The Roaming Photographer: 2025-05-25

Friday, May 30, 2025

Albert Bell

Photo Credit

https://discover.hubpages.com/sports/

Born: August 25th, 1966
Birthplace: Shreveport, Louisiana
Position: Left Field
Batted: Right
Throws: Right
MLB Debut: July 15th, 1989, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB Appearance: October 1st, 2000, for the

Baltimore Orioles
MLB Statistics:

1. Batting Average: .295
2. Home Runs 381
3. Runs Batted In 1,239
Teams:

1. Cleveland Indians 1989 – 1996
2. Chicago White Sox 1997 – 1998
3. Baltimore Orioles 1999 – 2000
Career Highlights and Awards:

1. 5x All – Star (1993 – 1997)
2. 5x Silver Slugger Award (1993 – 1996, 1998)
3. AL Home Run Leader (1995)
4. 3x AL RBI Leader (1993, 1995, 1996)
5. Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame
Medals:

1. Men’s Baseball
2. Representing the United States
3. World Junior Baseball Championship
4. Silver Medal
5. 1984 Saskatoon Team

Albert Belle, formerly known as Joey Belle(1), is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1989 to 2000, most of that time for the Cleveland Indians. Known for his taciturn personality and intimidating stature, Belle was one of the leading sluggers at the time and in 1995 became the only player to hit 50 doubles and 50 home runs in a season, despite the season being only 144 games. He was also the first player to break the $10 million per year compensation contract in Major League Baseball.

Belle was a five – time All – Star and Silver Slugger. He retired with a .295 career batting average, and averaged 37 home runs and 120 runs batted in (RBI) per season between 1991 and 2000. He is one of only ten players in MLB history to have nine consecutive 100–RBI seasons.

Early Life

Albert and his fraternal twin, Terry, were born on August 25th, 1966, in Shreveport, Louisiana, the son of Albert Belle Sr., a high school baseball and football coach, and Carrie Bell, a former math teacher(2). He attained the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America(1). Belle attended Huntington High School in Shreveport, where he was a baseball and football player, a member of the National Honor Society, and vice president of the local Future Business Leaders of America(3). He graduated sixth in his high school class and made the all–state baseball team twice(1). In 1984, he was selected to play for the U.S. in the Junior Olympics, in which the U.S. won a silver medal(4). He played outfield and pitched, winning one game. After graduation, Belle accepted a baseball scholarship to Louisiana State University. (4)

College

Belle played college baseball at Louisiana State University from 1985 to 1987, where he made 1st team All – SEC in 1986 and 1987 and played in 184 games, with 585 at bats, 194 hits, 30 doubles, 49 home runs, 172 RBI’s 157 runs, a .670 slugging percentage, and a .332 batting average. In 1986, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Chatham A’s and was named a league all–star, then returned to the league in 1987 to play for the Hyannis Mets. (5)(6)

In his junior year, he was batting .349 before an incident involving a heckler insulting him with racial epithets at an SEC tournament game led to a suspension that kept him out of the College World Series.(7)

After college, Belle was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the second round (47th overall) of the 1987 Major League Baseball draft. (8)

Major League and Career Summary

Belle made his major league debut on July 15th, 1989, going 1 for 4 with one RBI in a 7 – 1 win against the Texas Rangers. He recorded an RBI single off Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan in his first career at-bat (9). On July 19th, Belle hit his first major league home run and went 2 for 4, helping Cleveland to a 10 – 1 victory over the Minnesota Twins(10). He ultimately played in 62 games during his first season, batting .225 with seven home runs and 37 RBIs.(11)

Belle became the fourth player to have eight straight seasons of 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, joining Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, and Lou Gehrig (a feat since matched by Albert Pujols, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, and Alex Rodriguez). He was an accomplished baserunner, with a career–high 23 steals in 1993, and 17 steals in 1999 despite hip problems that plagued him late in his career. He led the league three times in RBIs, three times in total bases, three times in extra–base hits, and twice in slugging. He was a five – time All – Star between 1993 and 1997. He had a strong throwing arm and was a gifted pitcher in high school. His range factor by games played was consistently higher than the major league average at that position;(11) nevertheless, he still managed to accrue a -63 Total Zone Runs during 12 major league seasons. (11)

Belle’s career highs in home runs, RBIs, batting average, runs scored, and walks occurred in five separate seasons. In 2006, the Hardball Times published a statistical comparison of Belle’s career statistics with those of 60 of his current and former peers. The article ranked him in career “prime value”, behind Hall of Famers Ralph Kiner and Frank Thomas. (12)

In 1992, Belle would have become one of only five players in MLB history to hit a home run over the left–field roof of Detroit’s Tiger Stadium (joining Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, Cecil Fielder, and Mark McGwire). However, the ball struck a light tower on top of the roof and fell back into the stands. (13)

In 1994, Belle lost the batting title to New York Yankees outfielder Paul O’Neill, .359 to .357(14). In 1995, Belle became the first player in major league history to hit 50 home runs and 50 doubles in the same season; 7 the last player before him to reach as many as 40 in both categories had been Willie Stargell in 1973(15). The achievement was more impressive because Belle played only 143 games in 1995 due to a season shortened by the previous year’s player strike.

