Lifetime St. Louis Browns

Jeter. Rivera. Mantle. Robinson. Palmer. Ripken. Yaz. Williams. Rice. Musial. Yount. Brett. Schmidt. Bench. Larkin. Banks. Clemente. Feller. Puckett. Gwynn.

Over the years, a handful of players have become associated with a ballclub because that was the only team they played for in their career. These are the players who would be held in special regard by fans because they were their guys and no one else’s.

But who is that champion for the St. Louis Browns? After all, the franchise existed for more than 50 years (1902-53), so there has to be someone, right?

There were some great players that suited up for the Browns – George Sisler, Ken Williams, Urban Shocker, Vern Stephens and Ned Garver, for example – but none of those played only for St. Louis.

Perhaps not surprisingly due to the fortunes of the Browns over the years, there are few choices. In fact, only 20 players in the history of the franchise played solely for the Browns for four or more years (and only 11 of those for five-plus).

Here’s a look at those players who were “only Browns” for an extended period of time.

THE ALMOSTS

Dick Kokos (1948-50, 53-54) played four years for the Browns, but he also made the move to Baltimore with the franchise, playing with the Orioles in 1954.

Barney Pelty pitched 10 seasons for the Browns, from 1903-12. He was a workhorse from 1904-07, pitching over 258 2/3 innings in each, with a high of 301 in ’04. His ERA with St. Louis was 2.63 (which sounds good, but was an ERA+ of 100) and his record was just 92-117 (hey, he pitched for the Browns), losing a league-high 21 in 1907. Ten seasons would have been the longest for any player just to play with the Browns, however in June 1912 he was sold to Washington, where he went 1-4 with a 3.30 ERA.

George Stone might have been just the guy to be the player associated as the Browns-only guy. He only played six seasons in St. Louis (1905-10), but had an OPS+ of at least 121 in every year but one (107 in his final season). Stone also had a superb year in 1906, leading the American League in batting (.358), on-base percentage (.417) and slugging (.501). He also led the AL in hits in 1905. Alas, Stone played two games with Boston in 1903 – he had one at-bat in each game, striking out both times – costing him his chance of being an “only Browns” player.

THE FOUR-YEAR PLAYERS

Dode Criss (1908-11): Could certainly see someone who played first base, outfield and pitcher – not to mention a pinch-hitter extraordinaire – as being a fan favorite. Although while Criss could hit (276/349/395, OPS+ 131), he wasn’t much of a pitcher (3-9, 4.38 ERA in 30 games).

George Hale (1914, 1916-18): A catcher who played in just 60 games, with a slash line of 175/261/223.

Sam Harshaney (1937-40): The catcher appeared in just 61 career games, batting 238/303/254. He had three extra-base hits – all doubles – in 202 plate appearances.

Ernie Koob (1915-17, 1919): Went 23-31 with a 3.31 ERA and threw a no-hitter in 1917.

Jim Levey (1930-33): A starting shortstop for the final three years of his career. His bat definitely didn’t keep him in the majors as he hit 230/272/305 in an era of hitting.

Tim McCabe (1915-18): Pitched in only 22 games, 20 of those coming in his first two seasons, sporting a 5-1 record and 2.92 ERA.

Al Schweitzer (1908-11): An outfielder who didn’t hit well even in the deadball era. He batted 238/327/299, an OPS+ of 95.

Lin Storti (1930-33): Despite being, switch-hitter, Storti was never a regular. The most plate appearances he had in a season was 293 in 1931. His career slash line of 227/277/345 (OPS+ of 59) shows why.

Ernie Wingard (1924-27): Alternated a good season with a bad. In 1924, he was 13-12 with a 3.51 ERA. He followed that by going 9-10 with a 5.52 ERA, then rebounded to go 5-8 with a 3.57 ERA and finished up his major-league career with an abysmal 2-13, 6.56 ERA. Wingard managed to walk 4.1 per nine innings in his career while striking out only 1.3 per nine.

THE FIVE-YEAR GUYS (AND ONE SIX)

Hank Arft (1948-52): The first baseman appeared in exactly 300 games with the Browns, batting 253/352/375.

George Baumgardner (1912-16): Pitched 113 of his 124 career games from 1912-14. Baumgardner finished 38-49 with a 3.22 ERA. His best ERA+ in a season was 99.

Herschel Bennett (1923-27): Injuries and ineffectiveness prevented Bennett from ever claiming hold to a starting job. He batted 276/327/376, never showing the promise of his 330/364/468 season in 1924.

Emil Bildilli (1937-41): Appeared in only 41 games and 148 innings over his five seasons with a 4-8 record and 5.84 ERA.

Glen McQuillen (1938, 1941-42, 1946-47): World War II interrupted his major-league career, but still 1942 was the only season in which he really contributed, appearing in 100 games and socking 12 triples. He played in 210 games overall, batting 274/311/379.

Lefty Mills (1934, 1937-40): Mills was part of some of the worst pitching staff in major-league history. In 1938, Mills went 10-12 with a 5.31 on a Browns team which won only 55 games and had a 5.80 team ERA. In 1939, his ERA was 6.55, which was only slightly above the team’s 6.01. Mills was 15-30 with a 6.30 ERA while walking 6.2 and striking out 5.5 per nine innings. Every game he pitched in was likely an adventure.

Jim Stephens (1907-12): Played six years with the Browns, but never more than 99 games in a season. The catcher must have been good defensively, as he batted 220/273/285 (OPS+ of 73) over 428 major-league games.

Gus Williams (1911-15): An outfielder who started two seasons (1913-14). He batted well in 1912 (292/370/444) and ’13 (273/346/400 with 16 triples) but then led the AL in strikeouts in 1914 with 120 – 31 more than anyone else in the league and an AL record that would stand for nearly 40 years. Williams did steal 95 bases, including 31 in ’13 and 35 in ’14, and had a career OPS+ of 110.

Rasty Wright (1917-19, 22-23): Pitched well (9-7, 2.92 ERA) for arguably the best Browns team of all-time in 1922. That was also his career high in innings, 154. Had just 451 innings overall in five seasons with a 24-19 record (yes, a winning record) and 4.05 ERA.

THE WINNERS (i.e. THE EIGHT-YEAR GUYS)

Only two players in the history of the Browns played exclusively with the team for eight seasons and both happened to be pitchers.

Cliff Fannin (1945-52): Fannin’s main years with the Browns came between 1946-50, when he pitched in 142 of his 164 career games. He pitched decently in the first four years of his career, with an ERA+ of 142, 125, 109 and 109 during that span. But the tables turned in 1949, when he posted a 6.17 ERA. That would be his lowest ERA in his final four years. Fannin ended up with a 34-51 record and 4.85 ERA.

Carl Weilman (1912-17, 1919-20): I’ve written about Weilman before (http://seamheads.com/2010/01/10/the-life-and-death-of-carl-weilman/) and the tall left-hander was a pretty successful pitcher on some mediocre Browns teams. Weilman did post a losing record (84-93) but had an ERA of 2.67 (ERA+ of 112). It is hard to pinpoint Weilman’s best season, but he was solid in 1914 (17-12, 2.08), 1915 (18-19, 2.34), 1916 (17-18, 2.15) and 1919 (10-6, 2.07). Weilman also scouted for the Browns before his tragic death during the 1924 season. If I had to choose anyone to hang my hat on as an “only Browns” player, it would be Weilman. His career – and death – seems to symbolize the Brows franchise almost perfectly.