A Pitchers’ Hit Parade – Baseball Roundtable Looks at Top Seasons at the Plate for Hurlers

In 2021, Max Scherzer helped make the case for a universal designated hitter – setting a new MLB record for plate appearances in a season (63) while putting up a .000 on-base percentage.  Overall, Scherzer had 59 at bats, three sacrifice bunts and one sacrifice fly. (Yes, despite a .000 average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, he did record an RBI.)  Scherzer came into the season with a career  .193 average and a .221 OBP – and finished at .168 and .194, respectively

For Those That Want to Know

The record  for at bats in a season with a .000 average belongs to Bob Buhl. In 1962, while putting up a 12-14, 3.87 record for the Braves and Cubs, Buhl went zero-for-70. He did, however, put up a 0.90 on-base percentage thanks to six walks and one hit by pitch.  He also had seven sacrifice bunts and one sacrifice fly (for an RB). Buhl  is not an unexpected record holder in this category. He logged a career batting average of .089 over 15 seasons – hitting under .100 in nine of them.  He had a career total of 76 hits – 74 singles and two doubles.  Buhl did significantly better on the mound than at the plate, with a career record of 166-132, 3.55 and five season of 15 or more victories. He was a one-time All Star and led the NL in winning percentages  at .720 (18-7, 2.74) for the 1957 Braves and in shutouts (four) for the Braves in 1959. 

Now, let’s switch gears.  Those who read Baseball Roundtable regularly know I am a bit “old school” and not an advocate of the DH.  So, in this post, I’d like to look a half-dozen of the  best hitting seasons for MLB pitchers.  It may surprise some readers to find that neither Babe Ruth nor Shohei Ohtani is on this list.  The reason is – as the chart below shows – they did most of their damage in contests in which they did not take the mound.  For example, of Ruth’s MLB-leading 11 home runs for the Red Sox  in  1918 (when he went 13-7, 2.22 on the mound), only two were hit in games in which Ruth pitched. (That season marked the biggest step in Ruth’s transition from pitcher to position player and – working to get his bat in the lineup – Boston used him at 1B, LF and CF.) In the case of Ohtani, only three of his 46 home runs and eight of his 100 RBI came in games in which he pitched. Ohtani appeared in 126 games at DH, as well as seven in the outfield.

So, who does make the Baseball RoundTable list for best hitting seasons (American and National Leagues) by a pitcher?

Number One – Wes Ferrell, 1931 Indians

Photo: Public Domain via Wiki Commons.

In 1931, Wes Ferrell not only went 22-21, 3.73 (with a league-leading 27 complete games) for the Indians, he also went .319-9-30 at the plate – setting the MLB record for home runs (9) and RBI (29) in a season by a pitcher (in games in which he pitched). That season, Ferrell was used eight times as a pinch-hitter, going hitless (drawing one walk) in that role. Ferrell had 11 multi-hit games that season.  His best game at the bat came in an August 31, 15-5 win over the White Sox, when he went three-for-five – with two home runs, four runs scored and five RBI. (It was one of five multi-homer games in Ferrell’s career.)

Ferrell, by the way, had a second season that would have put him on this list.  In 1935, when he led the AL with 25 wins (14 losses) and 31 complete games for the Red Sox, Ferrell hit .346, with seven home runs and 32 RBI (six of the long balls and 25 of the RBI came in games in which he pitched). That season Ferrell was used 35 times as a pinch-hitter.

I Can Handle This on My own

On April 29, 1931, Wes Ferrell threw a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns (in Cleveland) – walking three and fanning eight as the Indians prevailed 9-0. Ferrell also excelled at the plate, going two-four with a double, a home run, two runs scored and four RBI. As a side note, catching for the Browns that day was Wes Ferrell’s brother Rick.

Ferrell played 15 MLB seasons (1927-41 … Indians, Red Sox, Senators, Yankees, Dodgers Braves) and went 193-128, 4.04 on the mound (with six seasons of 20 or more wins) and .280-38-208 (in 548 games) at the plate. Side Note:  Ferrell had just one minor -league season before taking a regular spot in the Indians’ rotation.  In 1920, at age 20, he went 20-8, 2.74 for the Class-B  Terre Haute Tots.  The following season, he was 21-10, 3.60 for the  Indians.

