Since the inception of the National League in 1876, one pitcher recorded the most losses in a season. Pitching for the Cleveland Blues in 1879, James McCormick from Glasgow, Scotland, posted an unbelievable record of 20-40 in 60 games! During the season, McCormick struck out 197 batters while winning 74.0% of Cleveland's victories and losing 68.9% of the team's defeats. McCormick shared pitching duties with Bob Mitchell as part of a two-man rotation, which is unheard of today.
Both men combined for a team record of 27-55 as the Blues finished in sixth place. On July 11th of that year, McCormick suffered a broken forearm pitching against Boston in the seventh inning, giving up seven runs in two innings en route to a 8-4 drubbing of Cleveland. He was on the shelf until August.
In ten years of hurling, McCormick accumulated 265 wins in 4,275.2 innings pitched with a 2.43 ERA along with winning twenty or more games nine times. He pitched for Indianapolis, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Providence, Chicago and Pittsburgh. He died on March 10, 1918, in Paterson, New Jersey.
» Jay Gauthreaux resides in Memphis, TN with his wife and family.
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Copyright © 2005 by Jay Gauthreaux. Posted December 15, 2005.
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