Belle’s surly reputation and disdain for the media cost him votes for the 1995 MVP Award. He finished second in the voting to the Boston Red Sox’ Mo Vaughn even though he led the American League that season in runs scored, home runs, RBI’s, slugging percentage and total bases, and outpaced Vaughn head – to – head in every important offensive category except RBI’s (both men had 126); both players’ teams reached the playoffs(16). This was in the middle of a three–year streak in which Belle finished third, second, and third for the American League MVP. Belle had two other top ten MVP finishes, in 1993 (seventh) and 1998 (eighth). (11)

On November 19th, 1996, Belle signed a five–year $ 55-million-dollar (equivalent to $108 million today) deal with the Chicago White Sox as a free agent. This contract made him the highest–paid player in baseball for a brief period and the first player in baseball history to make $10 million in a season(17)(18). He enjoyed two great seasons in Chicago, including a career – high 27 – game hitting streak in May 1997, and came close to another 50/50 season in 1998 with 49 home runs (a White Sox team record that still stands) and 48 doubles(11). He also drove in 152 runs to break Zeke Bonura’s single–season franchise record of 138 in 1936 (to date, the RBI total also remains a White Sox single–season record)(19). Additionally, when Cal Ripken Jr. ended his record consecutive game streak at 2,632 in September 1998, it was Belle who took over as the major leagues’ active leader in the category (his streak of 392 consecutive games ended the next year due to a perceived lack of hustle viewed by his manager). (7)

Belle’s contract with the White Sox had an unusual clause allowing him to demand that he would remain one of the three highest–paid players in baseball. In October 1998, he invoked the clause, and when the White Sox declined to give him a raise, he immediately became a free agent(7). He again became the game’s highest–paid player, signing a five–year, $65 million ($123 million today) deal with the Baltimore Orioles on December 1st, 1998(20). However, his career ended just two seasons later when he was forced into retirement at age 34 due to degenerative hip osteoarthritis. He was kept on Baltimore’s active 40–man roster for the next three years as a condition of the insurance policy, which largely reimbursed the Orioles for the remainder of his contract.

Belle homered in the final at–bat of his major league career, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on October 1st, 2000. (21)

In 1,539 games over 12 seasons, Belle posted a .295 batting average (1,726 for – 5,853) with 974 runs, 389 doubles, 21 triples, 381 home runs, 1,239 RBI’s, 88 stolen bases, 683 bases on balls, .369 on–base percentage and .564 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .976 fielding percentage playing at left and right field. In 18 postseason games, he hit .230 (14 for 61) with 10 runs, two doubles, six home runs, 14 RBIs, one stolen base, and 14 walks. (11)

Personal Problems

In 1990, the Indians sent Belle to the Cleveland Clinic for two months for alcoholism rehabilitation(1). Belle was suspended in 1994 for using a corked bat, resulting in a seven–game suspension(22). The incident gained further notoriety when teammate Jason Grimsley crawled through the building’s ceiling panels to break into the locked umpire’s dressing room, where he replaced Belle’s corked bat with a teammate’s bat. The revelation of Belle’s use of corked bats was later given more emphasis when Cleveland teammate Omar Vizquel wrote in his 2002 autobiography that it would be naïve to suggest otherwise, and that “all of Albert’s bats were corked.”(23)

Belle was fined in 1996 for knocking down Brewers’ infielder Fernando Vina, who had blocked his way between bases. (24)

A profane outburst directed at a group of reporters in his team’s dugout, including NBC Sports personality Hannah Storm, was widely reported during the 1995 World Series. He was repentant afterward: “The Indians wanted me to issue a statement of regret when the fine was announced, but I told them to take it out. I apologize for nothing.”(25)

Eventually, Belle routinely refused to speak with the media whatsoever, explaining that players like Steve Carlton also did not interview and that he preferred to concentrate on baseball. (26)

Buster Onley wrote about his outbursts as a

member of the Cleveland Indians:

It was taken as fact in baseball circles that Albert Belle was nuts…. He slurped coffee constantly and seemed to be in a perpetual caffeinated frenzy. Few escaped his wrath: on some days, he would destroy the postgame buffet … launching plates into the shower, after one poor at–bat against Boston, he retreated to the visitors’ clubhouse and took a bat to teammate Kenny Lofton’s boombox. Belle preferred to have the clubhouse cold, below 60 degrees, and when one chilly teammate turned up the heat, Belle walked over, turned down the thermostat, and smashed it with his bat. His nickname, thereafter, was “Mr. Freeze.” … The Indians billed him $10,000 a year for the damage he caused in clubhouses on the road and at home, and tolerated his behavior only because he was an awesome slugger….(27)

In 2001, following his retirement, the

New York Daily News columnist Bill Madden wrote:

Sorry, there’ll be no words of sympathy here for Albert Belle. He was a surly jerk before he got hurt, and now he’s a hurt surly jerk…. He was no credit to the game. Belle’s boorish behavior should be remembered by every member of the Baseball Writers’ Association when it comes time to consider him for the Hall of Fame. (28)

