Minor League Workhorses: 1956-1960
It’s been too long since we last visited our friends handling the heavy work in the minor leagues. We first met them in the 1946-1950 period, and then we hung out with them again in 1951-1955. Now let’s see what they did next.
Once again, we’ve recorded the top 10 pitchers in innings pitched in each minor league classification each season, then we’ve averaged the stat lines of each of those top 10 innings-workload achievers. Let’s take a look at what this yields, not just for 1956-1960, but for the entire period, 1946 through 1960 (EP = Estimated number of pitches, using Tangotiger’s pitch estimation formula). Remember that these figures represent the averages of the top 10 pitchers at each level; we’ll look at the highest individual workloads a little later. Let’s examine these workhorses classification by classification:
Class AAA/Open Top 10 Average Innings Leaders
Class Year G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP AAA 1946 39 ? 24 280 18 15 262 78 157 2.69 4303 AAA 1947 39 ? 21 277 17 15 286 77 117 3.39 4290 AAA 1948 38 ? 18 251 16 13 268 93 122 3.93 4062 AAA 1949 41 ? 23 282 21 13 271 98 147 3.35 4448 AAA 1950 41 ? 21 283 19 14 270 102 133 3.46 4447 AAA 1951 36 32 18 249 16 12 220 98 123 3.22 3912 AAA-Open 1952 40 34 20 270 18 14 238 79 135 2.76 4094 AAA-Open 1953 42 34 18 266 19 13 253 84 115 3.30 4094 AAA-Open 1954 39 34 17 258 17 13 229 101 162 3.15 4111 AAA-Open 1955 39 34 19 259 19 13 237 76 129 2.88 3956 AAA-Open 1956 38 32 17 245 16 13 244 85 133 3.43 3905 AAA-Open 1957 35 31 14 233 16 11 215 92 139 3.29 3730 AAA 1958 35 30 14 226 15 11 209 76 127 3.31 3536 AAA 1959 36 31 13 233 15 11 226 73 122 3.31 3639 AAA 1960 38 30 13 225 14 12 226 66 121 3.37 3512
(The Pacific Coast League operated under a unique “Open Classification” status from 1952 through 1957.)
You may recall that last time I expressed surprise at the discovery that the workload at this level had only slightly declined in the early-to-mid 1950s. Well, I had the right prediction, just the wrong moment when it would occur. It occurred in the late 1950s.
Why it occurred, and why it occurred then, becomes the interesting question. I suspect it mostly had to do with the dramatic transformation of the minor league system that was taking place in those years. The Pacific Coast League example is perhaps the most dramatic: the PCL, having long enjoyed operating semi-independently from the major leagues, undertook a last-ditch effort to avoid succumbing to vassal status, with its drive to be recognized as a third major league (resulting in the “Open Classification” compromise of 1952). But for a variety of reasons (which we discussed here and here), minor league attendance nosedived through the decade of the 1950s, including in the PCL. Minor leagues were folding right and left. With the move of the Dodgers and Giants into the PCL’s two prize markets in 1958, the jig was officially up, even for the legendary Pacific Coast League: there was no longer much chance for a minor league ball club, let alone an entire minor league, to succeed independently. The only realistic business plan anymore was to accept vassal status: to be subsidized by a major league organization, in return for acting as nothing more than a developmental platform. The goal of winning a minor league championship, of making a profit by selling tickets, was now entirely secondary.
The PCL surrendered its unique status following 1957, and acknowledged that it was just another servant to the majors. This exercise makes clear that the nature of ace pitcher deployment consequently changed, not just in the PCL, but across the Triple-A level, in the International League and the American Association as well. Ace pitchers became younger. They weren’t being asked to sell tickets and win pennants; they were increasingly only being groomed to do that for someone else, in some later season. As a result, they weren’t pushed as hard: they were beginning to be protected as long-term investments.
