Bob Feller’s Rapid Path to the Hall of Fame

One hundred years ago today, on November 3, 1918, Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller was born in Van Meter, Iowa. Feller, known as “Rapid Robert” or the “Heater from Van Meter” was a baseball immortal, known most for his blazing fastball.

Although Feller wasn’t particularly big (his Baseball-Reference page lists him as 6’0″, 185 pounds), Feller’s fastball velocity was legendary. Observers at the time felt he threw harder than perhaps anybody in baseball history but Walter Johnson or Lefty Grove. Feller also sported a killer curveball, which Joe DiMaggio said “isn’t human.”

Feller’s career predated radar guns but, according to Jay Jaffe’s The Cooperstown Casebook, Feller’s fastball was estimated at 104 MPH (in a 1940 test pitting against a Harley-Davidson) and then 107.9 (in a ’46 test using two photoelectric cells). In an interview with the New York Times, Feller claimed to top 100 MPH on a regular basis.

Feller, known for his high leg kick, never pitched in the minor leagues. He debuted with the Cleveland Indians on July 19, 1936, at the age of 17 years, 8 months, and 16 days. No Hall of Fame pitcher has ever been younger when making their MLB debut.

Rapid Robert pitched for the Indians from 1936-41 and 1945-56, missing 3 1/2 years due to his service with the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Bob Feller’s career ended after the 1956 season. In 1962, he joined Jackie Robinson as a first-ballot inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Cooperstown Cred: Bob Feller (SP)

• Cleveland Indians (1936-41, 1945-56)
• Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962 (1st year on the ballot, 93.8% of the vote)
• Career: 266-162 (.621 WL%), 3.25 ERA, 2,581 Strikeouts
• Career: 122 ERA+, 65.2 WAR (Wins Above Replacement)
• Pitched 3 no-hitters in his career
• 6 times in Top 10 of A.L. MVP voting (3 times in Top 3)
• Led all MLB in Strikeouts 7 times
• Led A.L. in Wins 6 times
• 8-time All-Star

(cover photo: Cleveland Indians Sketch Book of 1948)

Bob Feller’s Early Years

Robert William Andrew Feller was raised by his father William to be a Major League baseball player. On his farm in Van Meter, Iowa, William built a ballpark, fencing it off, using it as a place for local boys to play. Soon the field, which had bleachers and a scoreboard, was hosting games, sometimes drawing 1,000 fans.

As a sophomore at Van Meter High School, Feller reportedly threw 5 no-hitters. In the summer, the 16-year old Feller pitched for the semipro Farmers Union team in Des Moines. According to his SABR Bio, his father kept statistics, recording that young Bob struck out 361 hitters in 157 innings. During that summer, Rapid Robert signed a contract with the Cleveland Indians.

The following summer, in between his junior and senior years at Van Meter, the 17-year old Feller made his MLB debut, a relief outing in Washington on July 19th. On August 23, after six relief outings, Feller got his first start. It was a home game against the St. Louis Browns and Feller delivered a complete game, giving up 1 run on 6 hits with 15 strikeouts.

On September 13, Feller tied Dizzy Dean‘s major league record with 17 strikeouts in a 9-inning start in a 5-2 win against the Philadelphia Athletics. That game also foreshadowed what would be an issue for Feller in the early years; he also walked 9 batters.

From his obituary in the New York Times, Feller was the best known young person in America, with the possible exception of Shirley Temple. When the 1937 season began, Feller was on the cover of TIME Magazine, only the second time a baseball player was featured on the cover. When Feller graduated from high school in the summer of 1937, NBC Radio carried the ceremony nationwide.

Overall, in 1937, Feller pitched 148.2 innings, going 9-7 with a 3.39 ERA. Young Bob was still inconsistent but occasionally authored spectacular starts. On August 25, Feller gave up 1 unearned run on 4 hits while striking out 16 in an 8-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.

1938-1941: Full-time Ace

Bob Feller became a full-time starter in 1938 and tossed a one-hit shutout in his first start of the season. In his first 15 appearances, Feller went 9-2 with a 2.78 ERA, good enough to earn his first All-Star berth. The still 19-year old right-hander, however, struggled down the stretch, logging a 4.99 ERA in his final 24 games pitched.

1938 was truly a mixed bag. Feller led the major leagues in both strikeouts (240) and walks (208). The walk total remains the most in the Modern Era (post-1901) of baseball history. In his final start of the season, Feller struck out 18 Detroit Tigers for a new single-game MLB record. In the same game, however, Feller gave up 7 hits and 7 walks, leading to 4 runs and a 4-1 loss.

From 1939-41, Feller became the greatest workhorse and best pitcher in baseball. During those years, the Indians’ star led all of MLB in innings, wins, strikeouts, WAR, and batting average against. Here is Feller’s year-by-year line.

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In 1940, on Opening Day, Feller pitched the first of three no-hitters in his career in a 1-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. To this day, it remains the only Opening Day no-hitter in MLB history.

In these three seasons, Feller was third in the A.L MVP voting in 1939 (behind Joe DiMaggio and Jimmie Foxx), second in 1940 (behind Hank Greenberg), and third in 1941 (behind DiMaggio and Ted Williams). Using modern metrics, Feller’s WAR in 1940 was the best in all of baseball for position players or pitchers.

Military Service

At the end of the 1941 season, Bob Feller was still just 22 years old. His career totals of 107 wins, 1,448.1 innings, and 1,233 strikeouts were (and remain today) by far the most in each category for a pitcher that young in the 20th and 21st centuries.

We’ll never know what Rapid Robert might have accomplished had his career not been interrupted by World War II.

Feller was the first American professional athlete to enlist in the armed forces. According to his SABR Bio, Feller was driving his car and heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor on the radio on December 7, 1941. He immediately decided to enlist and was sworn in at the Navy recruiting office in Chicago on December 9.

Feller served on the USS Alabama, which was deployed in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1943 and then in the Pacific in 1943-44. In June ’44, the Alabama participated in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, which was a lopsided victory for the U.S. During the battle, Feller was in the heat of combat, in charge of the gunnery crew. He later called the battle the “most exciting 13 hours of my life.”

His combat duties ended in January 1945 and he was honorably discharged from the Navy on August 21, one day after VJ Day. Still just 26 years old, Feller served 44 months and earned eight battle stars.

1945-1956: Back with the Tribe

After missing over 3 1/2 seasons in the prime of his career, Bob Feller returned to the mound on August 24, 1945, in a home start at Cleveland Stadium against the Tigers. Feller picked up where he left off, tossing a complete game while giving up just 2 runs on 4 hits to go along with 12 strikeouts. In 9 starts in ’45, Feller went 5-3 with a 2.50 ERA.

1946 was arguably the best season of Feller’s career. He got off to a stellar start, defeating the White Sox 1-0 with a 3-hit shutout on Opening Day. In his fourth start, at Yankee Stadium, Feller tossed the second no-hitter of his career by blanking the Bronx Bombers in another 1-0 victory.

For the season, even as he was toiling for a 68-86 Indians squad, Rapid Robert went 26-15 with a 2.18 ERA. He led the majors with 371.1 innings, 36 complete games, 10 shutouts, and a career-high 348 strikeouts. The strikeout total was believed at the time to be the most for a single season in MLB history but historians now have it just shy of Rube Waddell‘s 349 K’s in 1904. Oh, yes, Feller also led the majors again with 153 walks issued.

Feller had another good season in 1947, going 20-11 with a 2.68 ERA. However, Feller injured his right shoulder during the ’47 campaign and would never again be the same as a strikeout pitcher. Although he still led the majors with 196 K’s, that was a far cry from the 348 players he had whiffed in ’46. In his final game of the season, Feller pitched a complete game but lost 1-0 to the Tigers. He struck out just one batter while walking two.

