The Chicago Cubs finished in seventh place in the then eight team National League in '53. The club's record was 65-89, a full 40 games out of first place and its pitching staff posted an ERA of 4.79, next to the last in all of baseball. Chicago Cubs 1953 Pitching Summary: Warren Hacker 12-19 record, 4.38 ERA in 39 Games... Paul Minner 12-15, 4.21 ERA in 31G... Johnny Klippstein 10-11, 4.83 ERA in 48G... Bob Rush 9-14, 4.54 ERA... Dutch Leonard 2-3, 4.60 ERA in 45G... Bubba Church 4-5, 5.00 ERA in 27G... Sheldon Jones 0-2, 5.40 ERA in 22G Howie Pollet 5-6, 4.12 ERA in 25G... Turk Lown 8-7, 5.16 ERA in 49G... Duke Simpson 1-2, 8.00 ERA in 30G... Fred Baczewski 0-0, 6.30 ERA in 9G... Don Elston 0-1, 14.40 ERA in 2G... Bob Kelly 0-1, 9.53 ERA in 14G... Bill Moisan 0-0, 5.40 ERA in 3G... Bob Schultz 0-2, 5.40 ERA in 7G... Jim Wills 2-1, 3.12 ERA in 13G ============================================================= Pitcher Bios - complied from 'Who's Who Magazines' Johnny Klippstein, Right-handed - one of the team's workhorses, he's showing marked improvement each year. In 1953, Johnny Klippstein appeared in 48 games and completed 5-of-19 starts, allowed just 169 hits in 167 2/3 innings, struck out 113 batters, walked 107 and collected 6 saves while posting a 10-11 record. Bob Rush, Right-handed - was a good pitcher in 1953 in face of the team's poor defense. Added a great curveball to his fastball and should be a consistent winner. The big, 6ft, 5inch, 201-pound Bob Rush completed 8-of-28 starts, threw one shutout and hurled 166 2/3 innings. Paul Minner, Left-handed - the big, 6ft, 4inch, 220-pound, southpaw has been the workhorse of the Cubs the past few years... his wins came in handy and his stamina tremendous. In 1953, Paul Minner was 12-15, completed 9-of-27 starts and relieved in 4 others and gained a save in 201 innings. Turk Lown, Right-handed - looks like a big-winner in the future. He went 8-7 in '53, appeared in a team-high 49 games, completed 2-of-12 starts, struck out 76, walked 84 in 143 and a 1/3 innings. Warren Hacker, Right-handed - has been on the Cubs' pitching since 1948 and his losses last year were mostly due to bad breaks. He led the team in innings pitched with 221 1/3 and completed 9-of-32 starts, relieved in seven others and collected two saves. A control pitcher, Warren Hacker walked only 54 batters and fanned 106 in 1953. However, he led the Cubs' staff in homers allowed with 35... had a nice 2.54 opponents batting average. Tom Duke Simpson, Right-handed - throws a slider and a hard-curveball. A highly-rated rookie, he came on in relief in 29 games in '53, was 1-2 W/L in 45 innings, striking out 21 batters, walked 25 but had a disappointing 8.00 ERA. baseballhistorian.com - The Keeper of Baseball History Page 104 Waiting in the Wings - Pitching in the minors with the 1954 Cedar Rapids Indians Class B an affiliate off the Chicago Cubs Luther Burns 28 years-old, Starting Pitcher - throws a mixture of pitches. Started 15 games for Cedar Rapids in 1954 and compiled a 9-11 record with a 3.37 ERA. Luther Burns was second on the team with 155 innings pitched and in wins with 9. Darrell Rothrock 26 years-old, Starting Pitcher - led Cedar Rapids in wins with a 12-9 record and a 3.91 ERA. Darrell Rothrock relied on a rapid fastball and a fine change up to stymie hitters. He led the team with 212 innings, and led with 26 starts. Ed Funai 25 years-old Starting and Relief Pitcher - posted a fine 8-5 wins/loss record with a 4.86 ERA. Edward Funai was a durable mound worker. In 1954 he started 17 games and relieved in 15 others. For complete career stats of all major league baseball players, please see Players section on our home page For loads of fun reading, type in Yankees, Cardinals, Pirates, Red Sox, Cubs or all other teams in our Search on the lower left-side of our home page |
