Meet Satchel Paige

SATCHEL PAIGE

Positions: Pitcher

Full Name: Leroy Robert Paige

Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Born: July 7, 1906, in Mobile, Alabama
Died: June 8, 1982, in Kansas City, Missouri

Organizations: St. Louis Browns (3), Cleveland Indians (2), Kansas City Athletics (1)

SATCHEL PAIGE'S WALL OF GLORY

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Hall of Fame: Inducted as a Player in 1971, by Negro League Committee
• All Star: 2 (1952, 1953)
• World Series Rings: 1 (1948)

WHO?

Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige was an American Negro League and Major League Baseball pitcher, known for his longevity in the game and for attracting record crowds wherever he pitched. He began his professional career in 1926 with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts (Negro Southern League). When he was 42 years old in 1948 became the oldest rookie in the game when he pitched for the Cleveland Indians, then pitched for the St. Louis Browns and retired in 1965 with the Kansas City Athletics. He was 58 years old. 

One of the most famous and successful players from the Negro Leagues, Satchel Paige played for different Negro leagues (Negro Southern League, Negro National League, Negro American League), abroad (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico), as well as the East-West All-Star Games and the Negro World Series. He also participated in a lot of barnstorming tours, in which he faced white players, most notably Bob Feller. And of course, he played for 3 teams in the American League.

Satchel Paige was not only a fastballer with incredible speed but also a showman. He attracted big amounts of fans to stadiums and teams executives "rented" him, so different teams can improve their earnings (and Paige receiving a share of the fees). By early '40s his estimated annual earnings nearly matched the one of MLB top star: Joe DiMaggio. Initially a fastball pitcher, in 1943 Satchel Paige begun to use his "hesitation pitch" (a tricky delivery with great effectivity). By 1950 his repertoire included almost every kind of pitch.

Paige became the first Negro League player to pitch in the World Series, pitching in 1948 World Series two-thirds of an inning in Game Five. His team, Cleveland Indians, won the series in six games. Satchel Paige retired after 6 seasons in MLB and almost 40 years in total. His record in MLB was just 28 wins, 31 losses and 33 saved, with an ERA of 3.29. But in total was 205-117 W-L. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1971 by the Negro League Committee.

MY COMMENT:

It was 1992 when I got a Score baseball card, depicting Satchel Paige's uniform. With it, I learned about the Negro League for the first time, and a whole world of baseball opened to me, beyond the Major League. And happened that the card I just got was about the best colored pitcher in the pre-integration era. 

The colorful and thin pitcher barnstormed with MLB stars, like Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Bob Lemon, Stan Musial, and Bob Feller, and his pitching skills were well known before reaching MLB in 1948. 

With justice, Satchel Paige was the first Negro League baseball player to be inducted in the Hall of Fame by the Negro League Committee.

BEST FIVE SEASONS

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP
1948	41	CLE	AL	6	1	.857	2.48	21	7	3	2	1	72.2	61	21	20	2	22	43	1.142
1949	42	CLE	AL	4	7	.364	3.04	31	5	1	0	5	83.0	70	29	28	4	33	54	1.241
1951	44	SLB	AL	3	4	.429	4.79	23	3	0	0	6	62.0	67	39	33	6	29	48	1.548
1952	45	SLB	AL	12	10	.545	3.07	46	6	3	2	10	138.0	116	51	47	5	57	91	1.254
1953	46	SLB	AL	3	9	.250	3.53	57	4	0	0	11	117.1	114	51	46	12	39	51	1.304

Note: If you are using a cell phone to look at this table, put it horizontally for a better experience


What do you think? Is Satchel Paige the best Negro Leagues pitcher? If not, who is? Share your thoughts!