It’s almost not fair.
Here’s 1908 Adrian “Addie” Joss with a 1.16 ERA and he does not get the coveted A&B pitching grade like his rival Ed Walsh did in the same year. Walsh did win 40 games would probably gave him the edge but Joss’ 1.16 mark is one of the lowest of all times for a single season.
1908 Addie Joss
24 wins
Led AL with
- 1.16 ERA
- 0.8 BB/9IP
- .806 WHIP
Addie Joss played for just nine seasons (1902-10) all with the Cleveland Naps. I’d argue his selection to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee was heavily influenced by his performance in the 1908 season. Joss went 24-11, completing 29 games with nine shutouts.
He led the American League in ERA (1.16), league adjusted ERA (204), WHIP (.806), and BB/9IP (a career low 0.8).
| Split | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 Totals | 24 | 11 | .686 | 1.16 | 42 | 35 | 29 | 9 | 2 | 324.0 | 235 | 77 | 42 | 2 | 30 | 131 |
Addie earned that double ZZ!
Joss struck out 130 batters in 325 innings in 1908. To put that in deadball context, he just missed the top ten but he was no where near Walsh’s 269 whiffs. His Y strikeout rating is deserved.
If stats from 1908 are accurate, Joss allowed only two homers all year. A very low number even in the deadball era!
Also, Joss wasn’t a slouch at the plate. He batted .155 with three doubles and two triples plus three stolen bases.
Thanks to Charles Cox!
For the first time Joss FINALLY gets a ZZ. He is the lifetime leader in WHIP yet until this reissued set I never had a card with him receiving one. I have the original issue for 1908 and I don’t think they had the ZZ available then.
This isn’t a fluke for him either. In his brief career he had a WHIP under 1.00 6 times, with his .086 in 1908 his peak. He had more than 50 walks in a season only two times. Many of those seasons were well over 300 innings pitched.
He could have been at or near the top in so many career categories had he not had tubercular meningitis.
I knew Scott was going to comment on this ;)
Did not know about his condition. You are totally right about him being top of the leaderboards.