In his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility (2006), he garnered only 7.7% of the baseball writers’ votes, missing election by an extremely wide margin(29). However, his vote total was high enough to keep his name on the ballot for the following year. In 2007, he received only 19 votes (3.5%), knocking him off the ballot. (30)

In retirement, Belle had his first encounter with the Cleveland Indians since leaving the club in 1966, during their 2012 spring training in Goodyear, Arizona, and was joined by former teammates Kenny Lofton, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Carlos Baerga(24). Despite this, Belle declined both to attend the 20th anniversary celebration of the 1995 World Series team in 2015 and the 2016 ceremony when he was inducted into the Indians team Hall of Fame. (31)

Legal Troubles

In October 1995, Belle’s house in Euclid, Ohio was egged by teenagers after he turned away trick – or – treaters on Halloween. Belle chased one of the trick – or – treaters in his car(32). Belle was fined $100 for reckless operation of a vehicle. The guardian of the teenager later sued Belle for $850,000, contending that Belle’s car had bumped into the teenager(33). The lawsuit was settled in 1997. (34)

In 2006, Belle was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years’ probation after he admitted to stalking his former girlfriend. (35)

On March 25th, 2018, Belle was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, and charged with indecent exposure and DUI(35). All charges were dismissed the following month. (36)

Awards and Accomplishments

College (LSU):

1. 1st team All–SEC (1986, 1987)
2. South 1 Regional Tournament MVP (1986)
3. 2nd team All–America (1986)
4. 3rd team All–America (1987)
5. Major League Baseball (Cleveland Indians,

Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles)
6. AL home run leader (1995)
7. AL RBI leader (1993, 1995 – tied with Mo

Vaughn, 1996)
8. AL doubles leader ( 1995 – tied with Edgar

Martinez)
9. AL runs leader (1995 – tied with Edgar

Martinez)
10. AL slugging percentage leader (1995, 1998)
11. AL outfield assists leader (RF) (1999 – tie)
12. Named to Silver Slugger team (1993, 1994,

1995, 1996, 1998)
13. All–Star (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997)
14. First player to ever hit 50 home runs and 50

doubles (1995)
15. The Sporting News Player of the Year (1995)
16. Baseball Digest Player of the Year (1995)
17. Led major leagues in the 1990s with 1,099

RBIs
18. Led major leagues in extra–base hits in the

1990s with 711
19. Fourth player ever to have eight straight

seasons with 30 HR and 100 RBIs
20. Inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of

Fame (June 2005)
21. AL leader in runs created (1998)
22. AL leader in OPS+ (1998)
23. AL leader in total bases (1994, 1995, 1998)

For more about Albert Belle, click here:
1. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/albert-belle/
2. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/

b/belleal01.shtml

References:

1. Frey, Jennifer (May 7, 1996). "The Belle of

Cleveland Is Silent". The Washington Post.

Retrieved December 27, 2018.

2. Bamberger, Michael (May 6, 1996). "He

Thrives on Anger". Sports Illustrated.

Retrieved March 15, 2019.

3. "Another Albert Belle Positive Thinking

Moment". The Baltimore Sun. March 8, 1999.

Retrieved March 15, 2019.

4. Jump up to:a b Elsey, Jacob (February 4,

2022). "What Happened To Albert Belle?

Here's A Look Back At The Career Of The

MLB Slugger". BroBible. Retrieved 

January 2, 2025.

5. "Major League Baseball Players From the

Cape Cod League" (PDF). Cape Cod

Baseball League. Retrieved September 25, 

2019.

6. Smith, Chuck (July 17, 1986). "From the

A's Dugout". The Cape Cod Chronicle.

Chatham, MA. p. 42 – via Eldredge Public

Library.

7. Jump up to:a b c d Carter, Bob. "Belle

battled fans, teammates, self". ESPN

Classic.

8. "2nd Round of the 1987 MLB June Amateur

Draft". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 

January 2, 2025.

9. "Texas Rangers vs Cleveland Indians Box

Score: July 15, 1989". Baseball Reference.

July 15, 1989. Retrieved January 2, 2025.

10. "Cleveland Indians vs Minnesota Twins

Box Score: July 19, 1989". Baseball

Reference. July 19, 1989. Retrieved 

January 2, 2025.

11. Jump up to:a b c d e f "Albert Belle Stats". 

Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 6, 

2008.

12. McLaughlin, Dan (January 31, 2006). 

"Rice, Belle and Dawson in Context". 

The Hardball Times.

13. Kettman, Steve (April 21, 1997). 

"McGwire Has a Blast in Loss". SFGate.

Retrieved September 8, 2021.

14. "1994 American League Batting Leaders". 

Baseball Reference. Retrieved January 2, 

2025.

15. "Willie Stargell Stats, Height, Weight,

Position, Rookie Status & More". Base-

ball Reference. Retrieved January 2, 2025.

16. "1995 Awards Voting". Baseball

Reference. Retrieved January 2, 2025.

