not a great hitter with a lifetime batting average of .217.

He came back to the majors for much of 1892, starting a three-year stretch with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Whereas his previous major league teams had been in the American Association, the Pirates were in the National League. Ehret went 16-20, 18-18 and 19-21, and while those numbers don't seem too impressive, his ERA was twice in the top ten in the league.

After the 1894 season he was traded to the St. Louis Browns, also of the National League. He went only 6-19 there in 1895 (the team went 39-92), and was then traded to the Cincinnati Reds, for whom he went 18-14 in 1896. The following year, 1897, was less impressive for the Reds at 8-10. He then finished out his major league career going 3-7 for Louisville in 1898.

Ehret pitched several more years in the minors, mostly in the Western Association and the Southern Association. He also worked a total of seven major league games as a substitute umpire, starting in the A.A. in 1890 and finishing in the NL in 1897.

The similarity scores method shows one of the most similar pitchers as a much more recent pitcher, Ned Garver.

Ehret seems to be the first major leaguer remembered with the first name "Red" (although Reddy Mack preceded him in coming to the majors). Red's success may have been part of why so many other players who came afterwards were named Red.

"Red Ehret is considered by all the ball players to be one of the best pitchers that ever went on the rubber, but he has been greatly handicapped by slanderous reports. If all the reports flying around about Ehret are true he is the hardest drinker in the country, exceeding even old Pete Browning. . . Ehret is so discouraged by these reports . . ." - Sporting Life, October 3, 1893

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • NL Shutouts Leader (1893)
  • 20 Wins Seasons: 1 (1890)
  • 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 8 (1889-1896)
  • 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 5 (1889, 1890 & 1892-1894)

Related Sites[edit]