Wes Ferrell

Wesley Cheek Ferrell (February 2, 1908 – December 9, 1976) was an American professional baseball player.

Wesley Cheek Ferrell was born on February 2, 1908, in Greensboro, North Carolina, to Rufus Benjamin "Lonnie" and Alice Clara Carpenter.

His father was employed by the Southern Railroad, and the family lived on a 160-acre dairy farm that was also used to grow crops such as hay and tobacco.

Wes was the fifth of seven children who were all boys.

They each played baseball for the local high school team, and two others went on to enjoy long careers in baseball: Rick, a Hall of Fame catcher, and George, an 18-year minor league veteran.

Wesley starred in baseball and basketball while playing for Guilford High School, and later for the Oak Ridge Military Academy in 1926.

He played in Major League Baseball from 1927 through 1941.

Primarily a starting pitcher, Ferrell played for the Cleveland Indians (1927–33), Boston Red Sox (1934–37), Washington Senators (1937–38), New York Yankees (1938–39), Brooklyn Dodgers (1940) and Boston Braves (1941).

He batted and threw right-handed.

He was soon noticed by Bill Rapp, a scout for the Cleveland Indians, and in 1927 they, as well as the Detroit Tigers, offered him a contract while he was playing for a semi-professional team in East Douglas, Massachusetts.

He chose the Indians, and joined the team for the remainder of the 1927 season.

He made his Major League Baseball debut on September 9, 1927, pitching a single inning against the Boston Red Sox, and gave up three earned runs.

Although, he initially made the Indians' roster in 1928, he was soon demoted to the Terre Haute Tots, of the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League.

He pitched well for the Tots, winning 20 games against eight losses, and had a 2.74 earned run average.

In September, he was re-called to majors, and pitched two games before the season ended.

He started both games, completed one of them, and while he pitched well, he received the loss in both.

In 1929, he joined the Indians for good.

Though only a spot-starter at first, he established himself as one of the best pitchers in the American League (AL) by season's end.

He was noted to have had an excellent fastball, which he complemented with a good curveball and a deceptive changeup.

He posted a 21–10 win–record with 100 strikeouts and a 3.60 earned run average (ERA).

His 21 victories placed second in the league behind George Earnshaw's 24, and he finished in the top ten in strikeouts, earned run average, and saves.

In 1930, he began the season as the Indians' number two starting pitcher behind Willis Hudlin, who made the team's opening day start.

He quickly established himself as the team's ace by significantly improving his pitching performance.

He increased his win total to 25 which finished second in the league, this time behind Lefty Grove's 28, and lowered his ERA to 3.31.

His batting skills improved in 1930; his batting average jumped from .237 in 1929 to .297 in 1930.

Through 1930, he had hit just one home run but in 1931 he hit nine, breaking the previous home run record for pitchers of seven by Jack Stivetts in 1890.

On August 31 he hit two home runs against the Chicago White Sox in 13–5 victory at Comiskey Park, the first of five times he would achieve the feat.

Ferrell was an honest and outspoken individual, and his attitude began to sour during this period of his career.

It was suspected that he had anxiety in regard to his shoulder injury, which caused him to angrily react to perceived bad calls by umpires, and teammates who made errors that negatively affected the game.

On one occasion, Ferrell refused to be pulled from a game by his manager, and was suspended ten days without pay for insubordination.

Because of his volatile temperament he was fined and suspended several times for refusing to leave a game, or for leaving it without permission.

After being driven from the mound in one game, he punched himself in the face and began to slam his head into the wall.

He had to be restrained by his team to stop him from continuing to hurt himself.

Despite the pain in his shoulder, and worsening behavioral issues, he continued to be a durable and effective pitcher.

Ferrell continued his excellence during the 1931 season.

Although his ERA increased to 3.75, he led the league in complete games with 27 and collected another 22 wins.

On April 29, he pitched a 9–0 no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns, striking out eight, while also hitting a home run and a double and amassing four runs batted in (RBIs).

His brother Rick was the Browns' catcher.

On May 8, he experienced pain in his right shoulder while warming up for a start against the Red Sox, and for the rest of the season his fastball became largely ineffective, forcing him to rely upon his other pitches.

As stellar as his pitching statistics were, it was his hitting skills that were dramatically improving each season.