Eddie Plank

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Birth Name: Edward Stewart Plank

Born: 31 August 1875 Died: 24 February 1926

Country of origin: United States

Height: 5' 11"

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Greatest Baseball Players of All Time, Part 2 (100 items)
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Description: Edward Stewart Plank, nicknamed "Gettysburg Eddie", was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Plank played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 through 1914, the St. Louis Terriers in 1915, and the St. Louis Browns in 1916 and 1917. Plank was the first left-handed pitcher to win 200 games and then 300 games, and now ranks third in all-time wins among left-handers with 326 career victories (13th all time) and first all-time in career shutouts by a left-handed pitcher with 66. Philadelphia went to the World Series five times while Plank played there, but he sat out the 1910 Edward Stewart Plank, nicknamed "Gettysburg Eddie", was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Plank played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 through 1914, the St. Louis Terriers in 1915, and the St. Louis Browns in 1916 and 1917.

Plank was the first left-handed pitcher to win 200 games and then 300 games, and now ranks third in all-time wins among left-handers with 326 career victories (13th all time) and first all-time in career shutouts by a left-handed pitcher with 66. Philadelphia went to the World Series five times while Plank played there, but he sat out the 1910 World Series due to an injury. Plank had only a 1.32 earned run average (ERA) in his World Series career, but he was unlucky, with a 2-5 win–loss record in those games.

Over his career, Plank amassed a 326–194 record, a 2.35 ERA, and 2,246 strikeouts. He won 305 games in the American League (AL), making him that league's winningest left-handed pitcher. He was the winningest left-hander in baseball history until 1962, when Warren Spahn won his 327th game. In addition, he was the winningest pitcher (left or right-handed) in the AL until 1921, when he was surpassed by Walter Johnson.

Plank was known as a finesse pitcher with a good sidearm sweeping curveball. His best-known pitch was nicknamed the "cross-fire." Thrown across his body, it reached home plate at an angle, making it difficult for hitters to track, especially if they were left-handed. Plank was active on the mound before he threw a pitch, even sometimes talking to the baseball before he delivered it. This strange behavior helped to unnerve opposing hitters.

Plank died of a stroke in 1926.

In 1943, former teammate Eddie Collins remembered Plank as the greatest pitcher in baseball. "Not the fastest. Not the trickiest, and not the possessor of the most stuff, but just the greatest", Collins said. Babe Ruth thought he was the hardest pitcher to hit, and Ty Cobb selected him to his all-time team. He was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946 by the Veterans Committee.

Stats

Win–loss record 326–194
Earned run average 2.35
Strikeouts 2,246 ... (more)

Tags: Gettysburg (1), Pennsylvania (1), Pitcher (1), Philadelphia Athletics (1), Left-Handed Pitcher (1), 300 Win Club (1), Dead-Ball Era (1), Gettysburg Academy (1), Gettysburg College (1), Gettysburg Bullets (1)

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fullfathom added this to a list 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Greatest Baseball Players of All Time, Part 2 (100 person items)

fullfathom added this to a list 8 months, 1 week ago

Greatest Baseball Players of All Time (100 person items)

fullfathom 8 months, 1 week ago

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