Class AA Top 10 Average Innings Leaders
Class Year G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP AA 1946 38 ? ? 252 19 9 227 80 132 2.42 3874 AA 1947 36 ? 20 253 18 11 238 77 132 2.83 3909 AA 1948 40 ? 17 244 16 14 239 102 115 3.53 3938 AA 1949 38 ? 17 239 16 11 242 85 99 3.57 3785 AA 1950 40 ? 18 244 19 11 220 98 148 3.15 3908 AA 1951 37 32 20 258 16 14 227 113 130 2.92 4123 AA 1952 38 31 19 256 18 12 234 80 109 2.82 3913 AA 1953 39 31 17 251 16 12 246 99 129 3.21 4036 AA 1954 40 31 15 246 17 12 237 99 149 3.89 3982 AA 1955 39 32 18 254 19 11 226 92 146 3.03 3985 AA 1956 37 32 15 240 17 10 229 80 135 3.27 3775 AA 1957 39 31 15 243 17 12 224 88 132 3.25 3826 AA 1958 36 32 16 247 17 11 235 86 154 3.30 3920 AA 1959 39 31 17 243 16 12 241 75 137 3.48 3820 AA 1960 38 29 13 227 15 10 221 94 151 3.53 3716
At this level, top workloads had actually been a bit higher in the early ’50s than the late ’40s. They declined in the latter half of the 1950s, but the pattern wasn’t nearly as stark as that in Triple-A.
Class A Top 10 Average Innings Leaders
Class Year G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP A 1946 33 ? 19 235 17 9 213 93 177 2.76 3805 A 1947 38 ? 16 243 17 11 230 90 145 3.05 3874 A 1948 38 ? 19 245 17 13 235 106 152 3.48 4013 A 1949 36 ? 18 245 16 13 223 100 140 3.11 3916 A 1950 34 ? 21 250 16 13 236 105 132 3.34 4025 A 1951 36 31 21 254 18 12 223 103 156 2.95 4056 A 1952 40 31 22 268 18 14 263 109 160 3.46 4360 A 1953 41 31 21 264 18 15 279 98 115 3.77 4245 A 1954 37 31 21 254 18 11 227 101 157 3.07 4056 A 1955 33 29 19 229 16 10 216 91 141 3.15 3687 A 1956 35 28 16 227 15 12 195 103 160 3.18 3690 A 1957 36 30 19 240 16 11 227 93 154 3.42 3874 A 1958 35 30 13 229 16 10 211 96 140 3.16 3705 A 1959 36 29 15 226 16 11 216 69 147 3.29 3546 A 1960 31 29 12 207 14 11 187 91 146 3.41 3383
The pattern in this classification was similar to that of Double-A, in that top workload levels peaked in the early ’50s. But the reduction in workloads that took place in the latter half of the decade was very distinct, much stronger than that in Double-A.
Class B Top 10 Average Innings Leaders
Class Year G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP B 1946 34 ? 23 243 16 12 225 106 161 3.44 3972 B 1947 39 ? 22 263 17 12 268 117 165 4.06 4381 B 1948 44 ? 22 276 19 14 276 102 146 3.69 4417 B 1949 43 ? 24 284 20 12 268 101 143 2.90 4471 B 1950 40 ? 23 281 17 16 266 105 107 3.35 4399 B 1951 39 ? 24 275 22 11 256 101 168 2.94 4371 B 1952 41 31 25 282 22 11 234 90 126 2.77 4245 B 1953 41 31 24 278 21 11 260 85 142 2.83 4285 B 1954 42 32 21 267 18 13 259 85 146 3.57 4188 B 1955 41 32 23 271 19 13 263 109 163 3.40 4388 B 1956 40 31 24 275 20 12 260 86 180 3.54 4319 B 1957 36 29 23 244 18 12 229 82 157 3.46 3861 B 1958 36 29 16 235 16 11 215 96 181 3.14 3834 B 1959 32 29 19 219 16 11 208 93 154 3.50 3596 B 1960 33 29 14 220 16 10 207 80 158 3.38 3537
At this level, top workloads were pretty constant from the late 1940s through the mid 1950s, and then abruptly dropped off.
