In 2014, Baseball Roundtable launched the John Paciorek Award (JPA). The JPA recognizes players who have had short, sometimes very short, major-league careers, but whose accomplishments, nonetheless, deserve recognition. Past winners have included a player whose every MLB hit (three in nine career at bats) was a home run; a player who had only one MLB at bat, but earned a World Series ring and a Purple Heart; a player who had just two home runs in 61 MLB at bats (for the vaunted Yankees and Dodgers), but whose “body of work” made him one of just two players in MLB history to homer in their first and final official appearances in a major league batter’s box; a war hero who pitched in the majors on one leg; and more. (Note: Information on John Paciorek’s career – the inspiration for the JPA – can be found at the end of this post. Paciorek’s day in the sun constitutes arguably the best one-game MLB career ever.)
For 2021, BBRT’s Paciorek Award goes to the only pitcher ever to win twenty or more games in his only major-league season.
—-BASEBALL ROUNDTABLE 2021 JOHN PACIOREK AWARD HONOREE —-
HENRY SCHMIDT
Henry Martin Schmidt didn’t make it to the big leagues until eight seasons after his professional (minor-league) debut. In fact, he was just two months shy of his 30th birthday, when he first took the major-league mound. Why did it take so long? Simple answer – location. He had considerable difficulty “locating” his pitches (more on that in a bit). While it took a long time for Schmidt to make it to the major leagues, it didn’t take him long to leave MLB. He lasted just one season. Why was his MLB career so short? Simple answer – location. He did not care for the geographic “location” of major league baseball.
So why is Henry Schmidt joining the Baseball Roundtable list of John Paciorek Award honorees? Because, like many of those recognized before him, Schmidt’s brief MLB career had some long-ranging statistical significance.
Henry Schmidt is the only pitcher in MLB history
who was a 20-game winner in his only major league season.
In Schmidt’s only MLB season, for the 1903 Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers), Schmidt went 22-13, 3.83. That season, Schmidt was fifth in the National League in wins, sixth in innings pitched (301), fourth in starts (36), tenth in complete games (29) and second in shutouts (five). Remember what I noted earlier about location? While minor-league stats for the era are sometimes a bit sketchy, by all accounts Schmidt had considerable difficulty with pitch location – walking more batters than he struck out in every minor-league season leading up to his signing with Brooklyn. And, that didn’t change at the MLB level, In his sole MLB season, Schmidt walked 120 and fanned 96. For the season, Schmidt was second in the NL in walks (120), first in hit batsmen (21) and sixth in wild pitches (8). (Side note: Schmidt’s 3.83 eared run average was slightly above the National League overall mark of 3.26.) Schmidt, however, earned considerable respect as a gritty performer, known for pitching into – and out of – trouble.
Let’s take a look at how Schmidt got to the majors, as well as how he fared after he chose to leave.
Schmidt began his professional career, as a 20-year-old, in the independent Blue Grass League. He bounced around the minors (Southern Association, Atlantic League, Western League) showing potential – 20-13. 1.32 at Class B Richmond in 1897), but also consistently walking more batters than he struck out. Even in that 20-win Class B season, Schmidt walked 133 and hit 36 batters, while striking out 108.
Then, in 1902 came the season that paved the way for Schmidt’s move to the majors – as well as for his quick exit from that lofty status. In 1901, after a not particularly satisfying minor-league stints with Kansas City and Denver, Schmidt headed west to join Oakland in the long-season California League – where he showed late-season promise. That move to the West Coast seemed to spark Schmidt’s career. He re-signed with Oakland for 1902 and went 35-20 (Oakland played a 182-game schedule, winning 108 and capturing the league title). At season’s end, Schmidt was much in demand, ultimately signing with the National League’s Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers).
Schmidt got off to a blazing start in his rookie (and final) major league season. In his first five starts, he went 4-1 and threw three consecutive complete-game shutouts. Typical of Schmidt, even in those three shutouts, he gave a total of 18 hits and 11 walks, hit two batters and fanned just four. His only loss in his first five decisions came in his second start, when he faced off against the Giants’ Christy Mathewson. Schmidt and Mathewson both went the distance, with Matty emerging on the positive end of a 2-1 score (it was tied 1-1 after eight frames). Schmidt suffered a bit of a mid-season slide and was 13-13 by mid-August, but then won his last nine decisions to finish as 22-13. Schmidt pitched ten complete games in those final ten starts (one ended in a tie), including two shutouts. (On the season, he had nine starts in which he walked five or more batters. and 17 starts in which he walked two of fewer batsmen. )
So, why wasn’t Schmidt, Brooklyn’s winningest pitcher in 1903, back with the club in 1904. It was Schmidt’s choice. Brooklyn did offer Schmidt a contract for 1904, but he returned it unsigned, with a note stating “I do no like living in the East and will not report.” Schmidt then signed multi-year contract with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League.
