Tony Mullane

Pitcher

Born: January 20, 1859
County Cork, Ireland

Died: April 25, 1944 (aged 85)
Chicago, Illinois

Batted: Switch

Threw: Switch

MLB debut

August 27, 1881, for the Detroit Wolverines

Last MLB appearance

July 26, 1894, for the Cleveland Spiders

MLB statistics

Win–loss record

284–220

Earned run average

3.05

Strikeouts

1,803

Teams

Detroit Wolverines (1881)
Louisville Eclipse (1882)
St. Louis Browns (1883)
(1884)
Cincinnati Red Stockings/Reds (1886–1893)
Baltimore Orioles (1893–1894)
Cleveland Spiders (1894)

Career highlights and awards

Pitched a no-hitter (September 11, 1882)
First pitcher to throw left-handed and right-handed in the same game
Led AA in Games, Strikeouts and Games Started in 1882
Led AA in Saves in 1883, 1888 and 1889 and NL in 1893 and 1894
Led AA in Shutouts in 1884 and 1887
Led AA in Games Finished in 1886 and 1889 and NL in 1893
Cincinnati Reds Career Leader in Complete Games (264)

Anthony John "Tony" Mullane (January 20, 1859 – April 25, 1944), nicknamed "Count" and "The Apollo of the Box", was an Irish Major League Baseball player who pitched for seven teams during his 13-season career. He is best known as a pitcher that could throw left-handed and right-handed, and for having one of the highest career win totals of pitchers not in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Born in County Cork, Ireland, Mullane emigrated to the United States in 1864. He made his Major League debut with the Detroit Wolverines on August 27, 1881, picking up his first career win 9–1 over the .

Mullane suffered an injury to his right arm and managed to teach himself to throw left-handed. Mullane resumed throwing right-handed once the injury healed, and he would even alternate throwing right-handed and left-handed in the same game, which was easy for him since he did not wear a glove. Mullane would face the batter with both hands on the ball, and then use either one to throw a pitch.

It was not for over a hundred years before another ambidextrous pitcher, Greg A. Harris, using a specially made ambidextrous glove, did get to switch-pitch in one game shortly before he retired with the Montreal Expos, becoming the only such pitcher in the 20th Century. Harris had spent most of his career prohibited by the Red Sox from pitching left-handed. On June 5, 2015 Pat Venditte began his major league career by switch pitching two scoreless innings for the Oakland Athletics.

In 1882, Mullane moved on to the American Association and joined the Louisville Eclipse, where he started 55 of the team's 80 games and compiled a record of 30–24 with a 1.88 ERA, the first of five consecutive 30-win seasons. On September 11, he pitched a no-hitter against the . He recorded 35 victories with the 1883 St. Louis Browns.

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Wikipedia