Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox 20 game losers

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:28 p.m. ET

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Sep 9, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Rick Porcello (22) throws against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox have had many 20 game winners and several 20 game losers. Here is a look at the losers.

Boston Red Sox starter Rick Porcello recently joined the ranks of pitching notables with his 20th victory – a feat that is becoming more difficult to achieve as the pitching philosophy of baseball changes. The development of talented specialist and especially dominant closers have had a profound impact on starting pitching.

BSI’s Tracy Katzke recently profiled some of the more recent 20 game winners and now the losers get a peek.

In the early years of baseball, a 30 game winner was often common and a 20 game winner was generally expected from those who took the ball every third day and maybe even more frequently. Kid Nichols pitched for the other Boston team before the Red Sox winked into existence and had seven 30 win seasons out of eight.

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Baseball immortals from the dead ball era racked up prolific win totals and just a glance at the accomplishments of Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson show that. When a pitcher won thirty it was not unique, but expected of high level established talent.

The early days of baseball the important statistical measurement of a pitcher was winning percentage. That was the key. You were simply expected to start and finish a game. You would also be called upon to make a relief appearance in addition to starting chores since staffs were rather limited. Johnson, for example, had 34 saves in his career.

Denny McLain was the last 30 game winner in baseball and that was 1968 and what was known as the year of the pitcher. Bob Gibson posted a minuscule 1.12 ERA and baseball saw 339 shutouts that year. Future Red Sox hero Luis Tiant led the American League with a 1.60 ERA.

For a pitcher to lose 20 games also takes talent. There also has to be somewhat of a perfect baseball storm for such an accomplishment with the first and foremost being a dreadful team. The second is you must take the ball on a regular basis. Finally is some level of talent to actually keep you in the game and many 20 game losers have just that.

Baseball has 201 pitchers with the dubious honor of collecting 20 or more losses. The last was 2003 when Mike Maroth of the Tigers managed 21 losses for a terrible team. Maroth also checked in with a 5.73 ERA so he certainly contributed to the disaster.

The Red Sox have had nine pitchers lose at least 20 games and the last (thankfully) was in 1930. Some of the names have a plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame so we are not discussing baseball flotsam. Now for a look at who and how they accomplished that magical number.

Two in 1906

The first name that jumps out for a Red Sox (Americans) team that posted only 49 wins is Cy Young. Young was coming off a rare losing season in 1905 when he finished 18-19, but did have a very respectable 1.82 ERA. In 1906 he sunk to 13-21 and at 39-years-old the rumor mill was ripe for the end of the line for Young. Not so.

Young rebounded the next two seasons going 21-15 and 21-11. The 21-11 season is notable for a 1.26 ERA that was the lowest of his career. The Red Sox rewarded Young by trading him to the Cleveland Indians (Naps) in the off-season.

Young is tied with Roger Clemens on the all-time Red Sox wins list at 191 and also authored the only perfect game in Red Sox history – which also happened to be the first in the American League.

Joe Harris tied Young for league and team leadership in losses with his 2-21 record. The Melrose, Massachusetts-born right-hander had a 3.52 ERA for the year and his 21 losses became the centerpiece for a career record of 3-30.

Pitch counts? On September 1st in 1906, Harris went 24 innings against the Athletics and Jack Coombs. Coombs also went the distance and became the winning pitcher when the A’s scored three runs in the 24th. Harris also suffered what 20 games losses usually suffer and that is a lack of support. In six losses the Red Sox scored only a single run. In eight other losses the Red Sox were shut out.

Two more in 1930

If crowds made you nervous the perfect place to be in 1930 was Fenway Park as the last place Red Sox had a bit over 444,000 shuffled through the gates. The team was awful. The park was a wreck with ruins from a 1926 fire never replaced. There was some good news, however, as the Red Sox had two pitchers lead the league. Trouble is, it was losses.