17. Smith, Claire (November 20, 1996). 

"Belle Signs the Richest Deal: 5 Years,

$55 Million". The New York Times.

Retrieved January 13, 2015.

18. "Yearly League Leaders & Records for

Salary". Baseball Reference. Sports

Reference. Retrieved November 13, 2019.

19. "Player Batting Season & Career Stats

Finder - Baseball". Stathead. Retrieved 

January 2, 2025.

20. "Belle, Orioles Finally Have a Deal". Los

Angeles Times. December 1, 1998.

Retrieved January 2, 2025.

21. "New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles

Box Score, October 1, 2000". Baseball

Reference. October 1, 2000.

22. "BELLE DEALT 7-GAME SUSPENSION". 

The Washington Post. Associated Press.

July 29, 1994. Retrieved January 2, 2025.

23. "Now it can be told: In new book, Vizquel

says Belle corked all his bats". Sports

Illustrated. CNN. Associated Press. April 26,

2002. Archived from the original on May 12,

2006. Retrieved October 14, 2013.

24. Jump up to:a b Hoynes, Paul (February 28,

2012). "Albert Belle enjoys a laugh-filled

reunion with the Cleveland Indians". The

Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 5, 2012.

25. "Albert Belle Quotes". Baseball Almanac.

Retrieved August 6, 2013.

26. Enders, Eric (April 23, 2001). "In Defense

of Albert Belle". Baseball Think Factory.

Archived from the original on March 4,

2016. Retrieved July 10, 2013.

27. Olney, Buster (2004). The Last Night of

the Yankee Dynasty. New York, NY: Ecco

Press. pp. 133-134. ISBN 978-0060515065.

28. Chafets, Zev (July 1, 2009). Cooperstown

Confidential: Heroes, Rogues, and the

Inside Story of the Baseball Hall of Fame 

(1st U.S. ed.). New York: Bloomsbury

Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 9781608191093 –

via Internet Archive.

29. Bloom, Barry M. (January 10, 2006). "Hall

of Fame calls on Sutter". MLB.com. MLB

Advanced Media. Archived from the original 

on September 8, 2006.

30. "2007 Hall of Fame Voting". Baseball

Reference. Retrieved January 2, 2025.

31. "Jim Thome joins Indians Hall of Fame, but

Albert Belle a no-show". Fox Sports. July 30,

2016.

32. Florence, Mal (November 2, 1995). "Belle

Is Up to Old Tricks on Halloween". Los

Angeles Times. Retrieved March 26, 2018.

33. "Belle Sued Over Halloween Incident". 

Chicago Tribune. January 6, 1996. Retrieved 

March 26, 2018.

34. "Albert Belle agrees to settle a lawsuit". 

United Press International. October 24, 1997.

Retrieved March 26, 2018.

35. Jump up to:a b "Albert Belle arrested on

DUI, indecent exposure charges". ESPN.

March 26, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.

36. "Albert Belle's Charges Dismissed In

Indecent Exposure Case". TMZ. April 13,

2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Addie Joss

Photo Credit

https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/joss-addie

Born: April 12th, 1880, in Woodland, Wisconsin
Died: April 14th, 1911, in Toledo, Ohio
Position: Pitcher
Batted: Right
Threw: Left
MLB Debut: April 25th, 1902, for the Cleveland

Bronchos
Last MLB Appearance: July 25th, 1910, for the

Cleveland Naps
MLB Statistics: Win–Loss Record 160 – 97
Earned Run Average 1.89
Strikeouts: 920
WHIP: 0.968
Teams: Cleveland Bronchos 1902 – 1910
Career Highlights and Awards:

1. MLB wins leader 1907
2. 2x MLB ERA leader 1904, 1908
3. Pitched a perfect game on October 2nd, 1908
4. Pitched two no–hitters
5. MLB record: .968 career WHIP
6. Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame
7. Member of Cooperstown (MLB HOF):
8. Induction in 1978, via the election by the

Veterans Committee.

Adrian “Addie” Joss, nicknamed “the Human Hairpin” (1), was a pitcher for the Cleveland Bronchos, who were later known as the Naps, between 1902 and 1910. He pitched the fourth perfect game in baseball history (which, additionally, was only the second of the modern era). His 1.89 career earned run average (ERA) is the second lowest in MLB history, behind Ed Walsh, while his career walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) of 0.968 is the lowest of all time.

Joss was born and raised in Wisconsin, where he attended St. Mary’s College (later part of Wyalusing Academy) in Prairie du Chein and the University of Wisconsin. He played baseball at St. Mary’s and then played in a semipro league where he caught the attention of Connie Mack. Joss did not sign with Mack’s team, but he attracted further major league interest after winning 19 games in 1900 for the Toledo Mud Hens. Joss had another strong season for Toledo in 1901.

After an offseason contract dispute between Joss, Toledo, and Cleveland, he debuted with the Cleveland club in April 1902. Joss led the league in shutouts that year. By 1905, Joss had completed the first of his four consecutive 20–win seasons. Off the field, Joss worked as a newspaper sportswriter from 1906 until his death. In 1908, he pitched a perfect game during a tight pennant race that saw Cleveland finish a half–game out of first place; it was the closest Joss came to a World Series berth. The 1910 season was his last, and Joss missed most of the year due to injury.

