Saturday Spotlight: Bob Feller

Bob Feller was a starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians from 1936-1941 and 1945- 1956. He left baseball in 1942 to serve his country in the Navy during WWII. He signed with the Cleveland Indians when he was only 17 years old, in 1936, for $1 and an autographed baseball. His debut was on July 19, 1936.
One year before he left baseball in 1940 at the age of 21 he had a stellar season. He pitched 43 games with a win loss record of 27-11. He had an ERA of 2.61, struck out 261 batters, and pitched 320.1 innings. Of his 43 games he had 31 complete games and 4 shutouts. He gave up 245 hits, 102 runs, 93 earned runs, 13 home runs, and 153 walks. He lead the American League in ERA, wins, games pitched, innings pitched, strikeouts, complete games, shutouts, and games started. Feller won the AL Triple Crown leading in strikeouts, wins, and ERA.
In 1942 Feller left to join the Navy in WWII. He served on the USS Alabama during his time in the war. He returned to baseball at the end of the war in 1944.
One year after his return, in 1946, Feller still seemed to be as good as he was before he left. He pitched 48 games with a win loss record of 26-15. He had an ERA of 2.18, struck out 348, and pitched 371.1 innings. In his 48 games he had 36 complete games and 10 shutouts. He gave up 277 hits, 101 runs, 90 earned runs, 11 home runs, and 153 walks. He lead the American League in wins, games pitched, innings pitched, strikeouts, complete games, shutouts, games started, walks, and hits. He was third in ERA that season as well.
In his 18 years playing for the Indians he played 570 games. HE had 226 wins, 162 losses, ERA of 3.25, 44 shutouts, and 279 complete games.  He pitched 3827 innings and struck out 2581 batters. He gave up 3271 hits, 1557 runs, 1384 earned runs, 224 home runs, and 1764 walks.
Although pitch speed was not recorded at the time, Feller was said to throw upwards of 100mph. Some throws were recorded at 98.6 and 107.6 mph. This earned him the nickname Heater from Van Meter.
Feller was an 8 time All-Star, 6 time American League wins leader, and 7 time MLB strikeout leader. He help lead the Indians to a World Series win in 1948 and has three no hitter to his name, 1940, 1946, and 1951. He was a first ballot inductee to the 1962 Hall of Fame wining 93.8% of the votes. His number, 19, is retried by the Indians and he will always be a legend in the heart of the Indians.