Spud Chandler
| Spud Chandler | |||
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| Pitcher | |||
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Born: September 12, 1907 Commerce, Georgia |
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Died: January 9, 1990 (aged 82) South Pasadena, Florida |
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| MLB debut | |||
| May 6, 1937, for the New York Yankees | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 26, 1947, for the New York Yankees | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 109–43 | ||
| Earned run average | 2.84 | ||
| Strikeouts | 614 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Spurgeon Ferdinand "Spud" Chandler (September 12, 1907 – January 9, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed starting pitcher and played his entire career for the New York Yankees from 1937 through 1947.
He was named the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1943 after anchoring the team's pitching staff with 20 wins and only 4 losses as New York won its third consecutive pennant; his 1.64 earned run average in that season was the lowest by any major league pitcher between 1920 and 1967, and remains a Yankees team record. In eleven seasons, he never suffered a losing record; with a total of 109 wins and 43 losses, his career winning percentage of .717 is the highest of any pitcher with at least 100 victories since 1876.
Chandler was born in Commerce, Georgia to Leonard Ferdinand Chandler (1871–1942) and Olivia Catherine Hix (1872–1957), and attended the University of Georgia. He played football as a halfback, throwing a touchdown pass to help defeat Yale in a 1929 game dedicating a new stadium. He also pitched for the baseball team and competed on the track team. He was a brother of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and graduated with a degree in agriculture. He spent five seasons in the Yankees organization after signing with the team, his favorite since boyhood. Chandler finally made his major league debut at age 29 on May 6, 1937, and went 7-4 that season with a 2.84 ERA and six complete games (including two shutouts). The following year he was 14-5, and in 1939 he was 3-0 in 11 relief appearances. Although the Yankees won the World Series in each of those years, Chandler did not appear in the postseason. Bothered by injuries during his early career, after records of 8-7 and 10-4 in 1940 and 1941 he improved further to 16-5 in 1942, finishing third in the AL with a 2.38 ERA and earning his first of four All-Star selections. He was the All-Star Game's winning pitcher in 1942. Chandler had one start in the World Series each year, but lost both times, as the Yankees won in 1941 and lost in 1942.
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