Standings and Statistics - Tuesday, July 1, 1952 - The Baseball Review
Standings and Statistics page of The Baseball Review.
From the archive of The Baseball Review.
The First Strikeout Pitcher
On July 1 of the 1952 season, not yet at the half way mark, James 'Bad Jimmy' O'Toole was already on the cusp of breaking the strikeout record he recorded last season. In 1951 O'Toole pitched 239 innings, fanning hitters 116 times, so far for 1952 he had pitched 145 inning and recorded 113 Ks.
The Elephants two-way star player had become British baseball's first strikeout pitcher, the first pitcher to throw to challenge batters, not get the ball in play. His closest rival sitting on 69 strikeouts, his opponents frequently said on record they had never seen anyone throw so hard.
Not only the first strikeout pitcher, O'Toole's antics at bat and on the mound, which saw him win both the Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in 1951, had fast made him the first baseball player in Britain that could be called a household name.
Progress League
Alliance League
Note: I forgot to swap in the schedule I wanted for the Alliance League, my intention was for them to play 3 games a weekend, not for the league to have already wrapped up.
Scottish Baseball League