Milt Gaston and Jack Russell combined for 40 of the 102 losses that Boston registered. Both were right-handers who had reasonably long if not statistically successful careers. Russell pitched for 15 seasons and twice led the American League in saves while toiling for a Senators team that made it to the World Series in 1933. Russell also managed to become an All-Star in 1934 and led the league in games that season with 54.

Gaston first broke in with the New York Yankees in 1924, but was shipped to the St. Louis Browns were Gaston worked on perfecting his ability to lose games. Gaston was 15-14 in his first Browns season and then dropped 18 games the following year to “win” the loss title.

Gaston was sent to Boston where he immediately lost 19 games as a preamble to his 20 loss season in 1930. From there Gaston went to the White Sox for three seasons going 21-48 for a career 97-164. One positive is Gaston could swing the bat hitting a career .200 with six home runs and 75 RBI.

Alex Gaston – Milt’s brother – played for Boston when Milt was in the rotation so you did have a brother’s battery combination. Not quite Rick Ferrell and Wes Ferrell.

The Yankees

The Yankees had a pipeline to Boston and it was not just Babe Ruth. The core of the Yankee teams to the mid-1920s was a good portion of the 1918 Red Sox championship team. One such player was a right-handed pitcher – Sad Sam Jones.

In 1919 Jones reached the 20 loss mark and he later accomplished 20 losses with the Yankees by leading the American League in losses in 1925 with 21. Also of note is Jones went 23-16 in his last Boston season (1921) and led the league in shutouts.

Red Ruffing suffered through several seasons in Boston going 39-96 with two seasons of 20+ losses. In back-to-back years Ruffing led the American League in losses with the first being 1928 with 25 and proving in was no fluke with 22 losses in 1929.

Ruffing became a Hall of Fame pitcher with the Yankees. How refreshing to suddenly have Lou Gehrig at first base and not Phil Todt or see the likes of Ruth, Bill Dickey, Earle Combs among others for run support. Ruffing won 20 or more games four times for the Yankees and won 231 games for the bombers.

No doubt if Ruffing had been traded a few years sooner he would have notched 300+ career wins. Ruffing is also noted as one of the very best hitting pitchers with a .269 career average and 36 home runs and 273 RBI.

Jul 27, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; A general view of Fenway Park during the fifth inning of the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Two no-hitters and Slim

Three Red Sox pitchers tossed no-hitters in their Boston career and also had a season along the way of lossing 20 games in a season. One became the only 20 game loser for a Red Sox team that had a winning record – introducing Bill Dinneen.

The 1902 Red Sox (Americans) won 77 games (77-60) and “Big Bill” won 21 of them and also lost 21 of them. A rare dual 20-20. The previous season Dinneen also pitched for Boston only it was the National League Beaneaters and he managed to go 15-18.

In 1903 and 1904 Dinneen had two more 20+ win seasons and went 3-1 in the 1903 World Series. Dinneen twice led the American League in saves with a microscopic two and four saves back when the bullpen was an afterthought.

Dinneen pitched his no-hitter in 1905, but his baseball history goes well beyond pitching. In 1909 Dinneen retired and in 17 days became an umpire for the American League a position he held until 1937. Dinneen also worked home plate in the first All-Star game and worked several World Series.

Slim Harriss twice led the American League in losses – once with the A’s with 20 and in 1927 with Boston getting 21 losses for a team that won only 51 games. Harriss stood 6’6” tall and weighed a listed 180 pounds so the nickname is understandable.

Harriss will forever be connected to the next player on this list – Howard Ehmke. Ehmke’s no-hitter was preserved by Harriss and his base running faux pas. Harriss belted a wall ball double, but forgot to touch first base and was ruled out and Ehmke’s 1923 no-hitter went into the books.

Ehmke was a 20 game winner for the Red Sox in 1923, but also lost 17 games. Ehmke also had won and lost 17 the previous season with the Tigers and was warming up for his 20 loss run by leading the American League in losses in 1924 with 17. The following season Howard got to 20 for the only time in his career, but fell short of leading the league in losses.

Ehmke finished off his major league career with a 166-166 record and a World Series win with the great Athletics team of 1929.

Sources: Baseball-Reference

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