| Erskine Mayer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1889-01-16)January 16, 1889 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | |
| Died: March 10, 1957(1957-03-10) (aged 68) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 4, 1912, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 1919, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 91–70 |
| Earned run average | 2.96 |
| Strikeouts | 482 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
Jacob Erskine Mayer (bornJames Erskine Mayer, January 16, 1889 – March 10, 1957) was an Americanbaseball player who played for three differentMajor League Baseball teams during the 1910s. In his eight-year career, Mayer played for thePhiladelphia Phillies, thePittsburgh Pirates, and theChicago White Sox.
A right-handedpitcher, Mayer's repertoire of pitches included acurveball which he threw from asidearm angle.[1] As a result of his curveball, thenBrooklyn DodgersmanagerWilbert Robinson called Mayer "Eelskine" because the pitch was "so slippery."[2]
Mayerwon 20 games in a single season in both1914 and1915. He appeared in the1915 World Series as a member of the Phillies and in the1919 World Series as a member of the White Sox, a series noted for theBlack Sox Scandal.
He was 91–70 in his career, with a 2.96ERA. He was one of the all-time best Jewish pitchers in major league history through 2010, 3rd career-wise in ERA (behind onlyBarney Pelty andSandy Koufax), 7th in wins, and 10th in strikeouts (482).[3]
Mayer was born inAtlanta, Georgia, and was Jewish.[4] His paternal grandparents were Jews who immigrated to the US from Germany, and his father Isaac was a concert pianist and music teacher, and composed an opera in Hebrew.[4] His maternal grandmother traced her ancestry back to theMayflower, andconverted to Judaism.[4] His mother was born Henrietta Frankel.[4] Both of his parents were Jewish.[4]
Mayer attended theGeorgia Military Academy.[4] Mayer then enrolled at theGeorgia Institute of Technology in 1907 in order to studyengineering.[1] During his years at Georgia Tech, Mayer pitched on theYellow Jackets baseball team.[4]
In1910, after three years of school, Mayer left Georgia Tech to pursue a career inprofessional baseball. He was not the only one in his family to pursue a career in baseball.Sam Mayer, Erskine Mayer's older brother, appeared in 11 games for the1915Washington Senators.
When Mayer left Georgia Tech in1910, hesigned first with theAtlanta Crackers and then with theClass-D Fayetteville Highlanders of theEastern Carolina League.[4] Mayer led the league with an .882winning percentage (15–2), and the Highlanders won the leaguechampionship.[4]
In1911, Mayer played for theAlbany Babies of theSouth Atlantic League where he won 14 games andlost 13. In1912, Mayer joined the Portsmouth Pirates of theVirginia League. While withPortsmouth, Mayer won 26 games and lost just 9.[4]
On September 4, 1912, Mayer made his major league debut as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies in their game against theNew York Giants. Mayer appeared in seven games that season, starting one and losing his only decision of the year.
Mayer spent his first full season in the major leagues in1913. Unfortunately, Mayer's pitching was marked by a dubious moment. In the ninthinning of the Phillies August 18 game against theChicago Cubs, Mayer set theMajor League Baseball record for consecutive hits allowed (9). It was a record that remained unmatched for less than 24 hours as teammateGrover Cleveland Alexander repeated the feat the very next day.[5][6]
1914 was the first of Mayer's back-to-back 20 win seasons, as he won 21 games, 7th-most in the National League.[7] That year,Honus Wagner became the second member of the3,000 hit club when he hit adouble off Mayer. Wagner is the only player to get his 3,000th career hit off a pitcher who won 20 games that same season.[8]
1915 was a successful year both for Mayer and for the Phillies. Mayer recorded 21 wins (3rd in the National League), 20complete games, a .583 won-loss percentage (10th in the league), 114 strikeouts (9th in the league), and a 2.36earned run average.[7] Meanwhile, the Phillies won their first ever National League pennant with a 90-win season. Unfortunately for Mayer, the Phillies lost the 1915 World Series to theBoston Red Sox. Mayer started two games in that Series, and lost in his only decision. Mayer's first start came inGame 2; it marked the first time a Jewish player had appeared in aWorld Series game.[9]Woodrow Wilson, thenPresident of the United States, attended the game, the first time a United States President attended aWorld Series game.[10]
1916 Mayer won seven games, but lost seven as well.1917 was a better year for him. Mayer won 11 games against only six losses, had a .647 win–loss percentage (6th in the league), and had a 2.76 earned run average. In1918, Mayer won seven games in 13 appearances for the Phillies. However, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates forElmer Jacobs in July, 1918. In 15 appearances for the Pirates, Mayer went 9–3 with a 2.26 earned run average. He finished with a combined record of 16–7 (his 16 wins were 7th in the National League) with a 2.65 earned run average and 18 complete games, and his .696 win–loss percentage was third-best in the league, as on defense he tied for the lead league among pitchers with a perfectfielding percentage.[7]
Mayer started the 1919 season with the Pirates; however, in August of that year, theChicago White Sox selected him off waivers. In exchange, the Pirates received $2,500 ($45,300 today).[4] Mayer appeared in six regular season games for the White Sox and also pitched one inning ingame 5 of the1919 World Series. It was the final appearance of his major league career. When he retired after the season, he had won 91 games, 12 of them byshutout, with a 2.96 earned run average while pitching 93complete games.[4][7]
Mayer was a better than average hitting pitcher, posting a .185batting average (84-for-453) with 39runs, 2home runs, 28RBI and 28bases on balls. Defensively, he recorded a .967fielding percentage.[7]
In1920, Mayer played in one game for the minor leagueAtlanta Crackers of theSouthern Association.[1] He retired shortly thereafter. Three years later, in1923, he briefly served as anumpire in the South Georgia League.[1]
He was one of the all-time best Jewish pitchers in major league history through 2010, 3rd in career ERA (behind onlyBarney Pelty andSandy Koufax), 7th in wins (91; directly behind Barney Pelty), and 10th in strikeouts (482; directly behindScott Schoeneweis).[3]
After retiring from professional sports, Mayer moved to Los Angeles. While there, he opened acigar store. On March 10, 1957, he died of a heart attack. He was buried inForest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in nearbyGlendale, California.[1]
· Baseball Almanac