In 1869 the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first professional baseball team, many have since followed. Ohio is the birthplace of professional baseball. The Buckeye State has produced 1,082 MLB players. The greatest pitcher born in Ohio is Cy Young. His 165.72 career WAR is the highest among state and territory pitching leaders. No pitcher will likely ever surpass his career WAR. The best position player born in the Buckeye State is Mike Schmidt. His 106.86 career WAR is the 12th highest among position player leaders. Combined Ohio’s 272.58 WAR is the 2nd highest in the United States of Baseball. 

Greatness is defined in many ways. Cy Young had the rare combination of longevity to create unbreakable records and the skill to be among the best during his career. The Gilmore native pitched 22 seasons with five teams: Cleveland Spiders (1890-1898), St. Louis Perfectos/ Cardinals (1899-1900), Boston Americans/ Red Sox (1901-1908), Cleveland Naps (1909-1911), and Boston Rustlers (1911). Young appeared in 906 career Games, made 815 Starts, Finished 84 Games, threw 749 Complete Games, including 76 Shutouts, 7,356 Innings Pitched, allowed 7,092 Hits, 3,167 Runs, 2,147 Earned Runs, 138 Home Runs, 1,217 Walks, 2,803 Strikeouts, posted a 511-315 record, 2.63 ERA, 1.130 WHIP, 138 ERA+, with 29,565 Batters Faced. He recorded five 30 Win seasons, six seasons with an ERA below 2.00, 17 seasons with 30 Complete Games and nine seasons with 40 Complete Games. Young led the league in Shutouts seven times, pitched 400 innings five times and 300 innings 16 times. He had six seasons with a WHIP below 1.000 and 20 seasons with an ERA+ over 100. He remains the all time leader in Wins, Losses, Games Started, Complete Games, Innings Pitched, Hits allowed, Earned Runs, and Batters Faced. He is fourth in Shutouts. 

Cy Young signed his first professional contract at 23 years old. He debuted with the Cleveland Spiders on August 6, 1890. Young arrived in the Majors earlier than planned as National League teams called up minor leaguers to fill the void left by those jumping to the Players League. He won the National League ERA title in 1892 and the first American League ERA Title in 1901. The blazing fastball Young enjoyed early in his career eventually gave way to breaking pitches. He threw the first of three No Hitters on September 19, 1897 against the Cincinnati Reds. Young’s time in Cleveland was cut short because Frank and Stanley Robinson owned both the Cleveland Spiders and St. Louis Perfectos. The now prohibited practice of owning multiple franchises enabled the Robinson’s to move the best players to St. Louis, leaving Cleveland a glorified sandlot team. After the 1900 season, Young jumped to the new American League. He won the first game in the history of the Boston Americans, who later became the Red Sox. Young spent his offseasons as the pitching coach at Harvard. His success in Boston included the first Perfect Game in the Junior Circuit’s history on May 5, 1904 against Rube Waddell and the Philadelphia Athletics. The Perfecto was part of 24 consecutive perfect innings and 45 scoreless innings. Young continued pitching until 1911 when age and innings finally caught up with the 44 year old hurler. 

In retirement, Young managed the Cleveland Green Sox of the Federal League in 1913 before returning to his farm to live a quiet life. Young was elected in the first Hall of Fame class in 1937 with 76.1% of the vote. The Cy Young Award, honoring the best pitcher in baseball, was introduced a year after his death in 1955. 

The best season of Cy Young’s Hall of Fame career came with the 1901 Boston Americans. He appeared in 43 Games, made 41 Starts, Finished 2 Games, threw 38 Complete Games, including 5 Shutouts, 371.1 Innings Pitched, allowed 324 Hits, 112 Runs, 67 Earned Runs, 6 Home Runs, 158 Strikeouts, 37 Walks, posted a 33-10 record, 1.62 ERA, 0.972 WHIP, and 219 ERA+. Young led the American League in Wins, ERA, Shutouts, Strikeouts, WHIP, and ERA+. He won the Pitching Triple Crown in the Junior Circuit’s inaugural season. Young also set a career high in ERA+. 

Young pitched in the Temple Cup and later the World Series. He appeared in the Fall Classic twice, in 1892 and 1903, winning with the 1903 Boston Americans. He pitched in 7 World Series Games, made 6 Starts, Finished 1 Game, threw 6 Complete Games, including 1 Shutout, 61 Innings Pitched, allowed 57 Hits, 24 Runs, 16 Earned Runs, 2 Home Runs, 26 Strikeouts, 7 Walks, posted a 2-3 record, 2.36 ERA, and 1.049 WHIP. In Starting Game 1 of the 1903 World Series, Young threw the first pitch of the modern World Series. 