Back on the West Coast, Schmidt failed to recapture his past glory. He went 26-28 in 1904 and, as he pitching went south, so reportedly did his temper. He began to build a reputation for fiery combativeness both on and off the fields. According to a Society of American Baseball Research article by Bill Lamb, Schmidt’s dust-ups included a battle in which he nearly bit off two of his opponent’s fingers, disputes with team executives, legal action and an altercation over an unpaid bar bill, as well as an off-the-field scrape that ended in gun play. By 1909, Schmidt had slipped from the A-level Pacific Coast League to the D-Level Carolina Association (that’s where the shooting incident occurred). In 1909, he pitched for the Hutchinson Salt Packers in the Class D Kansas State League – and that’s the last playing season noted for Schmidt in baseball-reference.com. Schmidt passed away (complications from chronic myocarditis) in 1926 at age 52.
Despite his issues with “location,” Henry Schmidt is firmly located in the MLB record book as the only pitcher whose only MLB campaign resulted in a twenty-win season.
Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; “Henry Schmidt,” by Bill Lamb, Society for American Baseball Research; “The Ballplayers,” edited by Mark Shatzkin, Arbor-House, William Morrow, 1990.
—- PAST JOHN PACIOREK AWARD HONOREES (with links) —-
2014 – Brian Scott Dallimore
In his first start (not his first game) for the 2004 Giants, Dallimore had two singles, a Grand Slam (his first MLB hit and only MLB home run), a walk and a hit by pitch. For the full JPA take on Dallimore’s 27- game MLB career, click here.
2015 – Roy Gleason
Gleason played in just eight MLB games, had a double in his only MLB at bat – but also earned a World Series ring (1963) and a Purple Heart. Ultimately, he was the only ballplayer with MLB experience to serve on the front lines in Vietnam. For the full JPA take on Gleason, click here. Note: Gleason’s life is detailed in the book “Lost in the Sun – Roy Gleason’s Odyssey from the Outfield to the Battlefield.”
2016 – John Allen Miller
Miller played just 32 MLB games (during the 1966 and 1969), taking the field (at 1B/LF/3B/2B) for the Yankees and Dodgers. Miller collected ten hits in 61 MLB at bats (.164 average) and hit just two home runs – but he made those long balls count. Miller made his MLB debut with the Yankees on September 11, 1966 and hit a two-run homer in his first big league at bat – making him (surprisingly) the first Yankee ever to homer in his first MLB at bat. (Little did Miller know he would not get another home run or RBI until the final at bat of his MLB career.) Miller’s final at bat came as a Dodger (September 23, 1969) and he stroked a solo home run. That narrow “body of work” made Miller one of just two players in MLB history to homer in their first and final official appearances in a major league batter’s box. For more on Miller, click here.
2017 – Chris Saenz
RHP Chris Saenz’ big day came on April 24, 2004 – when he was called up from Double A Huntsville (where he was 1-1, 3.86) to make a spot start against the Saint Louis Cardinals, whose powerful lineup included the likes of Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds and Reggie Sanders. The rookie went six innings, giving up just two hits, three walks and no runs, while fanning seven. There was some speculation (primarily among sportswriters and fans) that Saenz’ performance might earn him another start or two, but two days after his debut, he was on his way back to Huntsville. Unfortunately, his minor league season included a September elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery and he never returned to the majors. Statistics before 1900 can be sketchy, but baseball-reference.com shows that Saenz is the only pitcher to complete a one-game MLB career of at least five innings pitched, without giving up a single run (earned or unearned). For more details on this JPA honoree, click here.