Class C Top 10 Average Innings Leaders
Class Year G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP C 1946 39 ? 26 277 21 11 264 80 199 2.71 4348 C 1947 42 ? 25 288 21 12 265 104 193 3.03 4582 C 1948 45 ? 25 297 21 15 299 117 166 3.45 4817 C 1949 42 ? 25 283 21 12 274 111 193 3.23 4603 C 1950 43 ? 28 300 23 13 294 125 223 3.81 4963 C 1951 49 35 29 318 26 13 333 115 184 3.48 5152 C 1952 41 33 26 284 23 10 263 136 204 3.62 4734 C 1953 45 33 27 292 22 13 314 126 188 4.18 4896 C 1954 44 35 25 287 21 14 289 95 171 3.82 4570 C 1955 47 31 22 277 21 14 284 95 200 4.03 4498 C 1956 36 30 22 254 19 10 248 99 185 3.80 4156 C 1957 38 30 22 255 19 11 252 103 202 3.87 4228 C 1958 38 30 19 245 18 11 246 105 209 3.63 4126 C 1959 34 26 14 209 14 10 204 90 158 3.53 3473 C 1960 34 27 15 217 16 9 204 96 192 3.42 3638
Here the way top aces were worked in 1959 and 1960 bore almost no resemblance to their usage pattern of just a few years earlier.
Class D Top 10 Average Innings Leaders
Class Year G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP D 1946 41 ? 27 292 21 14 254 106 230 2.93 4656 D 1947 44 ? 25 295 23 12 255 96 203 2.91 4593 D 1948 44 ? 26 291 23 11 266 108 186 3.04 4635 D 1949 41 ? 28 295 21 13 263 114 187 2.85 4700 D 1950 41 ? 23 281 21 12 270 116 196 3.32 4606 D 1951 41 32 27 289 24 9 264 100 219 2.89 4613 D 1952 45 27 23 283 21 10 243 125 195 2.62 4585 D 1953 43 28 22 278 22 11 251 110 204 3.15 4485 D 1954 38 30 23 263 20 11 246 110 183 3.24 4295 D 1955 43 31 24 282 22 12 274 109 194 3.47 4589 D 1956 41 26 19 247 19 10 207 112 218 2.63 4068 D 1957 39 29 20 245 19 11 213 82 205 2.69 3886 D 1958 35 28 21 234 18 10 207 74 174 2.70 3662 D 1959 34 28 19 231 19 9 204 93 179 3.04 3738 D 1960 34 26 18 227 17 10 198 97 166 3.04 3676
At the lowest rung of professional baseball, ace pitchers were small-town celebrities through the mid-1950s. But suddenly in the late ’50s, as independently-operating Class D teams and leagues were rapidly evaporating, that long-familiar baseball type, the bush league ace, was finding fewer and fewer opportunities to be employed. At the lowest level of minor league ball, as in the highest, top pitchers were now almost exclusively young major league prospects, as reflected by their suddenly carefully-modulated workload.
The Very Top Workhorses, 1956-1960
It’s in this look that we see the most dramatic difference between the late 1950s and earlier periods. From 1946 through 1950, we counted 32 separate times in which a minor league pitcher had a season in which he through 4,900 or more estimated pitches. In the next five-year segment, 1951 through 1955, the incidence of these extremely high workloads was reduced, but there were still 23.
In the period from 1956 through 1960, there were no such seasons. None. Zero.
The very high end of pitching workloads in the minor leagues was suddenly, significantly lowered in the late 1950s.
Class AAA/Open Top 10 Workloads
Pitcher T Age Year League G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP Lynn Lovenguth R 33 1956 International 39 32 25 279 24 12 247 93 153 2.68 4318 Stan Williams R 20 1957 Amer. Assoc 35 34 16 246 19 7 188 148 223 3.04 4204 Pete Mesa R ? 1956 Pacific Coast 40 32 13 241 13 12 246 137 141 3.85 4163 Don Nottebart R 23 1959 Amer. Assoc. 39 36 13 258 18 11 249 100 131 3.52 4122 Fred Kipp L 24 1956 International 40 33 18 254 20 7 220 118 127 3.33 4080 Dave Benedict L ? 1957 Amer. Assoc 35 31 16 240 12 16 282 104 106 4.69 4038 Rene Valdez R 27 1956 Pacific Coast 41 35 18 254 22 11 245 69 148 3.43 3925 Charlie Rabe L 25 1957 Pacific Coast 41 31 11 238 16 10 237 101 143 3.37 3908 Marshall Bridges L 27 1958 Pacific Coast 35 31 16 232 16 11 206 111 205 3.69 3895 Carlton Willey R 26 1957 Amer. Assoc 32 32 17 247 21 6 202 94 174 3.24 3890
Only two of these Triple-A aces (Mesa and Benedict) never made the majors. Lovenguth was among the last of the old-style career minor league stars, who would have only a major league cup of coffee. A few of these guys (including Nottebart and Kipp) were hot prospects, although only one — Stan Williams — would make much of a splash in the majors, and good though he was, Williams never really broke through as the big league star it appeared he might.