One (or 37) for the Record Books

Wes Ferrell hit 37 of his career 38 home runs in games in which he pitched – and that is the career record for pitchers.  The other long ball came as a pinch hitter.

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Number Two – Walter Johnson, 1925 Senators

Photo: Harris & Ewing, photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

With a career 417-279, 2.17 record on the mound, Walter Johnson is clearly one of – if not the – premier pitcher in the history of the national pastime. (More on that a bit later). In 1925, he also proved to be one of the game’s best hitters. Johnson, at 37 and in his 19^th MLB season, not only went 20-7, 3.07 on the mound, but hit .433 in 97 at bats – striking out just six times in 107 plate appearances. Notably, in the 91 of those at bats that came in games he pitched (he was used six times as a pinch hitter), Johnson was even better – hitting .440.

Walter Johnson hit safely in 25 of the 30 In games he pitched in 1925. He started his season with a nine-contest hitting steak, during which he hit .500 (13-for-26).   He appeared as a pinch hitter in  two of those nine games.

Johnson hit .235 over his career – and, perhaps like fine wine, got better with age. His three highest batting average seasons came in his last four career seasons (ages 36-39).  In his final season (1927), at age 39, Johnson hit .348 in 26 games.

Now for that pitching resume. On the mound, Johnson was a master with a 417-279, 2.17 record. He led the AL in wins six times, topping 20 wins in a season 12 times (two of those 30+). The two-time AL MVP  also led the league in strikeouts an MLB -record 12 times; shutouts seven times; complete games six times; ERA three times; and winning percentage twice.  In addition, he topped the junior circuit in  strikeouts-to-walks ratio nine times; strikeouts per nine innings seven times; and WHIP six times.

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Pitchers’ Hit Parade Extra – Best Single Game

There were a few contenders for Best Single Game Hitting Performance by a pitcher – like: the Braves’ Jim Tobin’s three-homer, four-RBI game in his 6-5 complete-game win over the Cubs on May 13, 1942; the Phillies’ Rick Wise popping two home runs and driving in three runs during his June 23, 1971,  4-0 no-hitter victory over the Reds; or the Red Sox’ Babe Ruth’s five-for-five (with thee doubles and a triple) in his 4-3, ten-inning loss to the Senators on May 9, 1918 (Ruth went 9 2/3 innings). 

Baseball RoundTable will give this one to the Braves’ Tony Cloninger, who  – on July 3, 1966 – hit two Grand Slam home runs (and a single), drove in nine runs and pitched a complete-game seven-hitter, as his Braves topped the Giants 17-3 in San Francisco. Cloninger became not only the first  MLB pitcher with two Grand Slams in a game, but the first National Leaguer (any position) to achieve the feat.  He also set the record for RBI by a pitcher in a contest.  For the complete Cloninger story, click here.

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Number Three – Don Newcombe, 1955 Dodgers

Photo: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1955, Don Newcombe hit .359-7-23 overall and .354-7-19 in games in which he appeared as a pitcher  Newcombe was proficient enough with the bat that he was used 23 times as a pinch hitter that season  – going 8-for-21 (.381) in that role (plus one walk and one HBP). Newcombe had 11 mufti-hit games in 1955, including four games with three or more hits. He also had seven multi-RBI games. In that 1955 season, Newcombe went 20-5, 3.20 on the mound.

In a 12-season MLB career (1944-45, 1949-51, 1954-1960 … Negro Leagues, National League and American League), Newcombe hit .269  with 15 home runs and 109 RBI (471 games).  He hit .300 or better in seven of those campaigns. On the mound, he was 153-96, 3.54 – with three seasons of 20 or more victories. In 1956, he went 27-7, 3.06 and won the NL Cy Young and MVP Awards. He was also the 1949 NL Rookie of the Year  (17-8, 3.17, with a league-leading five shutouts).

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Number Four – Don Drysdale, 1965 Dodgers

DH?  I don’t need no stinkin’ DH!

The 1965 World Champion Dodgers had only on player with at least 100 at bats and an average of at least .300 – RHP Don Drysdale –  Drysdale  finished seventh on the team in home runs with seven.

