William Henry Sherdel (August 15, 1896 – November 14, 1968) was a professional
baseball player
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding te ...
. He was a left-handed
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
over parts of fifteen seasons (1918–1932) with the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
and
Boston Braves. For his career, he compiled a 165–146 record in 514 appearances, with a 3.72
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
and 839
strikeouts.
In Cardinals franchise history, Sherdel ranks fourth all-time in
wins (153), third in
games pitched (465), fourth in
innings pitched (2450.2), fifth in games started (242), eighth in
complete games (144), fourth in
losses (131), fifth in hit batsmen (51), and eighth in games finished (152).
Formative years
Sherdel was born in
McSherrystown, Pennsylvania
McSherrystown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,077 as of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census.
McSherrystown was home to the headquarters of T ...
on August 15, 1896.
Career
Sherdel's 153 wins are the most ever for a Cardinal left-hander. Sherdel achieved the unusual distinction of giving up at least ten runs in three consecutive starts during the 1929 season – ten runs on June 29, thirteen runs on July 3 and ten runs on July 6.
Sherdel was a member of two
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
pennant-winning Cardinals teams, in
1926
Events January
* January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece.
* January 8
**Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.
** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...
and
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...
, winning the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
in 1926. He faced the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
both times. During World Series play, he compiled a 0–4 record in four appearances, with a 3.26 earned run average and six strikeouts.
Sherdel was an above-average hitting pitcher during his fifteen-year major league career. He posted a .223
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
(214-for-960) scoring ninety-six
runs, with thirty-five
doubles, five
triples, nine
home runs, eighty-six
RBI and drawing sixty-three
bases on balls.
He was used as a
pinch hitter and played a few games at right field and first base.
Death
Sherdel died in
McSherrystown, Pennsylvania
McSherrystown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,077 as of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census.
McSherrystown was home to the headquarters of T ...
, at the age of 72.
See also
*
List of St. Louis Cardinals team records
*
List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders
References
External links
*
Bill Sherdelat Society for American Baseball Research
*Coulson, John G. (2018).
Wee Willie Sherdel: the Cardinals' Winningest Left-hander'. Victoria, BC, Canada : FriesenPress, 2018.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherdel, Bill
1896 births
1968 deaths
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Pennsylvania
St. Louis Cardinals players
Boston Braves players
Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players
Hanover Hornets players
Hanover Raiders players
Rochester Red Wings players