Jack Warhop

John Milton Warhop (July 4, 1884 – October 4, 1960) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1908 to 1915 for the New York Highlanders / Yankees.

Considered by baseball insiders and historians as an unlucky pitcher, Warhop had a career 69–92 win–loss record, but with a 3.12 earned run average while playing for mostly second division Highlanders/Yankees teams. Of his 92 losses, the Yankees did not score a run in 23, and he holds the MLB record for losing the most 1–0 games with five in 1914. In 1915, Warhop allowed Babe Ruth's first two career home runs. He was released after the 1915 season and played a number of seasons in minor league baseball and semi-professional teams until his late 40s or early 50s.

Warhop had an underhand submarine delivery, which gave him the nickname "Crab"

Early life

Warhop was born in Hinton, West Virginia. He spent his early life working as a fireman for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Warhop played for local semi-professional teams sponsored by the railway company. He drew the attention of several minor league teams, and in 1906, Warhop signed with the Class-D Freeport Pretzels of the Wisconsin–Illinois League in 1906 to start his professional career. His debut campaign included a no-hitter on Independence Day against the La Crosse Pinks. From 1906 to 1908, Warhop had an 82–20 win–loss record and 330 strikeouts, with a career high 30 wins in 1907.

Major League Baseball career

1908–1912 Warhop made his debut on September 9, 1908. He ended up with a 1–2 win–loss record with a 4.46 earned run average (ERA) in five games that year. However, he improved a few weeks later on May 20, when he limited the St. Louis Browns to four hits. This began a quality stretch for Warhop, who won five consecutive games by July 17, a result of an improvement in his control. Then, during an August 21 road game against the Tigers, he lost a 5–4 walk-off game in the eleventh inning, in part due to his own unsuccessful strategy in fielding two bunts. On both occasions, he threw to second base but was too late, and the baserunners were able to advance safely and load the bases. The Highlanders lost when Earle Gardner booted a routine ground ball by Bill Donovan in a rushed attempt to throw out the go-ahead runner at home plate. At the end of the season his desperation culminated in him unsuccessfully requesting that the league change his win–loss record to 14–11, under the mistaken belief that his 12–13 record was incorrect.

Warhop's penchant for tough luck was best exemplified in the season, when he finished with a 10–19 record, the second highest number of losses in the AL, despite compiling a 2.86 ERA and 6.7 Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Both his ERA and WAR were tenth best in the AL, though he also finished second in hit batsmen (16) and fifth in errors as a pitcher (7). Then, in a game on August 22, he held the Chicago White Sox to just two hits and no runs in the first five innings. While pitching with a 3–0 lead, Warhop surrendered one run in the sixth inning, before getting shelled in the seventh, giving up four runs and the lead. After another four runs were given up in the ninth inning, the Highlanders lost the game 9–4. Towards the end of the season, Warhop was again on the losing side of a bad luck game, when he lost a 3–0 pitchers' duel against the St. Louis Browns, having held them scoreless for the first five innings.

1913–1915 A sore arm in caused Warhop to pitch ineffectively and have just seven games started. He recovered by ; however, Warhop was on the unfortunate end of a hard-luck campaign. He had an 8–15 win–loss record with a 2.37 ERA. In one of those games, on July 25, Warhop shutout the Chicago White Sox for twelve innings before losing 1–0 in the 13th, due to two errors—one of which was committed by himself on an errant throw to first base after a sacrifice bunt. His first win of the season finally came on June 25 against the Boston Red Sox. He led the American League in home runs allowed at the end of the season with eight, a very high number in the dead-ball era. His pitching style included an underhand, submarine delivery, which he abandoned by 1914.

He gave up Babe Ruth's first career home run on May 6, 1915, while Ruth was a member of the Boston Red Sox. Warhop threw a fastball in the third inning, and Ruth hit the ball to the upper right field stands. Warhop won the game 4–3 in extra innings. When interviewed about it many years later, Warhop shrugged it off, stating "that's one way to be remembered". According to one historian, however, Warhop was released because Yankee management thought he was a "jinx" to the club, as during Warhop's tenure—with the exception of the 1910 season—the Highlanders/Yankees finished no higher than fifth in the division. In 1928, Warhop became the manager for the Sally League Spartanburg team. He played semi-professional baseball until the age of 50, when he retired and became a butler for a large house in Long Island.