Photo: Public Domain via Wiki Commons.

In 1965, Don Drysdale was not only a 23-game winner for the Los Angeles Dodgers (23-12, 2.77), he hit .300, with seven home runs and 19 RBI in 58 games (he was used 14 times as a pinch hitter).  In games he pitched, Drysdale was .305-7-17.

In 14 MLB seasons (1956-69), all for the Dodgers, Drysdale hit .186, with 29 home runs and 60 RBI (547 games).  While his 29 home runs indicated his power (he had two seasons of seven long balls), 1965 was  one of only two seasons in which he hit .200 or better (he hit .227 with seven home runs  in 1958). On the mound, Drysdale was 209-166, 2.95. He won the NL Cy Young Award in 1962 with an NL-leading 25 wins (nine losses, 2.83 ERA). He also led the league with 314 1/3 innings pitched and 232 strikeouts.  Overall, Drysdale had two seasons of 20+ wins and a total of seven seasons with at least 15 victories.  He led the NL in strikeouts three times and shutouts once. A feared competitor, he led the NL in batters hit by pitch in five seasons and plunked ten or matter batters in ten campaigns.

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Pitchers’ Hit Parade Extra – Hitting Counts, by George

Hall of Famer George Brett was a pretty good hitter – (well, maybe more than that, with three batting titles, 3,154 hits and a .305 career average).  George’s brother Ken, who had a 14-season MLB career as a pitcher, could handle the bat as well. Between June 9 and June 23, 1973, Ken Brett (with the Phillies) set an MLB record for pitchers by hitting a home run in four consecutive games played.  In that stretch, he hit .308 (4-for-13) with four runs scored and four RBI.  For the season, he hit .250-4-16. During his  long-ball streak, Brett won all four games (4-0, 2.88), tossing three complete games. Over his 14-season career (1967, 1969-77, 1979), Ken averaged .262, with 10 home runs and 44 RBI in 255 games. He hit .300 or better in three seasons.  As a pitcher, he was 83-85, 3.93.  He was an All Star in 1974, when he went 13-9, 3.30 for the Pirates.

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Number Five (tie) – Jack Bentley, 1923 Giants

Photo:: Blaire News Service, Public Domain via Wiki Commons

Certain “bright and shiny things” in baseball tend to attract Baseball Roundtable’s attention.  One of those is pitcher Jack Bentley’s “.427 average” for the 1923 New York Giants.  Bentley, who was used as a pinch hitter 22 times that season, hi t .406-0-8 in games he pitched.  As a pinch hitter, he went 10-for-21, with one walk, one home run and six RBI. Bentley, who was also used at 1B and RF during his career, hit .291-7-71 in 287 games over nine MLB seasons (1913-16, 1923-27 … Senators, Giants, Philllies).  As a pitcher, he went 46-33, 4.01 in 138 games (90 starts). His bet mound season was 1924 (Giants), when he put up a 16-5, 3.78

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Number Five – (Tie) Micah Owings , 2007 Diamondbacks

Photo: Barry Stahl on Flickr, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commonshoto9:

Micah Owings broke in with the Diamondback as a 24-year-old rookie in 2007.  On the mound, he went 8-8, 4.30, but at the plate, he was .333-4-15.   He was one-for-four with two walks in six pinch-hitting appearances and .339-4-15 in games he pitched. On September 27 of that season, Owings went four-for-four with three doubles and three RBI – and pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings – as the Diamondbacks topped the Pirates 8-0.

Owings pitched six MLB seasons (2007-12 … Diamondbacks, Reds, Padres), going 32-33, 4.86.  In 2011, he was 8-0 , 3.57 in 56 appearances (four starts) for the Diamondbacks. As a hitter, he went .283-9-35 in 174 games.

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Pitchers’ Hit Parade Extra – Great Britton

In his rookie season (2011) with the Orioles, southpaw Zack Britton went 11-11, 4.61 in 28 starts.  He started three games in National League parks and went five-for-eight (.625), with one double and one RBI.  Over his next ten seasons (Orioles, Yankees), Britton (converted to a reliever in 2014) never came to the plate again – retiring with a .625 career average.

Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; Baseball-Almanac.com

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