Home Runs Off The Big Train
This article was written by Ray Gonzalez
This article was published in 1979 Baseball Research Journal
Researchers have compiled the entire home run records of outstanding batters like Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, and Babe Ruth, listing the park, game, inning, men on base, and opposing pitcher. By that means we know that Rube Walberg was the hurler who Ruth tapped for the most roundtrippers (18), that Warren Spalin was the chief victim of Mays (18), and Don Drysdale of Aaron (17).
This procedure can be reversed by taking an outstanding hurler, such as Walter Johnson, and listing the batters who reached him for home runs. Johnson is a good example, not only because he is considered by many as the all time best hurler, but because his long career stretched from the deadball era to that of the lively ball. There was quite a difference in number of fourbaggers allowed before and after 1920, at least in the American League, and this is reflected in Johnson’s record.
Johnson gave up 97 homers in his total of 5942 innings pitched. This is an outstanding record and only a few long service hurlers who worked exclusively in the dead-ball era had a better ratio of roundtrippers to innings pitched. Eddie Plank, for example, gave up only 41 homers in 4245 innings pitched in the AL 1901-17. In the modern era, on the other hand, Catfish Hunter has given up 359 homers in 3344 innings, and Gaylord Perry 313 homers in 4359 innings through the 1978 season. Perry’s ratio is considered fairly good among active hurlers.
Johnson had two things going for him as a hurler who gave up few homers. For most of his career, he had a blinding fast ball which he threw with a sidearm motion. It was not that easy to pull or to hit in the air with authority. The second thing was that he pitched most of his home games in spacious Griffith Stadium. Nearly one-half of the 40 circuit swats off him in Washington were inside the park. Sam Crawford set the pattern with a long drive to right-center on August 2, 1907, to defeat Johnson in his big league debut.
There were three seasons in which Walter did not give any homers-1908, 1916, and 1919. He pitched 372 innings in 1916 and that is a record number for one season without giving up a roundtripper. In 1909, 1910, and 1915, he gave up only one homer per year and each was an inside the park drive.
Johnson gave up homers to some of baseball’s greatest batters. Included are Sam Crawford (2), Ty Cobb (1), Eddie Collins (2), Frank Baker (5), Tris Speaker (2), George Sisler (2), Al Simmons (4), Lou Gehrig (4), and Babe Ruth who topped the list with ten big blows in 13 years. The one roundtripper by Cobb came on September 22, 1917, in Washington. Walter had fanned the Tiger tyrant in the first inning and made the mistake of laughing at his futile efforts. Cobb came up again in the third and with two on blasted the ball to the wall in right center and beat the relay home. Speaker had batted against Johnson for almost 20 years before he connected for his first homer on August 9, 1926.
Only two players connected off Johnson twice in the same game. Jack Fournier of the White Sox reached the Big Train for boundary belts in the 8th and 10th innings August 31, 1914, to win the game 4-3. Both were inside the park at Griffith Stadium. On August 13, 1926, Lou Gehrig hit two off Johnson, also at Griffith Stadium.
The Big Train gave up only two grand slams. One was to John Tobin of the Browns in St. Louis on August 6, 1922, and the other to Harry Hooper of the White Sox in Chicago on June 16, 1924. On May 30, 1913, Johnson yielded a leadoff homer to Harry Hooper of the Red Sox and that was all that was needed to deal the long suffering Senator hurler one of his many 1-0 defeats.
Johnson was the victim of left-hand batters 64 times and right-hand batters 33 times. In addition to the 40 homers hit off him in Washington, 15 were hit off him in New York, 15 in Philadelphia, 8 in St. Louis, 7 in Detroit and Cleveland, 5 in Chicago, and not one in Boston.
