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Top Five starting rotations in Pittsburgh Pirates history

By Steve Kubitz

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Jul 11, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; General view of the ballpark exterior before the Pittsburgh Pirates host the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

1902 Pittsburgh Pirates:

The 1902 Pirates are the absolute cream of the crop in Pirates history. Not only just the pitching, the entire team was scarily dominant as they went 103-36 on the season. Good enough to easily win the National League pennant. Even in the context of the dead ball era, this Pirates pitching rotation was absolutely silly in how it dominated the league.

Jack Chesbro was the staff ace as he put up video game like numbers. He went 28-6 with a 2.17ERA, 2.63FIP, 126ERA+ and was worth 8.6WAR. Despite the wins, and being the Opening Day starter, Chesbro was not the most valuable member of the rotation.

Deacon Phillipe “only” won 20 games for this team, but his other numbers are pretty mind boggling as he went 20-6 with a 2.05ERA, 2.15FIP, 133ERA+ and was worth 8.7WAR. For good measure he also struck out 122, while walking only 26 batters.

It’s hard to imagine an ERA lower than 2.05, but the 1902 Pirates managed that with their THIRD starter. As Jesse Tannehill went 20-6 with a 1.95ERA, 2.26FIP, 140ERA+ and was worth 7.9WAR. He also allowed a staff low 50 earned runs on the season and walked a staff low 25.

The fourth starter on the 1902 Pirates look like an ace on any team today. Sam Leever went 15-7 with a 2.39ER, 2.54FIP, 114ERA+ and accumulated 5.8 Wins Above Replacement. What hurt Leever’s numbers is he allowed a staff high two home runs on the season.

If a chain is as strong as its weakest link, then the 1902 Pirates may be the strongest chain in Pirates history as Ed Doheny went 16-4 with a 2.53ERA, 2.94FIP, 108ERA+ and was worth 4.4 Wins Above Replacement.

1.  1902 rotation:

  1. Jack Chesbro (28-6, 2.17ERA, 2.63FIP, 126ERA+ and 8.6WAR)
  2. Deacon Phillipe (20-9, 2.05ERA, 2.15FIP, 133ERA+ and 8.7WAR)
  3. Jesse Tannehill (20-6, 1.95ERA, 2.26FIP, 140ERA+ and 7.9WAR)
  4. Sam Leever (15-7, 2.39ERA, 2.54FIP, 114ERA+ and 5.8WAR)
  5. Ed Doheny (16-4, 2.53ERA, 2.94FIP, 108ERA+ and 4.4WAR)

Staff Totals: 2.21ERA, 2.50FIP, 124ERA+ and 35.4WAR

Full stats:

Rk Name W L ERA GS GF CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP
1 Jack Chesbro 28 6 2.17 33 2 31 8 286.1 242 81 69 1 62 136 126 2.63 1.062
2 Deacon Phillippe 20 9 2.05 30 1 29 5 272.0 265 90 62 1 26 122 133 2.15 1.070
3 Jesse Tannehill* 20 6 1.95 24 2 23 2 231.0 203 78 50 0 25 100 140 2.26 0.987
4 Sam Leever 15 7 2.39 26 2 23 4 222.0 203 73 59 2 31 86 114 2.54 1.054
5 Ed Doheny* 16 4 2.53 21 1 19 2 188.1 161 68 53 0 61 88 108 2.94 1.179
Rank in 8 NL teams 1 8 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 1 1 1

The 1902 Pirates aren’t only the greatest pitching staff in Pirates history, it could be argued they’re the greatest single season team in Pirates history. Even though the dead ball era was pitching heavy, the Pirates still managed to put up numbers even better than the rest of the league. The league average ERA was 3.17, the Pirates were nearly one run better than that. I don’t care how dead the balls were, that is absolutely mind boggling. Advance metrics only add to the greatness of the 1902 Pirates as their FIP of 2.50 proves there was very little luck involved with what the Pirates accomplished. The rotation also managed to be 35.4 Wins better than a league average rotation. To me, the fact that this was the dead ball era, makes this rotation even more impressive. They were simply that much better than the rest of the league.

Next: Final Thoughts

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