Early Years
Born in Springfield, Kentucky, Derringer made an impressive debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1931, winning 18 games for the eventual World Series champions and leading the NL in winning percentage (.692); he had a streak of 33 consecutive scoreless innings in September. He finished third among pitchers in voting for The Sporting News Major League All-Star Team, gaining 56 votes (of a potential 229) and outpolling all other NL pitchers combined. Despite the team's victory, he suffered defeats in Games 1 and 5 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics. He slumped to an 11–14 mark in 1932, and after beginning 1933 at 0–2 he was traded to the Reds in a six-player deal that brought Leo Durocher to the Cardinals. Despite a respectable 3.23 earned run average, he was 7–25 with Cincinnati that season, setting a team record for losses which still stands; his 27 overall losses led the NL, and came within two of Vic Willis' modern NL record, set in 1905. He improved to 15–21 in 1934 before coming into his own the following year.
Read more about this topic: Paul Derringer
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or years:
“Progress would not have been the rarity it is if the early food had not been the late poison.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“Beautiful credit! The foundation of modern society. Who shall say that this is not the golden age of mutual trust, of unlimited reliance upon human promises? That is a peculiar condition of society which enables a whole nation to instantly recognize point and meaning in the familiar newspaper anecdote, which puts into the mouth of a distinguished speculator in lands and mines this remark:M”I wasn’t worth a cent two years ago, and now I owe two millions of dollars.””
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)