The full list of home runs hit off Johnson follows:
|
Date of Game |
Place |
Batter and Club |
Inn. |
OB |
Comment |
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Aug. 2, 1907 |
Wash. |
Sam Crawford, Tigers |
8 |
0 |
Spoiled WJ debut |
|
June 29, 1909 |
N.Y. |
Ray Demmit, Yankees |
7 |
0 |
Ruined WJ shutout |
|
July 30, 1910 |
Phil. |
Eddie Collins, A’s |
8 |
2 |
IPH to LF wall |
|
Apr. 28, 1911 |
Phil. |
Frank Baker, A’s |
2 |
0 |
First OPH off WJ |
|
May 6, 1911 |
Wash. |
Eddie Collins, A’s |
8 |
0 |
|
|
July 1, 1911 |
Wash. |
Frank Baker, A’s |
6 |
1 |
|
|
July 9, 1911 |
Det. |
Sam Crawford, Tigers |
8 |
1 |
|
|
Aug. 25, 1911 |
(1) Det. |
Ed Lafitte, Tigers |
8 |
0 |
Opposing hurler |
|
Aug. 29, 1911 |
Clev. |
Ted Easterly, Indians |
9 |
0 |
Pinch hitter |
|
Sep. 7, 1911 |
Wash. |
John Knight, Yankees |
2 |
1 |
|
|
Sep. 23, 1911 |
Wash. |
Joe Jackson, Indians |
6 |
1 |
WJ lost 6-1 |
|
May 8, 1912 |
Wash. |
Harry Lord, White Sox |
1 |
1 |
|
|
May 8, 1912 |
Wash. |
Ping Bodie, White Sox |
5 |
1 |
Two in same game |
|
May 30, 1913 |
(2) Wash. |
Harry Hooper, Red Sox |
1 |
0 |
Leadoff Hr in 1-0 game |
|
June 2, 1913 |
(2) Wash. |
Frank Baker, A’s |
4 |
0 |
Beat WJ 4-3 |
|
June 14, 1913 |
Wash. |
Ray Schalk, White Sox |
5 |
0 |
|
|
June 14, 1913 |
Wash. |
Buck Weaver, White Sox |
9 |
0 |
Two in same game |
|
June 18, 1913 |
Wash. |
Doc Johnston, Indians |
1 |
0 |
Leadoff homer |
|
June 25, 1913 |
Wash. |
Frank Baker, A’s |
3 |
2 |
Nats lost 14-2 |
|
July 13, 1913 |
Clev. |
Joe Jackson, Indians |
4 |
1 |
|
|
July 21, 1913 |
Chi. |
Hairy Lord, White Sox |
4 |
0 |
Ruined WJ shutout |
|
Aug. 15, 1913 |
Det. |
Joseph Lake, Tigers |
3 |
0 |
Opposing hurler |
|
June 18, 1914 |
Det. |
Marty Kavanagh, Tigers |
4 |
0 |
|
|
Aug. 31, 1914 |
Wash. |
Jack Fournier, White Sox |
8 |
0 |
Two IPH beat WJ 4-3 |
|
Aug. 31, 1914 |
Wash. |
Jack Fournier, White Sox |
10 |
0 |
|
|
Aug. 10, 1915 |
Wash. |
George H. Burns, Tigers |
1 |
1 |
|
|
July 5, 1917 |
(1) N.Y. |
Frank Baker, Yankees |
13 |
0 |
Beat WJ 5-4 |
|
July 29, 1917 |
Clev. |
Jack Graney, Indians |
5 |
0 |
|
|
Sep. 22, 1917 |
Wash. |
Ty Cobb, Tigers |
3 |
2 |
IPH to right-center |
|
May 7, 1918 |
Wash. |
Babe Ruth, Red Sox |
6 |
1 |
Ruined WJ shutout |
|
June 30, 1918 |
Wash. |
Babe Ruth, Red Sox |
10 |
1 |
Beat WJ 3-1 |
|
May 26, 1920 |
Wash. |
Steve O’Neill, Indians |
6 |
0 |
|
|
May 31, 1920 |
(2) N.Y. |
Babe Ruth, Yankees |
8 |
1 |
|
|
June 8, 1920 |
StL. |
George Sisler, Browns |
3 |
0 |
Two in same game |
|
June 8, 1920 |
StL. |
Ken Williams, Browns |
9 |
0 |
|
|
June 12, 1920 |
Chi. |
Oscar Felsch, White Sox |
6 |
1 |
|
|
Apr. 25, 1921 |
N.Y. |
Babe Ruth, Yankees |
1 |
0 |
|
|
May 7, 1921 |
Wash. |
Bob Meusel, Yankees |
3 |
1 |
Two in same game |
|
May 7, 1921 |
Wash. |
Babe Ruth, Yankees |
8 |
0 |
|
|
June 25, 1921 |
N.Y. |
Babe Ruth, Yankees |
5 |
1 |
|
|
Aug. 8, 1921 |
Wash. |
Luke Stuart, Browns |
9 |
1 |
Only hit in majors |
|
Aug. 18, 1921 |
StL. |
Bill Jacobson, Browns |
5 |
0 |
|
|
Oct. 2, 1921 |
Wash. |
Jimmy Dykes, A’s |
6 |
0 |
|
|
May 24, 1922 |
N.Y. |
Bob Meusel, Yankees |
2 |
0 |
|
|
Aug. 6, 1922 |
StL. |
John Tobin, Browns |
3 |
3 |
Grand slam beats WJ |
|
Aug. 29, 1922 |
N.Y. |
Wally Pipp, Yankees |
3 |
0 |
|
|
Aug. 29, 1922 |
N.Y. |
Babe Ruth, Yankees |