Class AA Top 10 Workloads
Pitcher T Age Year League G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP Jim O'Toole L 21 1958 South. Assoc. 35 33 21 280 20 8 245 132 189 2.44 4590 FranciscoRamirez R ? 1959 Mexican 47 35 21 294 17 12 310 65 139 3.24 4500 Chuck Locke R 26 1958 Mexican 40 33 25 267 19 16 263 100 144 3.37 4277 Bob Kelly R 29 1957 South. Assoc. 38 31 22 259 24 11 261 96 185 3.34 4231 Hal Griggs R 28 1957 South. Assoc. 45 31 14 256 21 12 241 115 169 3.34 4216 Chuck Locke R 27 1959 Mexican 43 35 22 278 21 14 276 57 147 3.56 4197 Bob Kelly R 28 1956 South. Assoc. 38 36 15 253 13 16 289 85 180 3.63 4196 Bob Mabe R 26 1956 Texas 38 34 18 264 21 10 240 89 195 2.83 4188 Jack Curtis L 23 1960 Texas 42 32 19 257 19 8 252 103 144 3.57 4158 Al Papai R 39 1956 South. Assoc. 36 34 18 266 20 10 279 76 98 3.69 4119
Papai, a longtime minor league ace knuckleballer, and Kelly, a former major leaguer on the way down, represented the last of the dying breed here. The 21-year-old O’Toole was the hottest of these prospects, and he became a major league star, though — significantly? — his career ran aground due to arm trouble beginning at age 28. This was the second big-workhorse season for Curtis, whom we’ll see again below.
Class A Top 10 Workloads
Pitcher T Age Year League G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP Juan Pizarro L 19 1956 South Atl. 31 31 27 274 23 6 149 149 318 1.77 4501 Ken Yoke L ? 1957 Western 38 32 21 262 20 8 301 92 133 4.19 4293 Marshall Bridges L 25 1956 Western 39 31 19 242 18 11 208 154 213 3.90 4249 Hugh Blanton R ? 1958 Western 37 31 11 240 20 6 292 107 138 4.76 4135 Juan Marichal R 21 1959 Eastern 37 32 23 271 18 13 238 47 208 2.39 4039 Hugh Blanton R ? 1957 Western 33 32 24 258 20 9 263 72 138 2.86 4025 Ben Swaringen L ? 1957 South Atl. 36 33 18 239 13 17 223 115 183 3.84 4009 Bill Smith L 23 1957 South Atl. 35 30 18 242 16 8 218 106 163 3.12 3943 Sherman Jones R 22 1957 Western 34 29 18 221 10 16 212 145 165 5.09 3933 Candido Andrade R ? 1958 South Atl. 32 31 17 257 15 12 224 67 175 2.98 3915
Two youngsters on this list went on to be stars in the majors: Marichal a slam-dunk Hall of Famer, and Pizarro was still pitching in the big leagues at age 37.
We saw Marshall Bridges above with his workhorse season in Triple-A in 1958. He had wicked stuff, and obviously dubious control. I’ve long wondered if he would have gotten an earlier and more substantial shot in the major leagues than he did had he not been African-American. He comes across as one of the more entertaining characters in Jim Brosnan’s diary of the 1961 Cincinnati Reds’ season, Pennant Race.
Class B Top 10 Workloads
Pitcher T Age Year League G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP Ralph Mason R ? 1956 Southwestern 39 32 27 278 18 17 304 111 219 4.66 4694 Jodie Phipps R ? 1956 Southwestern 42 33 30 293 22 12 270 67 242 3.81 4523 Orlando Pena R 22 1956 Carolina 39 32 26 286 19 12 255 100 176 2.42 4487 Bob Leach L ? 1956 Southwestern 42 33 21 262 11 20 331 110 126 6.42 4480 Thornton Kipper R 29 1958 Northwest 36 34 22 282 23 11 269 74 193 2.71 4376 Bob Leach L ? 1957 Southwestern 37 30 26 268 19 12 258 107 158 3.76 4330 Jack Taylor R ? 1956 Carolina 40 31 28 289 22 11 225 80 184 2.46 4320 Ramon Salgado R ? 1956 Big State 40 30 20 282 21 10 262 76 154 3.16 4305 Bill Bagwell R ? 1956 Western Int. 37 29 22 260 23 9 303 80 152 4.29 4242 Gene Lippold R ? 1957 Southwestern 32 31 29 264 19 12 275 78 179 3.72 4219
Most of these guys never made the majors, so we really can’t tell whether they were prospects or veterans. Kipper had been in the majors briefly, and was playing out his career as a low-minors star. Pena was a prospect who would never become a major league star, but would kick around the majors in one capacity or another past the age of 40.
