As a rookie in 1911 he moved into the Browns starting rotation and completed 10-of-17 starts Pitcher Left handed – St Louis Browns 1911-16, 1917; Detroit Tigers 1916; Pittsburgh Pirates 1918-1923; Phillies 1924 – born in Gibson City Illinois One of the majors leading pitchers in this era, Earl Hamilton collected 10 or more wins six times in a career spanning 14 seasons, and posted an ERA under 3.49 in 10 of those seasons. Although he never had a 20-game win season, the 5-ft, 8-inch, 160-pounder had six years of working over 200 innings, including a career-high 302 1/3 in 1914 when he had a 19-16 record with a stingy 2.50 ERA. And, he completed 140 of his 262 lifetime starts while chalking up a solid 3.16 ERA. A consistent performer, Hamilton relied mostly on curve balls, sinkers and off-speed pitches to stifle opposing teams rallies. With the Browns from 1912 thru 1915 he surrendered just 11 homers in over 950 innings – and that’s a remarkable statistic. He was traded to Pittsburgh in 1918 and won 55 games thru 1923., pitching over 140 innings every year except his first season. Check this stat out: Whereas in today’s game when pitchers allow 20 to 35 home runs per season, Earl Hamilton gave up only 43 career homers in 2342 2/3 innings spanning 410 games. Earl Hamilton career stats: 119-144 record, 3.16 ERA, 410 Games, 790 Ks, 773 Walks, 2319 hits in 2342 2/3 innings. baseball historian |