In April 1911, Joss became ill and he died in the same month due to tuberculous meningitis. He finished his career with 160 wins, 234 complete games, 45 shutouts, and 920 strikeouts. Though Joss played only nine seasons and missed significant playing time due to various ailments, the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors passed a special resolution for Joss in 1977 that waived the typical ten – year minimum playing career for Hall of Fame eligibility(2) and he was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1978.

Early Life

Addie Joss was born on April 12th, 1880, in Woodland, Dodge County, Wisconsin(3)(4). His parents, Jacob and Theresa (nee Staudenmeyer), were farmers; his father, a cheesemaker who was involved in local politics, had emigrated from Switzerland(5). A heavy drinker of alcohol, he died from liver complications in 1890, when Joss was 10 years old; Joss remained sober throughout his life as a result of his father’s death(6):p.21. Joss attended elementary school in Juneau and Portage and high school at Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin(7). By age 16, he finished high school and began teaching himself. He was offered a scholarship to attend St. Mary’s College (also known as Sacred Heart College) in Watertown, where he played on the school’s baseball team(6):p.21. He also attended the University of Wisconsin (now University of Wisconsin – Madison), where he studied engineering(7)(8):p.200. Officials in Watertown were impressed with the quality of play of St. Mary’s and put the team on a semipro circuit(6):p.21. During his time on the semipro circuit, Joss employed his unique pitching windup, which involved hiding the ball until the very last moment in his delivery. (6):p.21

Connie Mack also sent a scout to watch Joss and later offered the young pitcher a job playing on his Albany club in the Western League, which Joss declined(6):p.22. In 1899, Joss played for a team in Oshkosh, earning $10 per week ($378 in today’s dollars). After player salaries were frozen by team owners, Joss joined the junior team in Manitowoc, which had been split into two teams, as a second baseman and was soon promoted to the senior squad, where he was developed into a pitcher(9). He was seen by a scout for the Toledo Mud Hens and in 1900 accepted a position with the team for $75 per month ($2,385)(6):p.22. While in Ohio, he was considered “the best amateur pitcher in the state.”(10) He started the Mud Hens’ season opener on April 28th and earned the win in the team’s 16 – 8 victory(9). He won 19 games for the club in 1900.

Contract Dispute

Midway through the 1901 season, the Boston Americans of the upstart American League offered $1,500 ($56,694) to Toledo to buy out Ross’s contract. The St. Louis Cardinals of the National League (NL) matched Boston’s offer; Toledo rejected both offers. Joss continued to pitch for the Mud Hens and by the end of the 1901 season he had won 27 games and had 216 strikeouts (some sources say 25 games)(6):p.22(11):p.47. he became known as “the god of the Western League.”(11):p.47

After the season ended, Joss returned to Wisconsin, where he led Racine to the 1901 Wisconsin state championship against Rube Waddell’s Kenosha squad. He also enrolled at Beloit College and played American football(11):p.47. It was reported that Joss had signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League as early as August 18th and received a $400 advance ($15,118), but Joss denied receiving any money(11):p.47. Mud Hens owner Charles Stroebel stated that he had signed Joss and other Mud Hens players for the 1902 season on August 12th and that the Western League was under the protection of the National League through September 1901. Before 1901 ended, the Cleveland Bronchos offered $500 ($18,898) to Toledo in exchange for Joss and manager Bob Gilks, who would be a scout for Cleveland. Toledo and Joss agreed, and Joss was now a member of the American League, which was paying a premium on baseball talent to rival the National League(6):p.22. Dodgers’ owner Charles Ebbets invited Joss for a meeting, which Joss declined, and Joss let it be known that he had told Stroebel he would play for the Mud Hens for the 1902 season, and received a $150 ($5,451) advance in February 1902.

In March 1902, Joss signed with Cleveland. Toledo sportswriters took exception to Joss, one writing that “he voluntarily signed a contract [with Toledo] for this season but when Bill Armour of Cleveland showed him the $500 bill he forgot his pledge and sneaked off like a whipped cur.”(11):p.48. Stroebel later argued that Joss had returned only $100 of the $150 advance. For not returning the entire advance, Joss was charged with a felony, and Stroebel pursued legal action. Joss made his major league debut with the Bronchos on April 26th, and two days later, he arrived in Toledo to turn himself in, accompanied by Bronchos majority owner Charles Somers, who was also American League vice president. The court set the bond at $500 ($18,171). Stroebel also filed a civil suit against the Bronchos, stating that his business had been interfered with, but Stroebel agreed to withdraw his charges in July when he accepted Bronchos pitcher Jack Lundbom. (11):p.48

Major League Career

Cleveland Bronchos/Naps (1902 – 1907)

Joss made his major league debut with the Cleveland Bronchos (also known as the Bluebirds) against the St. Louis Browns. The Browns’ Jesse Burkett hit a shallow pop fly in the direction of right fielder Zaza Harvey. Home plate umpire Bob Caruthers ruled that Harvey did not make a clean catch, so Burkett was credited with a hit(9)(10). (Harvey and witnesses said the ball never hit the ground.)(12) Joss finished his major league debut with a one–hitter.

