Billy Pierce - Statistical Evaluations

Statistical Evaluations

Pierce has been overlooked for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, even though his considerable credentials are comparable to many of the pitchers enshrined in Cooperstown. But when he became eligible in 1970, the Baseball Writers Association of America had elected only eight new members in 13 years, and Pierce was stuck in the voting behind such pitchers as Early Wynn, Bob Lemon and Hal Newhouser (each of whom was eventually elected). In the next few years, other pitching stars such as Sandy Koufax, Robin Roberts, Warren Spahn and Whitey Ford became eligible, likely also drawing votes away from Pierce, and he was dropped from the ballot after 1974. In discussing various criticisms of BBWAA voting over the years, Baseball Digest editor John Kuenster wrote in 2008, "The dissenters wonder, for example, how the writers can elect pitchers Whitey Ford (236–106), Jim Bunning (224–184) and Don Drysdale (209–166) to the Hall of Fame, while barely giving any recognition to Billy Pierce (211–169). In the five years he was on the Hall of Fame ballot (1970–1974), Pierce never drew more than two percent of the votes cast, yet his record compiled mostly with undistinguished White Sox teams deserved much more respect from the voters. In one-on-one competition, he actually beat Ford more times than Ford beat him, even though Whitey was backed up by stronger teams." (Bunning was actually elected by the Veterans Committee in 1996, although he did far better in BBWAA balloting than Pierce, coming within four votes of election in 1988.) Of the top ten left-handers in career strikeouts at the time of his retirement, Pierce is the only one who has not been elected to the Hall:

Pierce's average of 5.62 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched during the 1950s was the highest by any pitcher with at least 1,000 innings in the decade, with his average of 7.96 hits per nine innings ranking third (behind Ford and Wynn) and his 3.06 ERA also ranking third (behind Ford and Spahn). His final strikeout total ranked 15th among all pitchers when he retired; of the 24 pitchers who had at least 1,750 strikeouts at that time, Bobo Newsom and Tony Mullane are the only others who have not been elected to the Hall.

When comparing Pierce with the 13 left-handers in the Hall (the above nine as well as Herb Pennock, Eppa Rixey, Lefty Gomez and Steve Carlton), he consistently stands in the middle of the group, ranking ninth in wins, seventh in strikeouts, games pitched, starts and shutouts, and eighth in innings.

Pierce's seven All-Star selections tie him for the most among eligible pitchers not in the Hall, along with Lee Smith and Dave Stieb; Vida Blue and Jack Morris are the only other eligible pitchers to have started three All-Star Games. Over his three All-Star starts (each lasting three innings), Pierce allowed only one run and four hits in nine innings; his career All-Star record included a 3.38 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 10⅔ innings. Pierce and Blue are also the only eligible pitchers who have won 200 games and been named Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News more than once.

Pierce had a record of 24–24 in 54 career regular-season starts against Hall of Famers: 7–7 vs. Whitey Ford, 4–7 vs. Early Wynn, 7–3 vs. Bob Lemon, 2–3 vs. Bob Feller, 1–1 vs. Hal Newhouser, 0–2 vs. Jim Bunning, 1–0 vs. Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax and Hoyt Wilhelm, and 0–1 vs. Satchel Paige. (Pierce had no decision in his lone start against Warren Spahn; he also earned no decision in two All-Star starts against Robin Roberts.)

Pierce struck out ten or more batters eleven times in his career, and achieved his career high of 12 strikeouts four times; but due to characteristically low run support, he won only one of those four games, a 5–0 three-hit shutout of Kansas City on September 25, 1955 in which he recorded his 1,000th career strikeout. He also recorded 12 strikeouts in a 4–2, 12-inning loss to the Philadelphia Athletics on July 24, 1953, in a 10-inning scoreless tie against the Tigers on May 9, 1954, and in a 3–1 loss at Baltimore on May 23, 1961 in which he pitched only six innings. In 22 career starts in which he pitched into extra innings, Pierce had a record of 8–11 despite a 1.85 ERA. In his 41 complete-game losses (10 of which were against the Yankees), he compiled a 2.67 ERA with 231 strikeouts in 368 innings, a rate slightly higher than his career average.

He was also a highly effective pitcher when used in a relief role, recording 32 career saves (possibly 34) compared to only 9 blown saves, a success rate of nearly 80%. In his 14 career wins in relief (none of which resulted from a blown save), he averaged 3⅓ innings pitched and a 0.77 ERA.

Using MVP voting results, historical surveys and sabermetric analysis, historian Bill Deane projected in 1989 that Pierce would have won the American League Cy Young Award in 1953 and 1956 if it had been given at the time; the award was not created until 1956 (when the National League's Don Newcombe won the award by unanimous vote), and awards were not given for both leagues until 1967. In 1988, baseball historian and statistician Bill James chose Pierce as having had the tenth greatest career value among left-handers, ahead of six Hall of Famers.