4 |
0 |
Two in same game |
|
Sep. 8, 1922 |
N.Y. |
Wally Pipp, Yankees |
6 |
2 |
|
|
Sep. 19, 1922 |
StL. |
Ken Williams, Browns |
4 |
0 |
Two in same game |
|
Sep. 19, 1922 |
StL. |
Pat Collins, Browns |
7 |
0 |
|
|
Sep. 23, 1922 |
Chi. |
Johnny Mostil, White Sox |
5 |
1 |
|
|
Apr. 18, 1923 |
Phil. |
Jimmy Dykes, A’s |
2 |
1 |
Beat WJ 3-1 |
|
Apr. 22, 1923 |
N.Y. |
Everett Scott, Yankees |
8 |
0 |
|
|
May 30, 1923 |
(1) Wash. |
Babe Ruth, Yankees |
1 |
0 |
|
|
June 2, 1923 |
(2) Wash. |
Joe Hauser, Phil. |
6 |
0 |
|
|
June 12, 1923 |
Wash. |
John Tobin, Browns |
1 |
0 |
Leadoff hitter |
|
June 15, 1923 |
Wash. |
Bibb Falk, White Sox |
7 |
2 |
Pinch hitter |
|
June 22, 1923 |
Phil. |
Cy Perkins, A’s |
6 |
0 |
|
|
July 4, 1923 |
(2) N.Y. |
Fred Hoffman, Yankees |
2 |
0 |
|
|
Aug. 13, 1923 |
(2) Wash. |
Earl Sheely, White Sox |
8 |
1 |
Beat WJ 3-2 |
|
Apr. 20, 1924 |
Wash. |
Babe Ruth, Yankees |
8 |
0 |
|
|
Apr. 25, 1924 |
Phil. |
Al Simmons, A’s |
6 |
2 |
First Simmons Hr |
|
June 2, 1924 |
Phil. |
Joe Hauser, A’s |
6 |
1 |
|
|
June 16, 1924 |
Chi. |
Harry Hooper, White Sox |
7 |
3 |
Second slam off WJ |
|
June 21, 1924 |
Phil. |
Joe Hauser, A’s |
1 |
1 |
Two in same game |
|
June 21, 1924 |
Phil. |
Al Simmons, A’s |
4 |
0 |
|
|
July 20, 1924 |
Wash. |
George Sisler, Browns |
1 |
0 |
|
|
Sep. 8, 1924 |
Phil. |
Joe Hauser, A’s |
6 |
0 |
Two in same game |
|
Sep. 8, 1924 |
Phil. |
Bing Miller, A’s |
8 |
0 |
|
|
Sep. 13, 1924 |
Det. |
Emory Rigney, Tigers |
7 |
0 |
|
|
Apr. 18, 1925 |
Phil. |
Bill Lamar, A’s |
8 |
1 |
|
|
May 6, 1925 |
Wash. |
Phil Todt, Red Sox |
9 |
1 |
|
|
May 16, 1925 |
Clev. |
Glenn Myatt, Indians |
5 |
0 |
|
|
May 27, 1925 |
Phil. |
Mickey Cochrane, A’s |
4 |
0 |
Hit into 20th St. |
|
May 28, 1925 |
(2) Phil. |
Bill Harriss, A’s |
2 |
1 |
Opposing hurler |
|
June 26, 1925 |
Phil. |
Al Simmons, A’S |
3 |
1 |
|
|
Sep. 11, 1925 |
Wash. |
Roy Carlyle, Red Sox |
6 |
1 |
|
|
Apr. 20, 1926 |
Wash. |
Babe Ruth, Yankees |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Apr. 23, 1926 |
Phil. |
Joe Hauser, A’s |
5 |
0 |
|
|
May 23, 1926 |
Wash. |
Al Simmons, A’s |
4 |
0 |
Into CF stands |
|
June 2, 1926 |
(2) N.Y. |
Earl Combs, Yankees |
5 |
0 |
|
|
June 20, 1926 |
StL. |
Ken Wffliams, Browns |
7 |
2 |
Pinch hitter |
|
July 1, 1926 |
(1) N.Y. |
Lou Gehrig, Yankees |
6 |
0 |
|
|
July 21, 1926 |
(2) Wash. |
Henie Manush, Tigers |
4 |
2 |
|
|
Aug. 9, 1926 |
Clev. |
Tris Speaker, Indians |
4 |
2 |
|
|
Aug. 13, 1926 |
Wash. |
Lou Gehrig, Yankees |
4 |
0 |
Two in same game |
|
Aug. 13, 1926 |
Wash. |
Lou Gehrig, Yankees |
5 |
1 |
|
|
Aug. 30, 1926 |
N.Y. |
Tony Lazzeri, Yankees |
8 |
1 |
|
|
Sep. 11, 1926 |
(1) Clev. |
Trjs Speaker, Indians |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Sep. 25, 1926 |
(1) Chi. |
Bill Barrett, White Sox |
9 |
0 |
|
|
June 4, 1927 |
Wash. |
Fred Schulte, Browns |
4 |
0 |
Beat WJ 2-1 |
|
June 26, 1927 |
Wash. |
Buddy Myer, Red Sox |
2 |
0 |
|
|
July 4, 1927 |
(1) N.Y. |
Lou Gehrig, Yankees |
8 |
1 |
|
|
July 9, 1927 |
Clev. |
Glenn Myatt, Indians |
9 |
0 |
|
|
July 22, 1927 |
(1) StL. |
Herschel Bennett, Browns |
1 |
1 |
|
|
Aug. 22, 1927 |
(2) Det. |
Harry Heilmann, Tigers |
4 |
0 |
Two in same inning |
|
Aug. 22, 1927 |
(2) Det. |
Marty McManus, Tigers |
4 |
1 |