Jack Chesbro - Legacy

Legacy

Chesbro was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946 balloting by the Veterans Committee, which considers individuals who are eligible for the Hall of Fame, but no longer eligible to be elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). That year, the Veterans Committee elected eleven players: Chesbro, Jesse Burkett, Frank Chance, Johnny Evers, Clark Griffith, Tommy McCarthy, Joe McGinnity, Eddie Plank, Joe Tinker, Rube Waddell, and Ed Walsh. During years where Chesbro was eligible on the BBWAA ballot, Chesbro received zero votes in the 1936 balloting, one vote in the 1937 balloting, two votes in the 1938 balloting, and six votes in the 1939 balloting, zero votes in the 1942 balloting, and zero votes in the 1945 balloting.

Chesbro's 1904 record for games won in a season (41 wins) has stood for over a century, one of the oldest major records in baseball, or in any other sport. Under current playing practices, his record is unbreakable. Chesbro started 51 games that season (plus 4 relief appearances) and pitched 48 complete games, for a record of 41–12. Today, it is uncommon for a pitcher to start even 35 games in a season and complete games are a rarity. The only other 40-win season since 1900 was 40 by Ed Walsh in 1908. Tinker considered Chesbro one of the six toughest pitchers he faced in MLB. Dan Holmes, who runs the Hall of Fame's website, called Chesbro "one of the best pitchers in the game at that time."

However, Chesbro's induction is considered dubious, as his overall career was overshadowed by his 1904 season. Baseball historian Bill James considers Chesbro to be undeserving of induction to the Hall of Fame. In particular, James compared Chesbro's statistics to those of former Pittsburgh Pirate teammates Phillippe (189–109, 2.59), Sam Leever (194–100, 2.47), and Jesse Tannehill (197–117, 2.80), none of whom are in the Hall of Fame. In his book The Politics of Glory, James charged that the induction of undeserving players created a "second tier" in the Hall of Fame. James claimed that Chesbro was inducted into the Hall of Fame solely on the basis of his 1904 season, even though other pitchers who did not make the Hall of Fame have similar career statistics.