Martin James O'Toole (November 27, 1888 – February 18, 1949) was a

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 ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He played a total of five seasons for three teams from 1908 to 1914. He pitched and batted right-handed.

Career

Martin was born to Michael and Mary O'Toole, both Irish immigrants. When he and his siblings were still very young, his parents moved to

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popu ...

. He made his professional debut on September 21, 1908 near the end of the season for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. He pitched three games for a 1-0 win-loss record and a 2.40

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 ...

. He did not play from 1909 to 1910 but reappeared in 1911 for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. He pitched in five games for a 3-2 record, 2.37 earned run average, and 34

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in 38

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. It would be his only season where he had a positive win-loss record. In 1912 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he pitched the most games of his career. He pitched 37 games for a 15-17 record, 2.71 earned run average, and 150 strikeouts in innings pitched. He led the league with 159 walks. That year, he also tied the

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 s ...

lead in

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

with six. He shared the lead with

Nap Rucker George Napoleon "Nap" Rucker (September 30, 1884 – December 19, 1970) was a sportsperson and politician from Georgia. Rucker was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Superbas/Dodgers/Robins. Over his ...

of the

Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

. These six shutouts were the only ones that O'Toole pitched in his career. He never equaled the statistics he pitched in 1912. In 1913 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he pitched 28 games, 144⅔ innings pitches, 3.30 earned run average, and a record of 6-8. His 1914 season for the Pittsburgh Pirates proved troublesome, as he accumulated a 1-8 record with a 4.68 earned run average. He was traded during the season to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, where he had a record of 1-1. He finished the 1914 season with a cumulative record of 2-9 and a 4.56 earned run average. He retired at the end of the 1914 season with career total of a 27-35 record, 3.21 earned run average, 100

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

, innings pitched, 31

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, and 296 strikeouts. His career batting statistics included a .204

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 ...

in 211

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

External links

Marty O’Toole
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Otoole, Marty 1888 births 1949 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Middlesex County, Massachusetts Cincinnati Reds players Pittsburgh Pirates players New York Giants (baseball) players Manchester Textiles players Brockton Tigers players Sioux City Packers players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Columbus Senators players Omaha Rourkes players Sportspeople from Framingham, Massachusetts

Career

See also

External links