One would truly be making a bold statement with an article entitled “The Greatest Pitcher Ever”. There were so many legendary pitchers in the game of baseball, to pick the best one seems as hard as finding a needle in a haystack. The problem is, in this case, the needle is not in the haystack at all, but rather in the most obvious place one would never think to look; it’s hanging by the front door of the barn. The greatest pitcher ever did not have eye-catching numbers in Major League Baseball. It wasn’t Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Sandy Koufax, Roger Clemens, Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton, or the immortal 511 game-winner Cy Young. The greatest pitcher ever, rather started in the majors only 26 times; he was Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige.
The question then arises, how is a pitcher who has less starts in his entire major league career than an average pitcher’s amount of starts in one season, the greatest pitcher ever? Simple, Satchel Paige played in more than six different leagues in his career. Paige was born 40 years before the first black baseball player was signed to a major league contract. Since the majors were the only baseball league that was financially stable, Paige had to make do with moving from team to team in several different leagues. Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige received his nickname when he tried to steal a railroad passenger’s bag. Ironically, getting into trouble for stealing sent him to reform school where he learned how to play baseball.
Satchel Paige’s legend includes remarkable stories that would easily top all highlight reels today. Early in his career, in a game where he was struggling during a tie game, the crowd began to boo him when he allowed multiple runners to reach base. He was so angry that he called in all of his outfielders and told them to sit down in the infield. He then proceeded to strike out the rest of the lineup eventually winning the game. Paige was known for his two most famous pitches; they were the hesitation pitch and a pitch where the ball would curve up instead of downward. The upwardly-curving pitch puzzled players so much that Hall of Famer Buck Leonard, who was referred to as the black Lou Gehrig, actually demanded the ball be changed after witnessing it in action. Needless to say, it was not the ball that was making it curve upward.
Although he was not allowed to play in the majors due to the color of his skin, Paige did pitch to several different legends on barnstorming trips including Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Fox, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Rogers Hornsby, Johnny Mize, and Gil Hodges. In one barnstorming game, it was reported that Paige struck out twenty-two major leaguers. After Joe DiMaggio went one for four against Paige barely getting a hit at his last at-bat, he claimed that Paige was the greatest pitcher he had ever battled against. Regarding the integration of baseball, Paige was not really an advocate. He believed that the majors should put entire black teams together rather than just a few guys playing with the white players. His fear was that Negro players would not be able to stay or eat with the white players off the field. When asked about white baseball owners advocating integration, Paige said, “All the nice statements in the world from both sides aren’t going to knock out Jim Crow.”
Despite his views on integration, Satchel Paige was deeply hurt when Jackie Robinson signed the first deal with a major league ball club. Most believed at the time that Jackie was not even one of the best in the Negro leagues. Paige always wanted to play for the majors and his wish was granted when he signed to the Cleveland Indians making him the first American League Negro pitcher and the seventh Negro big leaguer overall on July 7th, 1948; his 42nd birthday. Once Paige was signed to the Indians, it was more comforting to other Negro leaguers. They felt now that Paige was in the majors, the gap was bridged because while Jackie was the first Negro player, Satchel was the best. Paige’s impact was immediately felt in the big leagues at his old age. He boosted the Indians during the final stretch of the regular season going 6-1 with a 2.48 ERA, striking out 45 players with two shut-out games. The Indians barely passed the Boston Red Sox that year allowing them to win the American League pennant for the first time in 28 years. He was so good that in 1952, Paige became the first black pitcher to join an All Star team; keep in mind he was 46 years old.
Satchel Paige’s contribution to the integration of baseball did not stop with just numbers and statistics. In 1952, a catcher by the name of Clint Courtney became a teammate of Paige. Courtney was a true redneck raised on an Alabama farm. When he arrived on the team, he refused to talk to Satchel or catch for him. Paige was not bothered by this at all and one day walked up to Courtney and asked him if he had a home plate in his pocket. With Courtney confused, Satchel picked up a gum wrapper and laid it in front of Courtney. He then began to pitch to Courtney using the gum wrapper as a plate. Courtney recalled to have caught 40-50 of Satchel’s pitches all within one inch of the gum wrapper. The two became friends soon after. Courtney once said “My daddy is coming up when we get back to St. Louis. He’s gonna see me sitting in the bullpen talking to this Paige and he’s gonna jump right over the fence and try to give me a whupping. But Satch and I have it figured out that the two of us can whup him no matter what happens.”
Satchel Paige ended his major league career making one last appearance in 1965 allowing just one hit and no runs in three innings. He was 59 years old making him the oldest person ever to play in a major league game. Paige finished his major league career with a 28-31 record, 3.29 ERA, and 288 strikeouts. Unfortunately, statistics were not kept in the Negro leagues, barnstorming tours, or international leagues so we will never know Satchel’s career statistics. Paige claimed that he won 2,000 games in his life (winning 104 of his 105 games in 1934) with a few hundred shutouts, while playing for 250 teams. While Paige was known to stretch the truth at times, just a fraction of those numbers would still be quite remarkable. He was also the most durable pitcher ever and he proved this when he pitched 29 games in a month for a white semi-pro team. At one point, he did fall to injury in 1938 when he injured his arm. He lied to his coach that day claiming that he was feeling fine and pitched a scoreless game into the seventh inning before being taken out after going through excruciating pain. The injury was so bad that many believed it would be his last game ever. After fourteen months of not being able to pitch, he came back and pitched another seven scoreless innings before the game was called due to nightfall. Name a player from any sport who could do that. Satchel Paige was indeed baseball’s best pitcher and his legend far exceeds any other player with the injustice he faced during the height of racism and the absence of integration.