Below are Feller’s numbers from 1946-48:

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The 1948 World Series

In 1948, the Indians had a superb team. 27-year old right-hander Bob Lemon emerged as the team’s ace. Player-manager Lou Boudreau, a future Hall of Famer, had a career year en route to the A.L. MVP.  Boudreau formed a great double-play combination with another future Hall of Famer, Joe Gordon, in his second season with Cleveland after begin acquired from the Yankees.

In the meantime, the Indians had become the second team to break the color barrier. Center fielder Larry Doby was a breakout star and Negro Leagues legend Satchel Paige made his MLB debut in July shortly after his 42nd birthday.

Anyway, this was the season that Feller finally was able to pitch in the World Series. Even as he was bothered by shoulder woes, Feller managed to go 19-15 with a 3.56 ERA. He still led all of MLB with 164 strikeouts (his 7th straight full season in which he led the category).

In the Fall Classic, Feller lost both of his starts (Games 1 and 5) but his teammates won the other four contests to give Feller his long-coveted World Championship. In fairness, Feller was sharp in his first start. Matched up against the Boston Braves and another future Cooperstown inductee (Warren Spahn), Feller pitched 8 innings of one-run ball in a 1-0 loss.

1949-1956: Bob Feller in his 30’s

On Opening Day 1949, Feller strained his shoulder while warming up and only lasted 2 innings. He didn’t pitch again for over two weeks. Feller missed his first All-Star team since 1937 (excluding the war years), posting a mediocre 4.71 in the first three months of the season.

For the 1949 season, Feller was 15-14 with a 3.75 ERA. No longer a strikeout pitcher, Feller punched out 108 batters in 211 innings.

Feller was an All-Star again in 1950, going 16-11 with a 3.43 ERA.

In 1951, Feller was snubbed from the Mid-Summer Classic despite going 10-1 with a 2.56 ERA in his first 11 starts. 9 days before the game, Feller pitched the third no-hitter of his career, a home start against the Tigers. The third no-no tied him for the most ever (at the time) with Cy Young and Larry Corcoran.

The rest of the season wasn’t quite as good for Feller but he still led the A.L. with 22 wins.

1952 was brutal, the worst season of Feller’s 18-year career. Besides posting a 4.74 ERA, modern metrics tagged Feller with a -2.9 WAR.

In 1953-54, the now 34-year-old righty rebounded to post some respectable campaigns, albeit with reduced workloads. The ’54 Indians won 111 games but were swept in the World Series by the New York Giants. Feller did not appear in the Fall Classic.

In 1955-56, Feller logged just 141 innings in 44 appearances (just 15 of them as a starter). Feller was 0-4 with a 4.97 ERA in 58 innings in ’56.

A few months after the 1956 campaign, Bob Feller announced his retirement.

Bob Feller’s Legacy

Despite missing nearly four full seasons due to his service in the U.S. Navy, Bob Feller finished his career with 266 wins and 2,581 strikeouts. At the end of the ’56 season, Feller’s 2,581 K’s were the third-most in baseball history, behind Walter Johnson and Cy Young.

There’s no way to know what Rapid Robert might have accomplished if he had pitched full-time from 1942-1945. It’s likely he would have eclipsed the 300-win plateau.

However, it’s also possible that the three 1/2 years off might have, in an odd way, prolonged Feller’s career. Young Robert threw an extraordinary amount of innings from the age of 17 to 22. For all pitchers in the modern game (1901 and later), Feller’s 1,448.1 innings through his age 22 season are by far the most.

At the ages of 21 and 22, Feller threw 320.1 and 343 innings. There’s no way to know but if he had continued that workload without a break, his career might have ended prematurely due to injury.

On the other hand, there was something freakish about Bob Feller’s right arm. Maybe he would have kept tossing 300 innings per year and he would have finished his career with 350 wins and over 3,500 punch-outs.

Bob Feller’s Ranks from 1938-1951

What Feller did accomplish in his 18-year career was still remarkable. From 1938 to 1951, despite all the time missed, Feller led all of baseball in Innings Pitched, Wins, Strikeouts, Complete Games, Shutouts, and WAR.