Joss compiled a 17 – 13 record and 2.77 ERA during his major league rookie season. He led the American League with five shutouts. (7)

On October 11th, 1902, Joss married Lillian Shinivar in Monroe, Michigan. Shinivar was in attendance when Joss made his professional debut with the Mud Hens in 1900. The couple had a son, Norman, and a daughter, Ruth(5)(6):p.35. Following the conclusion of the 1902 season, Joss was selected to the All–Americans, an all–star team from the American League who played exhibition games against their counterparts from the National League(9). To begin the 1903 season, the Cleveland organization changed the team’s name to the “Naps” in honor of second baseman Nap Lajoie. In Joss’s second year, he went 18 – 13 and lowered his ERA from the season before to 2.19. His walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) was an MLB–low 0.948. (7)

For the 1904 season, the 24 – year – old Joss went 14 – 10 with a 1.59 ERA and did not give up a home run during the season(7). Illness during the season reduced his starts(9). He had his first of four 20–win seasons in 1905 as he ended the season with a 20 – 12 record and a 2.01 ERA. He finished with a career–high 132 strikeouts(7). In 1906, his 1.72 ERA was third in the league, and he finished with a 21 – 9 record and tied a career–high with nine shutouts(7). To begin the 1907 season, Joss won his first 10 starts. He threw two one–hitters during the season, the first on September 4th against the Detroit Tigers and the second on September 25th against the New York Highlanders. When teammate Heinie Berger threw his own one – hitter on September 26th, it marked just the second time since 1900 that two pitchers from the same team had thrown back – to – back one – hitters(9). Joss finished the season with career–bests in wins (finished 27 – 11) and 338 2/3 innings pitched(7). His win total tied with Doc White for highest in the American League, and his WHIP was second–best (behind Cy Young) while both his complete game (34) and shutout (6) totals were third–best in the league. (13)

1908 Season and Perfect Game

Before the 1908 season started, the Naps’ home field, League Park, was expanded by about 4,000 seats. The Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and Naps were engaged in a race for the postseason described as “one of the closest and most exciting known.”(14):p.56 Three games remained in the regular season and the Naps were a half – game behind the Detroit Tigers as they headed into an October 2nd, 1908, match – up against the Chicago White Sox, who trailed the Naps by one game(15). Game attendance was announced at 10,598, which was labeled by sportswriter Franklin Lewis as an “excellent turnout for a weekday.”(14)

In what proved to be one of the tightest ever pitching duels in a perfect game, Joss took the mound for the Naps, while the White Sox pitcher was future Hall of Famer Ed Walsh. Neither pitcher would give up an earned run in the 1 – 0 game(16). Walsh, blistering through his own 39-win season, struck out 15 batters, gave up only one base on balls, and allowed only four scattered hits by the Naps(10). The Naps’ Joe Birmingham scored the team’s only run, which came in the third inning – the lone unearned run scored as a result of a botched pickoff play and a wild pitch. The tension in the ballpark was described by one writer as “a mouse working his way along the grandstand floor would have sounded like a shovel scraping over concrete.”(9) Joss, having faced the minimum 24 batter in the first eight innings, retired the first two batters in the top of the ninth. Joss then faced White Sox pinch hitter John Anderson. Anderson hit a line drive that could have resulted in a double had it not gone foul. He then hit a ball to Naps third baseman Bill Bradley, which Bradley bobbled before throwing to first baseman George Stovall. Stovall dug the ball out of the dirt to achieve the final out. With the win, Joss recorded the second-ever perfect game in MLB’s modern era. He accomplished the feat with just 74 pitches, the lowest known pitch count ever achieved in a perfect game(17). Fans swarmed the field. After the game, Joss said, “I never could have done it without Larry LaJoie’s and Stovall’s fielding and without Birmingham’s base running. Walsh was marvelous with his spitter, and we needed two lucky strikes to win.”(14):p.57

For the season, Joss averaged 0.83 walks per nine innings, becoming one of 29 pitchers in MLB history to average less than one walk per nine innings(18). His season – ending WHIP of .806 is the fifth – lowest single – season mark in MLB history(19). The Naps finished with a 90 – 64 record, a half–game behind Detroit(20). It was the closest Joss ever got to a World Series appearance. (9)

Final Years with the Naps (1909 – 1910)

After amassing four consecutive 20–win seasons, Joss struggled in 1909 as a result of fatigue; by September, he was shut down for the season(9). Joss finished the year with a 14 – 13 record in 2422/3 innings pitched and recorded a 1.71 ERA(7). He finished fourth in the American League in ERA and third in WHIP (.944). (21)

