Mark Baldwin (baseball)

Mark Baldwin
A sepia image of Mark Baldwin
Baldwin photographed in c. 1890
Pitcher
Born: (1863-10-29)October 29, 1863
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died: November 10, 1929(1929-11-10) (aged 66)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 2, 1887, for the Chicago White Stockings
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1893, for the New York Giants
MLB statistics
Win–loss record154–165
Earned run average3.37
Strikeouts1,349
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • 1889 AA leader in innings pitched (513+2⁄3), losses (34), strikeouts (368), and walks (274)[1]
  • 1890 PL leader in complete games (53), wins (33), strikeouts (209), and walks (249)[2]
  • Holds MLB single-season wild pitches record (83)[3]

Marcus Elmore Baldwin (October 29, 1863 – November 10, 1929), nicknamed "Fido" and "Baldy", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). In 346 career games, he pitched to a 154–165 win–loss record with 295 complete games. Baldwin set the single-season MLB wild pitches record with 83 that still stands today.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Baldwin made his professional debut for a Cumberland, Maryland, team in 1883. Though signed by Chicago White Stockings president Albert Spalding to pitch against the St. Louis Browns in the 1886 World Series, Baldwin did not play after the Browns objected. He made his MLB debut for the White Stockings in 1887, when a writer for the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern called him the "swiftest pitcher in the National League" (NL). Released by Chicago player–manager Cap Anson, he signed with the Columbus Solons of the American Association (AA) in 1889, where he led the league in innings pitched (513+2⁄3), losses (34), strikeouts (368), and walks (274).

In 1889, Baldwin, described as "intelligent and outspoken",[4] recruited players for the Chicago Pirates of the Players' League (PL). Baldwin played for Chicago and finished the year as the PL leader in games played as a pitcher (58), innings pitched (492), wins (33), strikeouts (206), complete games (53), and walks (249), as the Pirates finished fourth in the league, ten games behind the first-place Boston Reds. A PL historian has described him as a star of the league. Back in the NL, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he played from 1891 to 1893. Baldwin was arrested after the Homestead strike in 1892 and charged with aggravated riot, but never received a trial. He finished his MLB career with the New York Giants in 1893, and played several seasons for independent teams afterwards.

During his career, he batted and threw right-handed, weighed 190 pounds (86 kg), and stood 6 feet (180 cm) tall. After baseball, Baldwin became a physician and practiced at Passavant Hospital in Pittsburgh. He died of cardiorenal disease on November 10, 1929, and is interred at Allegheny Cemetery.

  1. ^ "1889 American Association Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  2. ^ "1890 Players League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  3. ^ "Single-Season Leaders & Records for Wild Pitches". Baseball-Reference. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  4. ^ Tiemann, Robert L. (1996). "Marcus Elmore Baldwin". In Ivor-Campbell, Frederick; Tiemann, Robert L.; Rucker, Mark (eds.). Baseball's First Stars: The Second Volume of Biographies of the Greatest Nineteenth Century Players, Managers, Umpires, Executives, and Writers, from the Society for American Baseball Research. Society for American Baseball Research. pp. 5–7. OCLC 36298505.