Among the 35 MLB hurlers who logged at least 1,500 innings from 1938-1951, Feller’s Won-Lost record (.641) was the best. His .225 Batting Average Against was also #1. Thanks to also leading the league in walks, Feller’s ERA (3.10) was only 7th best during these years but his ballpark-adjusted ERA+ (128) was 3rd best.

On No-Hitters, One-Hitters, and Walks

Besides his 3 no-hitters, Bob Feller also authored 11 complete-game, 9-inning, one-hitters. Feller won all 11 of those contests, giving up runs in just two of them. Feller’s 11 one-hitters are the second-most in MLB history; Nolan Ryan had 12 such games. The third most belongs to Walter Johnson, who had 7 one-hitters. Incidentally, Feller also had a one-hitter in an 8-inning complete game, a losing effort.

In many (some obvious) ways, Feller was the predecessor to Ryan. The Ryan Express put up strikeout numbers that dwarfed his contemporaries. Like Feller, Ryan also gave up a lot of walks. The top five pitchers for walks all-time are…

1. Nolan Ryan (2,795)
2. Steve Carlton (1,833)
3. Phil Niekro (1,809)
4. Early Wynn (1,775)
5. Bob Feller (1,764)

Ryan, Carlton, and Niekro all pitched forever, throwing more than 5,000 innings each (compared to Feller’s 3,827). Still, Ryan’s rate of walks per 9 innings (4.67) and Feller’s (4.15) are the top two for all pitchers who threw at least 3,000 career innings.

The Hall of Fame Calls

In 1962, the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) recognized the greatness of Bob Feller with a first-ballot induction into the Hall of Fame. Feller earned 93.8% of the vote. Feller and Jackie Robinson (77.5%) were the first two players to be selected on their first ballot since the inaugural class of 1936 (Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson).

At the time, Feller’s 93.8% was the fourth-highest vote total ever for a Cooperstown inductee, behind just Cobb, Wagner, and Ruth. It’s slightly more than Ted Williams (93.4%) received in 1966, more than the 93.2% that Stan Musial got in 1969. Rapid Robert’s 93.8% bested the first-ballot totals of Sandy Koufax (86.8% in 1972), Warren Spahn (83.2% in 1973), and Mickey Mantle (88.2% in 1974).

From 1962 until 1989, when Johnny Bench (96.4%) and Carl Yastrzemski (94.6%) each earned over 94% of the vote, Feller’s 93.8% was only bested by Hank Aaron (97.8% in 1982) and Willie Mays (94.7% in 1979).

So, let’s recap this. From 1936 to 1988, the highest vote totals for the Hall of Fame were…

• Ty Cobb (98.2%) (1936)
• Hank Aaron (97.8%) (1982)
• Babe Ruth (95.1%) (1936)
• Honus Wagner (95.1%) (1936)
• Willie Mays (94.7%) (1979)
• Bob Feller (93.8%) (1962)
• Ted Williams (93.4%) (1966)
• Stan Musial (93.2%) (1969)
• Brooks Robinson (92.0%) (1983)

Although his career statistics (depressed by the missing war years) rank him as just the 44th best starting pitcher all-time by Jay Jaffe’s JAWS (on Baseball-Reference), it’s clear that the baseball writers considered Bob Feller to be an all-time great.

In his 2001 Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James ranked Feller the 12th greatest starting pitcher of all-time.

In an interview conducted late in his life, Feller was asked how he would like to be remembered. Rapid Robert’s answer was aptly humble:

“He was a kid from a farm who had great parents, and great coaches and teachers. He loved his country and he was a good American. That’s all. Not a ballplayer. An American who happened to be a ballplayer but because of baseball being the National Pastime. It gave me a station in life that I in no other way would have had.”

— Bob Feller (to Matthew Orr, The New York Times)

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Bob Feller Links

• SABR Bio (by C. Paul Rogers III)
• Hall of Fame Page
• Obituary in the New York Times (Dec. 15, 2010)
• The Last Word: Bob Feller (N.Y. Times video interview with Feller)