Cy Young’s longevity was helped by his ability to avoid injury. Mike Schmidt on the other hand began his career with two bad knees, yet still produced one of the great careers in baseball history. Schmidt was selected by the Phillies in the 2nd Round of the 1971 MLB Draft out of Ohio University. The Dayton native played 18 seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies (1972-1989). He played in 2,404 Games, collected 2,234 Hits, 408 Doubles, 59 Triples, 548 Home Runs, 1,595 RBI, scored 1,506 Runs, 174 Stolen Bases, 1,507 Walks, 1,883 Strikeouts, with a .267 BA, .380 OBP, .527 SLG, .908 OPS, and 148 OPS+. He was a 12 time All Star, six time Silver Slugger, and three time National League MVP. 

Schmidt was consistently great. He scored 100 Runs seven times, hit 25 Doubles 11 times, slugged 40 Home Runs three times and 30 Home Runs 13 times. He led the National League in Home Runs eight times and led baseball in Home Runs during the 1980’s. Schmidt had 100 RBI nine times, leading the Senior Circuit four times. He learned patience at the plate to Walk 100 times seven times, but still led the National League in Strikeouts four times. He topped the league in OBP three times. Schmidt led the league five times in SLG, with 13 seasons over .500. Twice his OPS was over 1.000 and 15 times had an OPS+ above 100. 

The end of a Hall of Fame career is rarely joyful. Schmidt knew it was time after misplaying an easy ground ball. He was the active leader in Home Runs, RBI, Total Bases, Intentional Walks, and Strikeouts when he retired on May 29, 1989. Schmidt hit the seventh most Home Runs, he is now 16th. He took the fourth fewest At Bats to reach 500 Home Runs, behind only Babe Ruth, Harmon Killebrew, and Mickey Mantle. Schmidt remains 39th in RBI, 18th in Walks, 14th in Strikeouts, and 35th in Extra Base Hits. A career of consistency. 

Schmidt had the glove at the Hot Corner to go with his bat. He played 2,212 Games, 18,948 Innings, had 6,949 Chances, made 1,591 Putouts, 5,045 Assists, committed 313 Errors, turned 450 Double Plays, .955 FLD% against .949 lgFLD%, 8 Rtot, 3.15 RF/9 against 2.87 lgRF/9, and 3.00 RF/G against 2.86 lgRF/G. Schmidt earned 18.4 dWAR and won 10 Gold Gloves. He played the sixth most Games at Third Base, is fourth in Assists, 30th in Putouts, and fifth in Double Plays turned. He made great plays on the rock hard astroturf at Veterans Stadium.  

Schmidt worked as a broadcaster in 1989 and 1990. However, it was clear to Schmidt and others that he was not a good fit. His group failed in their attempt to be the original owners of the Florida Marlins. Schmidt was elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 1995 with 96.5% of the vote. The then fifth highest vote total ever. The long running tension with Phillies fans thawed after Schmidt thanked them in his Hall of Fame speech. A satisfying end to the career of one of the greatest Third Basemen in baseball history. 

The best season of Mike Schmidt’s career was 1980. He played in 150 Games, collected 157 Hits, 25 Doubles, 8 Triples, 48 Home Runs, 121 RBI, scored 104 Runs, 12 Stolen Bases, 89 Walks, 119 Strikeouts, with a .286 BA, .380 OBP, .624 SLG, 1.004 OPS, and 171 OPS+. He led the National League in Home Runs, RBI, SLG, OPS, and OPS+. Schmidt set career highs in Home Runs, RBI, and Total Bases. His 48 Home Runs broke Eddie Mathews’ single season Home Run record for Third Basemen. Schmidt was an All Star, won a Gold Glove, the Silver Slugger, and the National League MVP. His success continued in October. 

Schmidt helped Philadelphia become a winning team and find success in October. During Schmidt’s career, the Phillies played in the Postseason six times. They reached the World Series twice, winning in 1980. Schmidt played in 36 Postseason Games, collected 33 Hits, 9 Doubles, 4 Home Runs, 16 RBI, scored 19 Runs, 1 Stolen Base, 15 Walks, 27 Strikeouts, with a .236 BA, .304 OBP, .386 SLG, and .690 OPS. The 1980 World Series was the pinnacle of Schmidt’s career. He played in all 6 Games, collected 8 Hits, 1 Double, 2 Home Runs, 7 RBI, scored 6 Runs, 4 Walks, 3 Strikeouts, with a .381 BA, .462 OBP, .714 SLG, and 1.176 OPS. He added the World Series MVP to his Regular Season MVP. 

Ohio continues to produce MLB quality players. Thus far, 19 Ohioians have been enshrined in Cooperstown. The 19 Hall of Famers are: Walter Alston (Manager), Roger Bresnahan, Ray Brown, Ed Delahanty, Buck Ewing, Rollie Fingers, Elmer Flick, Jesse Haines, Miller Huggins (Manager), Ban Johnson (Executive), Kennesaw Mountain Landis (Commissioner), Barry Larkin, Rube Marquard, Phil Niekro, Branch Rickey (Executive), Mike Schmidt, George Sisler, Sol White (Executive), and Cy Young. The Buckeye State should reach 20 in the near future. Next week the United States of Baseball heads west to the Sooner State. Oklahoma is next. 

DJ