Out on Top

Five pitchers since 1900 have had at least 10 wins and an ERA+ of at least 150 in their final season in the major leagues. In order of highest ERA+, these five final seasons were:

1. Sandy Koufax 1966 (190 ERA+, 27 wins)
2. Larry French 1942 (178 ERA+, 15 wins)
3. J.R. Richard 1980 (173 ERA+, 10 wins)
4. John Tudor 1990 (158 ERA+, 12 wins)
5. Phil Douglas 1922 (153 ERA+, 11 wins)

Larry French isn't much remembered now, but had a very nice career, mostly with the Pirates and Cubs, though his excellent final year, having perfected a knuckleball, was with the Dodgers . He had the second-most wins in the NL in the 1930s, with only Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell ahead of him. Among left-handed pitchers, French is eighth in NL wins since 1900. Really old-time Cub fans can remember him as a rarity, a World Series pitcher for the Cubs. With 5 mound appearances for the Cubbies in the Series (1935 and 1938), it is correct to say that in the last 100 years only one pitcher, Charlie Root, has pitched in more World Series games for the Cubs than Larry French.

In his very last start in the major leagues, September 23, 1942, French pitched a complete game shutout for Brooklyn, facing the minimum 27 batters and coming inches from a perfect game. The only batter to reach base against French that day for the opposing Phillies was Nick Etten, who in the second inning lined a single just out of the reach of shortstop Pee Wee Reese. Etten was then erased on a double play. French won again in relief for the Dodgers a few days later, with Brooklyn trying to hang on in the pennant race with only one more day left in the season. According to the New York Times, French had a bonus provision in his contract for 1942 that paid him an extra $2,500 if he pitched 150 innings -- he only made it to 147 and two-thirds, but apparently the Dodgers paid him anyway.

In January, 1943 he joined the Navy and was stationed just a short distance from Ebbets Field, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He apparently worked out a deal with the Dodgers in which he would pitch part time for them in 1943, at least until he got his 200th career win (indeed he even showed up for a Dodgers pre-season workout at West Point but practice was over for the day by the time he arrived). However, Navy headquarters in Washington refused to grant French's request for permission, for fear of a "flood of such requests" (NY Times, April 19, 1943). After that he stuck with the military, serving in both World War II and Korea, only finally leaving the Navy in 1969, having reached the rank of captain. Though he didn't manage to win those last three games and get to 200 career wins as he wanted, he did end up with one of the greatest final seasons in major league history.

A useful comparison for modern Mets fans to get a sense of French's career accomplishments might be this one:
Larry French career: 197 Wins, 14 seasons, 3.44 career ERA, 114 career ERA+
Dwight Gooden career: 194 Wins, 16 seasons, 3.51 ERA, 111 career ERA+