1920
Born November 27, 1920
Wausau, WI, USA
Johnny Schmitz Marquee
b. November 27, 1920 · Chicago Cubs 1941–1942, 1946–1951, Brooklyn Dodgers 1951–1952, New York Yankees 1952–1953, Cincinnati Reds 1952, Washington Senators 1953–1955, Boston Red Sox 1956, Baltimore Orioles 1956
He came back from three years in the Navy and led the National League with 135 strikeouts in 1946, then went 18-13 with a 2.64 earned run average in 1948 for a Chicago club that finished last and lost 90. He was an All-Star in both of those seasons.
Thirteen seasons gave him 93 wins against 114, a 3.55 earned run average, 1,812 innings and 16 shutouts. He threw a slow curve that hitters of the period called the best in the league and that Ralph Kiner said he could never touch.
He was traded four times in three years at the end and pitched for seven clubs. No Hall of Fame ballot ever listed him. He died in 2011, at ninety.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 2 | 1946, 1948 |
| Baseball Magazine All-Star | 1 | 1948 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | CHC | 6 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .571 |
| 1942 | CHC | 23 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .154 |
| 1946 | CHC | 42 | 70 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 0 | .129 |
| 1947 | CHC | 38 | 68 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 0 | .132 |
| 1948 | CHC | 34 | 84 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 0 | .131 |
| 1949 | CHC | 36 | 70 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .143 |
| 1950 | CHC | 39 | 67 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 0 | .119 |
| 1951 | BRO/CHC | 24 | 24 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .208 |
| 1952 | BRO/CIN/NYY | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .308 |
| 1953 | NYY/WSH | 27 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | .059 |
| 1954 | WSH | 29 | 60 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 0 | .117 |
| 1955 | WSH | 32 | 54 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .185 |
| 1956 | BAL/BOS | 20 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .000 |
| Career | — | 368 | 587 | 32 | 83 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 32 | 20 | 147 | 0 | .141 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | CHC | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 20.2 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 1.31 |
| 1942 | CHC | 3 | 7 | 23 | 10 | 2 | 86.2 | 70 | 33 | 45 | 51 | 3.43 |
| 1946 | CHC | 11 | 11 | 41 | 31 | 2 | 224.1 | 184 | 65 | 94 | 135 | 2.61 |
| 1947 | CHC | 13 | 18 | 38 | 28 | 4 | 207.0 | 209 | 74 | 80 | 97 | 3.22 |
| 1948 | CHC | 18 | 13 | 34 | 30 | 1 | 242.0 | 186 | 71 | 97 | 100 | 2.64 |
| 1949 | CHC | 11 | 13 | 36 | 31 | 3 | 207.0 | 227 | 100 | 92 | 75 | 4.35 |
| 1950 | CHC | 10 | 16 | 39 | 27 | 0 | 193.0 | 217 | 107 | 91 | 75 | 4.99 |
| 1951 | BRO/CHC | 2 | 6 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 73.2 | 77 | 49 | 43 | 26 | 5.99 |
| 1952 | BRO/CIN/NYY | 3 | 2 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 53.1 | 47 | 22 | 30 | 17 | 3.71 |
| 1953 | NYY/WSH | 2 | 7 | 27 | 13 | 5 | 112.0 | 120 | 45 | 40 | 39 | 3.62 |
| 1954 | WSH | 11 | 8 | 29 | 23 | 1 | 185.1 | 176 | 60 | 64 | 56 | 2.91 |
| 1955 | WSH | 7 | 10 | 32 | 21 | 1 | 165.0 | 187 | 68 | 54 | 49 | 3.71 |
| 1956 | BAL/BOS | 0 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 42.2 | 54 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 3.59 |
| Career | — | 93 | 114 | 366 | 235 | 20 | 1812.2 | 1766 | 714 | 757 | 746 | 3.55 |
On this day & linked events
2011
Died October 1, 2011
1941
Major-league debut: Johnny Schmitz
Johnny Schmitz made a major-league debut on September 6, 1941.
1956
Final major-league game: Johnny Schmitz
Johnny Schmitz played a final major-league game on September 7, 1956.
Image: Bowman Gum, public domain