{"id":15942,"date":"2023-07-17T14:20:36","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T19:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baseballroundtable.com\/?p=15942"},"modified":"2024-01-25T09:15:52","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T15:15:52","slug":"baseball-roundtable-musingsz-mlbs-stingiest-pitchers-ne-free-passes-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baseballroundtable.com\/baseball-roundtable-musingsz-mlbs-stingiest-pitchers-ne-free-passes-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Baseball Roundtable Musings – MLB’s Stingiest Pitchers – No Free Passes Here"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>On this Date (July 17) in 1914, 23-year-old righty Charles “Babe” Adams<\/strong> started for the Pirates against future Hall of Famer Rube Marquard (of the Giants).\u00a0 To that point in the season, Adams had gone 7-9, 1.96 – and had walked only 22 batters in 142 1\/3 innings pitched (1.4 walks per nine innings). He would be a lot stingier with the free passes on that day.\u00a0 Adams, in fact, would set the MLB record for the most innings pitched in a single outing without giving up a walk.\u00a0 Adams went the distance in a 21-inning, 3-1 Pirates’ loss (the Giants’ Marquard also pitched the full 21 innings). In the 21 frames, Adams gave up just 12 hits – and zero walks<\/strong><\/em> – while fanning six,. Marquard gave up 15 hits and two walks, while fanning just two. The game was tied at one apiece after 20 innings, but the Giants got to Adams for two in the top of the 21st – on a single by CF Bob Bescher<\/strong> and an inside-the-park homer by 2B Larry Doyle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Adams pitched in 19 MLB seasons (1906-07, 1909-16, 1918-26).\u00a0 He pitched for the Pirates in all but the 1906 season (Cardinals). Adams went 194-140, 2.76 and led the NL in fewest walks per nine innings in four straight seasons (1919-22), finishing the league’s top-three in the category in nine times.\u00a0 Side note:\u00a0 If Adams came back to the mound and walked 160 straight batters, he would still have a better career walks-per-nine innings ratio than Hall of Fame corner-painter Greg Maddux<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

As always, when Baseball Roundtable researches\u00a0 a topic, one thing always seem to lead to another<\/em> – and, this time, it led to three trivia questions that can all be answered “Babe Adams.”<\/strong>\u00a0 We’ll get back to our originally scheduled topic – walk-stingy hurlers – but first a look at some Babe Adams not so trivial trivia.<\/p>\n