I was playing a
historical baseball game today and came across a pitcher named
Britt Burns. He threw for the White Sox in the 1980's until traded at the age of 26 to the New York Yankees. Before he threw a pitch in the Big Apple, a chronic hip condition forced him into retirement. In 1985, his final season, he recorded 18 wins. That made me curious as to what pitchers put up the most wins all-time in their final seasons.
Here's the list of all the guys to put up 15 wins or more in their last season:
- Sandy Koufax, 1966, 27
- Lefty Williams, 1920, 22
- Henry Schmidt, 1903, 22
- Eddie Cicotte, 1920, 21
- Britt Burns, 1985, 18
- Chief Johnson, 1915, 17
- Paul Derringer, 1945, 16
- Hugh Bedient, 1915, 16
- Ed Doheny, 1903, 16
- Ted Lewis, 1901, 16
- Mike Sirotka, 2000, 15
- Larry French, 1942, 15
- Monty Stratton, 1938, 15
- George Kaiserling, 1915, 15
- Jay Hughes, 1902, 15
- Win Mercer, 1902, 15
Lefty Williams and Eddie Cicotte were two of the infamous Black Sox. Henry Schmidt came to Brooklyn from the Pacific Coast League in 1903 and after his 22-win season decided he didn't like life east of the Mississippi. He packed his bags, headed west, and never threw a pitch in the major leagues again. His 22 wins place him tied for fifth among first-season pitchers since 1901 so I guess he's the only guy to appear in the top 5 for most wins in both his first and last season.
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