Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown

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Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown, Jake Arrieta, and Baseball Milestones

With the Cubs and Jake Arrieta off to such great starts, I’m hearing more and more references to historic baseball milestones. Of course, for people like me who loves baseball history, this this is like music to my ears!

For instance, I read on Sunday that no Cub pitcher has ever experienced a 26-start stretch quite like Arrieta’s, in which he has gone 22-1 with a 0.85 ERA. I also recently read that the Cubs have the best National League start since the 1905 Giants. So I know I’ll have to write about them soon. Plus, with the White Sox having the best record in the American League with an equally impressive start, you know comparisons to the 1906 season and World Series are just around the corner. I’ll be keeping my eyes and ears open for those!

One historical reference that really caught my attention was comparing Arrieta’s 6-0 start to Dead Ball Era pitcher Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown in 1908 when he started 11-0, on the way to a 29-9 record and the last Cubs World Series championship. Because of this, I also learned a few other things: That the record for wins at the start of the season is 15-0 by Dave McNally in 1969; that Rube Marquard holds the single season record with 19 wins in a row in 1912; and that only three pitchers have more than Arrieta’s 17 straight winnings decisions over two seasons: Roger Clemens, Roy Face, and Carl Hubbell (who holds the records with 24 wins in a row in 1936-’37). The reference to Mordecai Brown of course gives me an excuse to say a few words about his Hall-of-Fame career.

“Three-Finger” Brown lost parts of two fingers on his right hand in a farm accident on April 17, 1888 and in the process he acquired one of the most memorable and descriptive nicknames in all of baseball lore. He turned this handicap to his advantage by learning how to grip a baseball in a way that resulted in an exceptional curveball with unusual topspin. This made it difficult for batters to connect solidly and he was an extremely effective groundball pitcher. With this unique pitching style, Brown became one of the elite pitchers of the Dead Ball Era.

Over his 14 year-career (1903-1916), Brown went 239-130 (.647), with a 2.06 ERA and 1375 strikeouts. His career included stints with the Cardinals, Red, Cubs, and three teams in the defunct Federal League. By far, his most productive period was with the Cubs from 1904-1912. During this stretch, he won 20 or more games six times. His five-year span from 1906-1910 has to be one of the most dominant ever. Over this time, he went 127-44 (.742), with a 1.41 ERA, 38 shutouts, averaged 291 innings each year, and was the ace on four pennant winners and two World Series championships. His career 2.06 ERA is the third best in major league history among players in the Hall of Fame, after Ed Walsh and Addie Joss; and is the best in history for any pitcher with 200 or more wins.

John McGraw regarded Christy Mathewson and Brown as the two best pitchers in the National League. Brown was one of the few pitchers who had a winning record against Mathewson (13-11, plus one no-decision in 25 matchups), including the final regular season game of the 1908 season, necessitated by the Merkle incident. Brown and Mathewson wrapped their careers by squaring off on September 4, 1916. The game was billed as the final meeting between the two old baseball warriors. The high-scoring game was a win for Mathewson’s Reds over Brown’s Cubs. Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1949.

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from public domain

Information: Excerpts edited from the Mordecai Brown Wikipedia page

Statistics from Mordecai Brown Baseball Reference page.

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