Modest in his actions in the majors. A pitcher with more accomplishments than we normally attribute to him
Updated 01/29/2021 00:00
His arrival in the Hall of Fame is generally thought of as a sign of his “second-rate character” profile; in fact, it was not the chroniclers who praised him, but the former players with the right to vote in the so-called Veterans Committee (1996).
These prejudices are absurd and not infrequently unfair, since true immortality is given by the set of quantitative and qualitative factors that shaped the career of a baseball player. We will refer in this column to the feat in the majors of pitcher Jim Bunning, who for 17 seasons (1955-1971) remained in the big top, with very good numbers.
Bunning began his career in the majors with the Detroit Tigers (July 20, 1955), in a game against the Baltimore Orioles.
The rookie had to start the game and stayed on the mound for 7.2 innings, got six runs and took the loss.
His first victory would come four days later, against the Washington Senators. He missed one out to complete the game, struck out eight and received three runs.
If we analyze the period from 1955 to 1971 in both leagues, no pitcher ever struck out more batters than Bunning. If we review the victories, in that period only Juan Marichal surpasses it.
Bunning’s final balance is 224-184, averaging an acceptable ERA of 3.27, a FIP of 3.22 and a WHIP of 1 .179, holding, in turn, an ERA + of 115. During those 17 campaigns, Bunning achieved, among others. stuff :
5 seasons of 19 or more wins
6 seasons with ERA
6 seasons with> 200 strikeouts.
3 strikeout leads.
1 winning lead (20) in 1957.
° 1 leadership of FIP (2.86) in 1960.
2nd in the Cy (1967) vote.
During his career, Bunning managed to start a total of 519 games, with 159 saves (an extra in his monticular contribution) and 40 shutouts. Between 1955 and 1963 he was in the American League (with the Detroit Tigers), then went on to the Philadelphia Phillies, to become the second pitcher in history to have at least 1,000 strikeouts and 100 wins in each league. According to information from the specialized site Baseball Reference, when Bunning retired he was only beaten in strikeouts by the great Walter Johnson.
A curiosity with Bunning: of the 755 home runs of the recently deceased Hank Aaron, one was on the field or “leg home run.” That hit hit Bunning on May 10, 1967.
In his time with Detroit, Bunning had the opportunity to throw a little gem: on July 20, 1958, against Boston he achieved a no-hitter or runs, this would be repeated on the side of the National on June 24, 1964, that day he the ultimate expression of a pitcher’s mastery: a perfect game! The victims? The New York Mets. One jewel for each league. There is an anecdote about that perfect game from Phillies catcher Gus Triandos. The receiver says that: “With two outs to go to finish the game, Bunning calls me to the mound and tells me that he needs me to tell him a joke. Since I couldn’t think of anything, I started to laugh at him ”.
Bunning was an excellent pitcher, observing his achievements allows us to reassess what we have mistakenly thought of him. Of course, it was discreet, but effective. A first-rate immortal.
After his retirement (1971) from baseball, Bunning had a brief period (1972-1976) as manager of minor league teams, until in 1977 he found his other passion: politics. He was a representative, a state senator and then a national senator, even achieving re-election to the Senate (2005).
In May 2017, after suffering a stroke in October of the previous year, this feisty human being Jim Bunning passed away.
.
