Bullet Joe Bush
Encyclopedia
Leslie Ambrose "Bullet Joe" Bush (November 27, 1892 - November 1, 1974) born in Brainerd, Minnesota
was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics (1912–17 and 1928), Boston Red Sox
(1918–21), New York Yankees
(1922–24), St. Louis Browns
(1925), Washington Senators
(1926), Pittsburgh Pirates
(1926–27) and New York Giants
(1927). He is credited with having developed the forkball
pitch.
Bush helped the Athletics win the 1913 World Series
and the 1914 American League Pennant, the Red Sox win the 1918 World Series
, the Yankees win the 1922 AL Pennant and 1923 World Series
and the Pirates win the 1927 National League Pennant. Bush also pitched a no-hitter
in 1916.
Bush finished 4th in voting for the 1922 American League MVP for leading the League in Won-Loss % (.788) by having a 26-7 Win-Loss record, 39 Games, 30 Games Started, 20 Complete Games, 8 Games Finished, 3 Saves, 255 ⅓ Innings Pitched, 240 Hits Allowed, 109 Runs Allowed, 94 Earned Runs Allowed, 16 Home Runs Allowed, 85 Walks Allowed, 92 Strikeouts, 1 Hit Batsmen, 5 Wild Pitches, 1,062 Batters Faced and a 3.31 ERA.
He led the American League
in walks allowed (109) in 1924, losses (24) in 1916 and wild pitches in 1916 (15), 1923 (12) and 1924 (7). In 1916, when he led the league in losses, he won 15 games; the entire team won only 36! This was 41.7% of the team's total wins.
Bush currently ranks 71st on the Major League Baseball career shutouts list (35), 38th on the MLB career walks allowed List (1,263), 62nd on the MLB career losses list (183) and 92nd on the MLB career batters faced list (13,185).
In 17 years he had a 195-183 win-loss record, 489 games, 366 games started, 225 complete games, 35 shutouts, 93 games finished, 20 saves, 3,087 ⅓ innings pitched, 2,992 hits allowed, 1,443 runs allowed, 1,205 earned runs allowed, 96 home runs allowed, 1,263 walks allowed, 1,319 strikeouts, 62 hit batsmen, 90 wild pitches, 13,185 batters faced, 1 balk and a 3.51 ERA.
Bush died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
at the age of 81.
Brainerd, Minnesota
Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,590 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County and one of the largest cities in Central Minnesota...
was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics (1912–17 and 1928), Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
(1918–21), New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
(1922–24), St. Louis Browns
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
(1925), Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
(1926), Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
(1926–27) and New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
(1927). He is credited with having developed the forkball
Forkball
The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-fingered fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard snapping the wrist....
pitch.
Bush helped the Athletics win the 1913 World Series
1913 World Series
In the 1913 World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the New York Giants four games to one.The A's pitching gave the edge to a closer-than-it-looked Series in 1913...
and the 1914 American League Pennant, the Red Sox win the 1918 World Series
1918 World Series
The 1918 World Series featured the Boston Red Sox, who defeated the Chicago Cubs four games to two. The Series victory for the Red Sox was their fifth in five tries, going back to . The Red Sox scored only nine runs in the entire Series; the fewest runs by the winning team in World Series history...
, the Yankees win the 1922 AL Pennant and 1923 World Series
1923 World Series
In the 1923 World Series, the New York Yankees beat the New York Giants in six games. This would be the first of the Yankees' 27 World Series championships...
and the Pirates win the 1927 National League Pennant. Bush also pitched a no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
in 1916.
Bush finished 4th in voting for the 1922 American League MVP for leading the League in Won-Loss % (.788) by having a 26-7 Win-Loss record, 39 Games, 30 Games Started, 20 Complete Games, 8 Games Finished, 3 Saves, 255 ⅓ Innings Pitched, 240 Hits Allowed, 109 Runs Allowed, 94 Earned Runs Allowed, 16 Home Runs Allowed, 85 Walks Allowed, 92 Strikeouts, 1 Hit Batsmen, 5 Wild Pitches, 1,062 Batters Faced and a 3.31 ERA.
He led the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
in walks allowed (109) in 1924, losses (24) in 1916 and wild pitches in 1916 (15), 1923 (12) and 1924 (7). In 1916, when he led the league in losses, he won 15 games; the entire team won only 36! This was 41.7% of the team's total wins.
Bush currently ranks 71st on the Major League Baseball career shutouts list (35), 38th on the MLB career walks allowed List (1,263), 62nd on the MLB career losses list (183) and 92nd on the MLB career batters faced list (13,185).
In 17 years he had a 195-183 win-loss record, 489 games, 366 games started, 225 complete games, 35 shutouts, 93 games finished, 20 saves, 3,087 ⅓ innings pitched, 2,992 hits allowed, 1,443 runs allowed, 1,205 earned runs allowed, 96 home runs allowed, 1,263 walks allowed, 1,319 strikeouts, 62 hit batsmen, 90 wild pitches, 13,185 batters faced, 1 balk and a 3.51 ERA.
Bush died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
at the age of 81.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters