A Look at the Career of Grover Cleveland Alexander

When people think of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, the name Grover Cleveland Alexander seldom comes up. But if you look up his statistics and take into account all that he had to overcome, it is hard to imagine a better pitcher.

Alexander was born on February 26, 1887 in Nebraska. He started to play for various minor league and semi-pro teams in the early 1900’s. In 1909 he suffered his first setback while pitching for Galesburg, IL of the Central Association. While trying to break up a double play, he was hit square in the head with the ball. He stayed unconscious for two days and when he awoke he suffered from double vision. Galesburg sent him to Indianapolis of the American Association where he continued to struggle and they eventually sold his contract to the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League. In the spring of 1910 his vision cleared and he won 29 games for Syracuse, 15 of which were shutouts. Syracuse than sold his contract to the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League and in 1911 he began his big league career.

During his rookie season with the Phillies, Alexander led the National League in wins (28), complete games (31), innings pitched (367) and shutouts (7). At one point he threw four consecutive shutouts.

He pitched for the Phillies through the 1917 season compiling a 190 and 88 record. His 190 wins accounted for 1/3 of the Phillies total wins during that period. From 1915-1917 he won 31, 33 and 30 games respectively. In 1915 he led the Phillies to the National League Pennant. It would be the Phillies last pennant until 1950.

After the 1917 the Phillies traded him to the Chicago Cubs. Later on Phillies owner William Baker admits that he traded Alexander because he needed the money. He received $55,000 from the Cubs.