Ed Willett

Ed Willett in 1908

Pitcher

Born: March 7, 1884
Norfolk, Virginia

Died: May 10, 1934 (aged 50)
Wellington, Kansas

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

September 5, 1906, for the Detroit Tigers

Last MLB appearance

September 23, 1915, for the St. Louis Terriers

MLB statistics

Win–loss record

102-100

Strikeouts

600

Earned run average

3.08

Teams

Detroit Tigers (1906–1913)
St. Louis Terriers (1914–1915)

Robert Edgar Willett (March 7, 1884 – May 10, 1934), sometimes known by the nickname "Farmer", was a right-handed American baseball pitcher. He played professional baseball for 17 years from 1905 to 1921, including ten seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers of the American League from 1906 to 1913 and the St. Louis Terriers of the Federal League from 1914 to 1915. In 274 major league games, Willett compiled a 102–100 win–loss record with 142 complete games, an earned run average (ERA) of 3.08, 600 strikeouts, and 695 assists in 1,773 innings pitched.

Willett was born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1884. He moved to Caldwell, Kansas, in his youth.

Willett began his professional baseball career in the Western Association, playing for the Wichita Jobbers in 1905 and 1906. He compiled a 10–5 win-loss record with a 2.69 earned run average (ERA) in 16 games during the 1905 season and a 12–17 record in 38 games for Wichita in 1906. On August 27, 1906, in his final game in a Wichita uniform, Willett held Webb City to one run in 15 innings. Although he lost more games than he won in 1906, he reportedly lost a number of games on flukes and was regarded by many as the best pitcher in the Western Association.

On August 9, 1906, Willett was purchased from Wichita by the Detroit Tigers, and became the first Western Association player to make it with a major league club. Originally scheduled to remain with Wichita through the end of the 1906 season, the Tigers asked in late August that he report early. Willett made his major league debut with Detroit on September 5, 1906, pitching a five-hitter against Chicago. In the final month of the 1906 season, Willett appeared in three games, all as a starter, and compiled a 0–3 record with a 3.96 ERA.

...
Wikipedia