Hint: #1 The year managed a team to a World Series championship, he tied for the team lead in home runs hit.

Hint: #2 His name seems to indicate that he wasn’t meant to be a pitcher.

Thursday’s question answered:

Q. Which BBTR pitcher had the lowest qualifying ERA in any of the first thirteen seasons of the Deadball Era?

Hint: #1 He was the first native of Indiana to be elected to the Hal of Fame.

Hint: #2 His agrarian upbringing played a large part in the success of his Hall of Fame pitching career.

A. MORDECAI BROWN  [SABR Bio]

– Ans. Brown’s 1.04 ERA for CHC in 1906 was the best until Babe Ruth’s teammate, Dutch Leonard, posted a 0.96 in 1914. Deadball Era = 1901-1919 .

– #1 Brown was born in Nyesville, Indiana. Made it to the HOF in 1945, the 1^st of 12 Indianan HOFers.

– #2 He got the nickname “Three Finger” because of a childhood farming accident. He lost parts of two fingers on his right hand which, counterintuitively, gave him an advantageous grip on the ball. It led his pitches to have some dramatic movement, in fact, his curveball was said to be among the most unhittable ever.

FCR – Andy Knobel, Columbia, Maryland