Joss pitched a second no–hitter, on April 20th, 1910, against the White Sox, becoming the first pitcher in MLB history to no–hit the same team twice, a feat not matched until Tim Lincecum no–hit the San Diego Padres in both 2013 and 2014(22). In the second inning, the White Sox’ Freddy Parent hit a ball toward third base. Bill Bradley failed to field the ball cleanly, and thus his throw to first base was not in time to get Parent out. The initial ruling on the field was a base hit, but it was later changed to an error. Joss gave up two walks and recorded 10 assists(9). He made just 13 appearances that season due to a torn ligament in his right elbow. Joss made his last appearance of the season on July 25th and left the game in the fifth inning due to arm soreness. In his final game, he allowed three runs on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts in a 4 – 0 loss(23). The Naps finished 71 – 82(24). In his final major league season, Joss went with a 5 – 5 record in 1071/3 innings(25). The Naps finished the year 71 – 81. This marked the fifth time in Joss’s nine years that the franchise finished with a losing record. (26)

Career Marks

Of Joss’ 160 major league wins, 45 were shutouts. Joss’ 1.89 career ERA is ranked second all–time (to Ed Walsh), while his 0.97 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) is the lowest career WHIP in MLB history(27)(28)(29):p.27. He finished with a 160 – 97 record, 234 complete games, and 920 strikeouts.

Joss’ repertoire included a fastball, a “slow ball” (today known as a changeup), and an “extremely effective” curve(30). Baseball historians Rob Neyer and Bill James ranked Joss’ fastball third (1900 – 1904) and sixth (1905 – 1909) in the major leagues(31). George Moriarty explained that Joss had only one curveball because “he believed that with a few well-mastered deliveries he could acquire great control and success with less strain on his arm”(32) .In an era filled with spitball pitchers, Joss achieved his success without ever altering the baseball. Joss threw with a corkscrew windup motion, described as “an exaggerated pinwheel motion.”(33) Shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh described his windup: “He would turn his back toward the batter as he wound up, hiding the ball all the while, and then whip around and fire it in.”(34)

Illness and injury accompanied Joss throughout much of his professional career. In 1903, a high fever forced him to miss the last month of the season(5). He contracted malaria in April 1904 and then missed several starts with a back injury in 1905. (5)

Journalism and Engineering Interests

Joss was concerned about supporting his family after his baseball career ended; many players of the day had little education and few remarkable job skills beyond their abilities on the diamond. As sportswriter Franklin Lewis wrote, “Only a handful of players in the rough, stirring, early days of the major leagues arrived from campuses. And when they did, sometimes the shock was too great for them. Some grizzled holdovers from the 1980s were around and they bore down heavily on the eardrums of the so–called college-boy-boy – boy set.”(9)(35) He also served as their Sunday sports editor. His writings proved so popular that sales of the paper increased, and a special phone line was installed in his office to field the large volume of calls he received from fans. The increased popularity gave him an advantage when negotiating with the Naps before the 1907 season, and the club agreed to pay him $4,000 (equivalent to $135,000 in 2024)(9). (By 1910, player salaries averaged only $2,500.)(36)

He later also wrote for the Cleveland Press and covered the World Series for the News–Bee and Press from 1907 to 1909(5). The Press introduced Joss in columns this way: “Of all the baseball players in the land, Addie Joss is far and away the best qualified for this work. A scholarly man, an entertaining writer, an impartial observer of the game.”(10) An editorial in the Toledo Blade said, “In taking his vocation seriously [Joss] was, in return, taken seriously by the people, who recognized in him a man of more than usual intelligence and one who would have adorned any profession in which he had elected to engage.”(33)

During the 1908 – 1909 offseason, Joss worked on designing an electric scoreboard that would later be known as the Joss indicator. The Naps decided to install the scoreboard, which allowed spectators to monitor balls and strikes at League Park. (9)

Death and Benefit Game

Joss attended spring training with Cleveland before the start of the 1911 season. He collapsed on the field from heart prostration on April 3rd in an exhibition game in Chattanooga, Tennessee(29):p.27. he was taken to a local hospital and released the next day(8):p.200. As early as April 7th, press reports had taken note of his ill health, but speculated about “ptomaine poisoning” or “nervous indigestion”(29):p.28. The Naps traveled to Toledo for exhibition games on April 10th, and Joss went to his home on Fulton Street, where he was seen by his personal physician, Dr. George W. Chapman(29):p.28(37): p. 69. Chapman thought Joss could be suffering from nervous indigestion or food poisoning. By April 9th, as Joss was coughing more and had a severe headache, Chapman changed his diagnosis to pleurisy (inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity) and reported that Joss would not be able to play for one month and would need ten days of rest to recover. Joss could not stand on his own, and his speech was slurred. On April 13th, Chapman sought a second opinion from the Naps’ team doctor, who performed a lumbar puncture and diagnosed Joss with tuberculous meningitis(b). The disease had spread to Joss’ brain, and he died on April 14th, 1911, two days after his 31st birthday(5)(6) and two days after Cleveland’s season opener. (38)