2018 – Keith McDonald
Keith McDonald’s MLB career (Cardinals 2000-2001) covered just eight games and 11 plate appearances (nine at bats) and three hits – but he made them count. All of McDonald’s safeties were home runs – making him the only MLB player with more than one career hit who can look back on major league career in which his every hit was a home run. McDonald is also one of only two players – and the only National Leaguer – to homer in his first two major league plate appearances. For the full story, click here.
2019 – Harley Hisner
Harley Hisner’s MLB tenure encompassed the day of September 30, 1951. That’s when the 24-year-old righty faced the New York Yankees – and a lineup that included five future Hall of Famers: Mickey Mantle in RF; Joe DiMaggio in CF; Phil Rizzuto at SS; Johnny Mize at 1B; and Yogi Berra behind the plate. In is very first MLB inning, Hisner faced five batters, four of them future Hall of Famers, and gave up two singles and no runs. His place in history? One of those singles was Joe DiMaggio’s last MLB safety. He faced Mickey Mantle four times in the game – walking him once, fanning him twice and getting him to hit into a double play. Hisner’s final career stat was 0-1, 4.50, with six innings pitched, seven hits, three earned runs, four walks and three strikeouts. For more on Harley Hisner and his ongoing involvement in and love of the game (he went on to earn the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association Colin Lister Award for “dedication to the game of baseball and its historic legacy,” click here.
2020 – Bert Shepard
Bert Shepard set aside his baseball mound dreams in 1943 – after four minor-league seasons – to enlist in the U.S. Army, where he became a P-38 Lightning fighter pilot. Shepard was shot down on his 34th combat mission and, while a prisoner of war, his wounds resulted in the amputation of his right leg below the knee. Upon his release (a prisoner exchange), Shepard did not surrender his dreams and fought his way back to the major leagues. He made one major-league appearance (for the Washington Senators), pitching 5 1/3 innings of three-hit, one-run ball. While Shepard’s MLB career consisted of that sole appearance, he did continue to pitch, coach and manage in minor leagues – and his story proved an inspiration for disabled veterans. For the full Bert Shepard story, click here.
–—-INSPIRATION FOR THE JPA—–
John Paciorek – signed out of Saint Ladislaus High School in Hamtramck, Michigan (where he had starred in football, basketball and baseball) – appeared in his first major league game on the final day of the 1963 season (September 29) at the age of 18. The 6’ 1”, 200-pound outfielder had spent the 1963 season with Class A Modesto Colts. The Colts’ parent club, the Houston Colt .45s (that was the current Astros’ franchise name back then), was suffering through a difficult season. The team was 65-96 going into that final game. Looking to the future, Houston had, in fact, fielded an all-rookie lineup (average age 19) on September 27. Youth was still being served two days later when John Paciorek started his first MLB game. The results were surprising – and worthy of recognition.
Playing right field and batting seventh in a 13-4 win over the NY Mets, Paciorek ended up with three hits and two walks in five plate appearances, with four runs scored and three runs batted in. Perhaps equally surprising is that it was not only Paciorek’s first major-league appearance, it was to be his only MLB appearance. Back pain the following spring, followed by surgery (he played 49 minor league games in 1964 and missed all of the 1965 season), put an end to his MLB playing days. (Paciorek did play in four more minor-league seasons.) Still, you will find John Paciorek in the Baseball Encyclopedia and his is arguably the greatest one-game MLB career ever. Among one-gamers, he holds the record for times on base and runs scored, and shares the record for batting average, on base percentage and RBIs.
Paciorek, by the way, went on to become a high school teacher and multi-sport coach and is the author of the books (Plato and Socrates – “Baseball’s Wisest Fans;” “The Principles of Baseball: And All There Is To Know About Hitting;” and “If I Knew Then What I Know Now.” You also can enjoy Paciorek’s prose (and expertise) directly at his blog “Paciorek’s Principles of Perfect Practice” by clicking here. You can find out even more about Paciorek in Steven Wagner’s 2015 book “Perfect: The Rise and Fall of John Paciorek, Baseball’s Greatest One-Game Wonder.” (See the review of “Perfect” by clicking here.)
A final note. John Paciorek’s insight into the national pastime should come as no surprise. Paciorek comes from a true “baseball family.” He was the first born of eight siblings and was followed to the big leagues by younger brothers Jim and Tom Paciorek. (Like John, Jim’s MLB career was short – 48 games for the Brewers in 1987. Brother Tom, however, achieved a .282 average over an 18-season MLB career.
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