McGowan: Other Pitchers Who Could Hit
by Richard McGowan, Ph.D.
Now that the final 2025 MLB baseball game has been played, fans can start dissecting the past season. Of course, that also means examining the media coverage of the season, especially during the playoffs. Some observations easily avail themselves. If Ohtani’s greatness is owed in part to his being a two-way player, then older players who exhibit the same greatness should also be accorded the utmost respect. Babe Ruth was the nonpareil but not the only player to excel on offense and defense, which in the old days meant also being good in the field.
While today we admire Ohtani and deservedly so, he is a hitter who also pitches and, for the most part, a sometime fielder. He is listed on baseballreference.com as ‘designated hitter and pitcher.’ Before the 1930s, it was pitchers who hit. No one has come close to Babe Ruth: .342 BA with 714 home runs, a won-lost record of 94-46 as a pitcher, and an ERA of 2.28. He was a pitcher who hit but transitioned into a hitter and fielder who did not pitch much after the transition. A baseball friend of mine said “Ruth didn’t like to pitch.”
However, he pitched long enough to set a then-record for consecutive scoreless innings in the world series. His 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings lasted 43 years, until Whitey Ford set the record at 33 2/3 straight shutout innings in the early 1960s.
Ruth was not the only player to pitch and hit, though, just the best. Research into those players with at least 1,000 at bats and 100 or more pitching decisions yields quite a few players.
Prior to 1900, Guy Hecker went 175-146 with a 2.93 ERA, once winning 52 games in one season. He had a career BA of .282 and in 1886, led the league with a .341 batting average. Baseball reference listed him as ‘pitcher, first base, and outfield.’ Another ‘pre-modern’ ballplayer, Bob Caruthers (1884-1892), had a pitching record of 218-99 with an ERA of 2.83. Over the course of 2465 at bats, he compiled a .282 batting average. His WAR is 59.5, playing right field and pitcher.
Among modern ballplayers, probably the best example of a two-way player is Wes Ferrell (1927-1941). He had 6 20-game win seasons and hit .280 and still holds the record for career home runs by a pitcher. His wins against replacement (WAR), the ostensible single number that shows a player’s excellence, was 60.1. However, his pitching WAR was 48.8 and his pitching WAR was 11.3, or, 59.8 for those two roles. The last .3 originated in his pinch hitting. In other words, he was valued for both his hitting and pitching.
George Uhle (1919-1934) went 200-166 and hit .289. He is listed as ‘pitcher and pinch hitter.’ He merited a WAR of 55.7. HOFer Ray Brown (1931-1945) , of the Negro Leagues, went 119-46 with a 3.12 ERA. He was a pitcher and outfielder. Don Newcombe (1944-1960) had a 153-96 pitching record with a 3.57 ERA while hitting .268. He had only 917 at bats, but is included here for a reason: he had two 20-game win seasons before missing two years for military service and another 20-game win season after returning to the big leagues. Missing two years for military service earns him inclusion in pitchers who hit.
Although my list of pitchers who hit is not comprehensive, the point is made. Others exist but are not needed to conclude that complete ballplayers, those who hit and pitched, existed before Ohtani. Two observations: if Ohtani is as great as journalists make him out to be since he has such offensive capability as a batter and defensive capability as a pitcher, then many earlier baseball players deserve as much or greater respect for their two-way careers. And many played the field as well.
Of course, that means not living in the omnipresent now, being attentive to the past, and valuing historical accomplishments.
The second observation in the form of a question: Does it really make sense to learn about the achievements of earlier players by reading an article by a retired academic instead of a sportswriter or other journalist?
* All data from baseballreference.com
Richard McGowan, Ph.D., an adjunct scholar of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, has taught philosophy and ethics cores for more than 40 years, most recently at Butler University.
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