Joss was well–liked by his peers and baseball fans. Upon hearing of his death, the Press wrote “every train brings flowers” and “floral tributes by the wagonload are hourly arriving at the Joss home from all sections of the country.”(6):p.36 His family arranged for the funeral to take place on April 17th. On that day, the Naps went on to face the Detroit Tigers. Naples players signed a petition stating that they would not attend the game so they could instead attend the funeral. They asked for the game to be rescheduled, but the Tigers balked at the request. American League president Ban Johnson initially supported the Tigers’ position, but he ultimately sided with the Naps. Naps owner Charles Somers and 15 Naps players attended the funeral, which was officiated by player – turned – evangelist Billy Sunday. (37):p.72

The first “all–star” game was played as a benefit for Joss’s family on July 24th, 1911(6):p.35. The Naps invited players from the other seven American League teams to play against them. Visiting club players who were involved in the game included Home Run Baker, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Sam Crawford, Walter Johnson, Tris Speaker, Gabby Street, and Smoky Joe Wood. “I’ll do anything they want for Addie Joss’s family”, Johnson said(39):p.10. Washington Senators manager Jimmy McAleer volunteered to manage the all–stars. “The memory of Addie Joss is sacred to everyone with whom he ever came in contact. The man who never wore a uniform was a greater credit to the sport than he”, McAleer said(39):p.10. The game was attended by approximately 15,270 fans and raised nearly $13,000 ($439,000 today) to help Joss’ family members pay remaining medical bills(5)(9)(37):p.78. The Naps lost, 5 – 3(39):p.11.

Recognition

Boston Globe sports editor Jason Nason campaigned for Joss’s induction into the Hall of Fame starting in the 1950s (40). Sportswriter Red Smith wrote in 1970 in support of Joss. “Could you write a history of baseball without mentioning Joss? Nobody ever has. That ought to be the measure of a man’s fitness for the Hall of Fame, the only measure.”(41) However, Warren Giles, then – chairman of the Hall of Fame’s Veterans Committee, pointed out to baseball historian Bob Broeg in 1972 that induction to the Hall required “participation in ten championship seasons.” Joss had been on the Cleveland roster in 1911 and participated in spring training, falling ill just before regular season play commenced. Hence, it was argued he had “participated” in the 1911 season, his tenth(42). The Hall’s Board of Directors waived the eligibility requirements for Joss(2)(43). Joe Reichler, a member of the Commissioner’s office, worked to allow Joss to become eligible for the Hall and succeeded in 1977(40). Joss was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978(6). He is the only player in the Hall of Fame whose regular playing career lasted less than 10 years. (10):p.51

In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Honing included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. They described what they called the Smoky Joe Wood Syndrome”, where a player of truly exceptional talent has a career curtailed by injury or illness. They argued that such a player should still be included among the greatest all–time greats. They believed that Joss’ career ERA was proof enough of his greatness to be included. Baseball author John Tierney wrote: “Joss is remembered for a remarkably low career ERA, but he pitched in a time before earned runs were compiled as an official statistic, and his career ended in 1910, before the American League introduced its new baseball in 1911, leading to a nearly 25 percent increase in runs scored.”(44)

Joss was inducted into the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame on July 29th, 2006(45). He was inducted in the same class as Ray Chapman, Rocky Colavito, Al Lopez, Sam McDowell, Al Rosen, and Herb Score.

For more about Addie Joss, click here:

1. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/addie-joss/
2. https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/joss-addie
3. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/

j/jossad01.shtml

Footnotes:

a Sources differ on the number of one-hitters. Porter states six one-hitters[5] while Schneider lists five.[8]: p.200  A career summary at the time of his Hall of Fame selection noted seven in total, which is consistent with records at the time of Bob Feller's eighth one-hitter in 1946.[46][47]

b Fleitz writes in Shoeless: The Life and Times of Joe Jackson that Joss was diagnosed with pleurisy by the Naps team doctor while in Chattanooga.[37]: p.69  Coffey writes in 27 Men Out: Baseball's Perfect Games while on a train ride back to Toledo, Joss stopped in Cincinnati and was diagnosed by "a doctor" who stated Joss had "congestion in his right lung with a bad attack of pleurisy" and an "affection [sic] of the brain."[6]: p.34  Kneib writes in Meningitis the Naps were scheduled to go to Cincinnati but Joss did not receive an examination until he returned to Toledo, where he was examined and diagnosed with pleurisy by his personal physician and roughly a week later, seen in Toledo by the Naps' team doctor who diagnosed Joss with tubercular meningitis.[29]: p.28

References:

1. Hall of Fame Pitchers at America's Library/

The Library of Congress

2. Jump up to:a b "Fame Beckons Joss,

MacPhail". Milwaukee Sentinel. United

Press International. January 31, 1978. p. 2.

Retrieved November 8, 2012.[permanent

dead link]

3. "Joss, Addie 1880 – 1911". Wisconsin

Historical Society. Archived from the

original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved 

November 5, 2012.

4. "Birth Record Details". Wisconsin

Historical Society. Archived from the

original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved 

July 23, 2009.

5. Jump up to:a b c d e f g h Porter, David L.

(2000). Biographical Dictionary of