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 t ...

. 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 dr ...

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 The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

. 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 numb ...

and 839

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 den ...

s. In Cardinals franchise history, Sherdel ranks fourth all-time in wins (153), third in

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 excep ...

(465), fourth in

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 inning ...

(2450.2), fifth in games started (242), eighth in

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 (144), fourth in losses (131), fifth in hit batsmen (51), and eighth in games finished (152).

Formative years

Sherdel was born in McSherrystown, Pennsylvania 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 s ...

pennant-winning Cardinals teams, in 1926 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 Bazhano ...

, 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 Worl ...

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 ...

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 (214-for-960) scoring ninety-six runs, with thirty-five

doubles Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including; * Beach volleyball * Doubles badminton * Doubles curling * Footvolley * Doubles pickleball * Doubles squash * Doubles table tennis * Doubles te ...

, five triples, nine

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, eighty-six RBI and drawing sixty-three

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Sec ...

. He was used as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

and played a few games at right field and first base.

Death

Sherdel died in McSherrystown, Pennsylvania, at the age of 72.

References

External links

*
Bill Sherdel
at 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

Formative years

Career

Death

See also

References

External links