Christy Mathewson

Big Six

Career stats:
373-188__434 CG__79 SHO__2502 K__2.13 ERA__135 ERA+__1.059 WHIP
2 Triple Crowns (1905, 1909)
2 No-hitters


Christopher Mathewson was born August 12, 1880 in Factoryville, Pennsylvania. He would go on to Bucknell University and play on both the football and baseball teams. Mathewson left college and signed with a team from the New England League before the New York (Baseball) Giants purchased his contract. Initially, he failed to live up to expectations, so the Reds selected him in the next Rule V draft (which was a better selection -- Mathewson or Johan Santana?) and then traded him back to the Giants.

Mathewson employed a good fastball and a new pitch -- the screwball -- during his 17-year career. One of the best stories about Mathewson is the 1905 World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics. He pitched a 4-hit shutout in Game 1 for the win. Then, he came back three days later to throw another 4-hit shutout. To top it all off, he came back two days later and twirled a 6-hit shutout to clinch the series.

Mathewson had a great career in New York, but he didn't do it on Sunday. He had a religious conviction against pitching on the Sabbath and may have been a reason he was called the "Christian Gentleman". When he did pitch, he was great, and he even had a brother that pitched alongside him. Henry and Christy won the most games by brothers on a single team with 373. Christy won 373 of them, and Henry won all of 0.

The Reds would take him back for his last game in the majors on September 4, 1916. That game pitted him against his old foe Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown. Mathewson threw a complete game but gave up eight runs in his final victory. He would manage the Reds for the next two seasons until he enlisted in the Army for WWI along with Ty Cobb.

Along with Cobb, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner, Mathewson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936 with 205 votes.