George Derby (baseball)
George Derby | |
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Pitcher | |
Born: Webster, Massachusetts, U.S. | July 15, 1857|
Died: July 4, 1925 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 67)|
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
May 2, 1881, for the Detroit Wolverines | |
Last MLB appearance | |
July 3, 1883, for the Buffalo Bisons | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 48-56 |
Earned run average | 3.01 |
Strikeouts | 428 |
Teams | |
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Career highlights and awards | |
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George Henry Derby (July 15, 1857 – July 15, 1925), nicknamed "Jonah", was a professional
Derby won 29 games and led the
Early years
Derby was born in Webster, Massachusetts, in 1857.[1] He began his professional baseball career at age 19 in 1877 with the Hornellsville, New York, team in the League Alliance. He next played for the Syracuse Stars of the International Association in 1878 and the Washington team of the National Association in 1879 and 1880. In 1880, he compiled a 10–7 record and an 0.57 earned run average (ERA) in 158 innings for Washington.[2]
Major League Baseball
Detroit Wolverines
1881 season
Derby signed with the newly formed
"His speed was moderate, but he was the master of all the crooks and curves that can be imparted to the aerial projectiles. In obedience to his will, the ball twisted out or in, up or down. He held batsmen at his mercy to a degree equalled by no other pitcher. He was the wizard of the pitcher's box, and within a month George H. Derby had risen from obscurity to fame in base ball circles."[3]
He finished the 1881 season with a 29–26 record, a 2.20
"For three months [Derby and Bennett] formed the most effective battery in the League, playing game after game without error. Wild pitches, wild throws, and passed balls were almost unknown to them. Then they began to make errors . . . In plain words, they both, for some incomprehensible reason, began playing badly . . . Suspicion was common, and it sometimes found a voice, that Detroit's famous battery were 'playing for a release.'"[4]
It was revealed the next year that Derby had begun experiencing shoulder problems late in the 1881 season. Derby complained that he had been unable to "give force to the ball" and therefore pitched fewer games in August and September 1881.[3]
1882 season
In 1882, Derby proved fairly effective in the beginning of the season, but his velocity was off. In 1881, Derby had relied on the combination of speed and deceptive delivery. Without the speed, "batters had got accustomed to slow curve pitching, [and] he was hit freely and heavily."[3] Derby started 39 games and pitched 362 innings in 1882 (down from 55 and 494 the year before) and compiled a 17–20 record. His ERA jumped by more than a point from 2.20 in 1881 to 3.26 in 1882.[1]
On September 14, 1882, the Detroit team suspended Derby for playing poorly. The Detroit Free Press wrote that Derby's star had sunk "beneath the base ball horizon" but questioned the fairness of a suspension: "If he [played poorly] intentionally, the sentence is just; if not, it is severe in the extreme. . . . He was wild in his delivery and had so little speed that the batters experienced little difficulty in hitting balls that came across the plate."[3]
Buffalo Bisons
In October 1882, the
Career statistics
Over his three major league seasons, Derby compiled a 48–56 record in 110 appearances, with a 3.01 ERA and 428 strikeouts.[1]
Later years
Derby died in Philadelphia at the age of 67. He was buried at Wellsboro Cemetery in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "George Derby". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
- ^ "George Derby Minor League Statistics". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Sporting Matters. The Only Derby Placed on the Suspended List for Poor Playing". Detroit Free Press. September 15, 1882. p. 6.
- ^ "Sporting Matters: Derby, Bennett, Powell, Gerhardt and Hanlon Reserved for 1882". Detroit Free Press. October 4, 1881. p. 6.
- ^ "Sporting Matters. Derby and Galvin to do the Pitching for Buffalo Next Season". Detroit Free Press. October 7, 1882. p. 1.