Butch Wensloff - New York Yankees

New York Yankees

"Off to a poor start, Wensloff has come along in grand style. His present record is 10 wins and seven losses but included in his bag are five games in which he limited the opposition to five hits and five games in which he limited the enemy to six blows per game."

Upon signing a contract with the Yankees, Wensloff spent the 1943 season on the Yankees' major league roster. During spring training, Yankees manager Joe McCarthy had heard impressive things about Wensloff, though he had not seen him pitch often. Wensloff made his major league debut for the Yankees on May 2, 1943 against the Washington Senators. In his debut, the second game of a doubleheader, he allowed four earned runs and seven hits in eight innings as the Yankees lost, 4–1. He won his first game in his next pitching appearance on May 7, 1943 against the Philadelphia Athletics, allowing no walks and six hits in a 6–2 victory. By the end of June, he had six complete games in his first six starts. However, he was not receiving the publicity other rookies were, such as pitcher Jesse Flores, and had four wins and four losses despite how well he had been pitching.

During the second half of the season, Wensloff remained a major part of the starting rotation. His losses included a 1–0 defeat in which he only allowed one unearned run on a wild throw against the St. Louis Browns. During the season, Wensloff added a knuckleball to his selection of pitches, which he threw regularly during the season. As the end of the season approached, Wensloff was being promoted as a rookie of the year candidate, due to being second on the team in strikeouts, as well as his 13 wins. Wensloff finished the season with a 13–11 record and a 2.54 ERA in 29 games, 27 of them starts. He did not pitch in the 1943 World Series, though he was on the roster.