I’d sure like to know the story on that fellow Bob Leach: he goes 11-20 with a 6.42 ERA, but gets invited back to the same ball club the next year, and puts up a 19-12, 3.76 season.
Class C Top 10 Workloads
Pitcher T Age Year League G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP Leo Fergunson R ? 1958 California 37 33 26 291 23 8 229 134 302 3.00 4827 Pete Hernandez R ? 1956 California 36 34 29 287 24 10 286 109 212 4.05 4703 Bob Gontosky R ? 1958 California 35 33 18 252 19 7 232 184 272 3.86 4680 Gary Kroll R 18 1960 California 35 34 17 257 17 12 191 166 309 2.91 4551 Candido Andrade R ? 1957 Arizona-Mex. 42 30 21 276 20 13 274 94 260 4.04 4544 Charlie Drummond R ? 1957 California 40 29 21 259 13 18 233 147 251 3.61 4518 Israel Ferrer R ? 1957 Arizona-Mex. 40 31 22 265 19 12 279 98 215 4.65 4406 Tom Fitzgerald R ? 1958 California 36 34 16 257 18 13 278 121 143 4.03 4342 Bob Clear R ? 1957 Arizona-Mex. 37 31 28 268 20 11 251 83 228 3.63 4280 Nels Chittum R 23 1956 California 37 32 24 266 23 7 249 97 180 3.62 4259
Again, a lot of guys we have a hard time knowing much about. Kroll was obviously a tremendous prospect: a huge kid (6′ 6 1/2″, 220) who threw extremely hard, but he never really mastered his control, and wasn’t able to last in the major leagues.
Class D Top 10 Workloads
Pitcher T Age Year League G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP Julio Guerra R ? 1957 Florida State 53 32 21 292 26 9 219 111 308 2.40 4686 Ben Rich R ? 1956 Georgia-Fla. 34 30 22 256 19 9 208 154 257 2.64 4453 Ken Sheppard R ? 1956 Georgia-Fla. 36 29 25 262 17 13 203 126 271 2.19 4363 Don Miller R ? 1956 Georgia-Fla. 35 29 21 238 15 15 210 180 203 3.74 4344 Gilberto Clark R ? 1959 Florida State 42 30 17 268 22 10 244 101 213 2.62 4333 Charles Smith L ? 1956 Midwest 31 29 20 242 21 4 218 115 263 2.90 4142 Jack Curtis L 20 1957 Sooner State 37 31 24 240 18 15 238 104 219 3.71 4062 Julio Navarro R 20 1956 Florida State 49 22 20 246 24 8 186 120 216 2.16 4033 William Jones R ? 1960 NY-P 30 28 17 229 20 5 195 147 196 3.93 4013 Harry Coe L ? 1957 Florida State 32 31 25 264 26 3 189 67 266 1.37 4005
Only two of these fellows made the majors. Curtis was a full-time starter as a 24-year-old rookie (and received a Rookie of the Year vote), but was gone from the big leagues less than two years later. Navarro was on and off of major league rosters until he was 34 years old.
That southpaw Harry Coe, whoever he was, had a pretty spectacular year there, didn’t he?
In our next installment, in a few weeks, we’ll find out how minor league workhorses were deployed into the early 1960s.
References & Resources
Estimated Pitches are calculated using Tangotiger’s Basic Pitch Count Estimator (3.3*PA + 1.5*SO + 2.2*BB), where (PA = 3*IP + H + BB).
As it lobbied to achieve major league status, the Pacific Coast League was granted unique “Open Classification” status by the National Association from 1952 through 1957. The American Association and International League both remained “AAA” classifications. See Paul J. Zingg and Mark D. Medeiros, Runs, Hits, and an Era: The Pacific Coast League, 1903-1958, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1994.