Note: In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is a measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. WHIP reflects a pitcher’s propensity for allowing batters to reach base, therefore a lower WHIP indicates better performance.
Robert Duffy “Bob” Schultz (November 27, 1923 – March 31, 1979) was born in Louisville, Kentucky, Schultz came to the Major Leagues at age 27 after posting seasons of 20, 16 and 25 victories in minor league baseball. In the minors, he posted a 128–99 record in 345 games, including the 1950 season with Nashville when he had the best winning percentage (.807), led the league in games pitched, complete games, and shutouts; he was 18-11 with New Orleans in 1954 before retiring after the 1956 season with Chattanooga and again with Nashville. Settling in Nashville, Schultz became a house painter and continued to play semiprofessional baseball as well as softball.
1950: 51 games, 25-6, 2.68 ERA, 19 complete games, 5 shutouts, 222 innings, 202 strikeouts, WHIP 1.270
Umberto Mario Flammini (March 3, 1928 – January 1, 1995) was born in East Boston, Massachusetts. He began his pro baseball career in Elizabethton in the Appalachian leage in 1946 before working his way through the Chicago Cubs chain to Nashville in 1950. He spent parts of 1951 and 1952 with the Vols before ending his career with Des Moines in the Western League.
1950: 39 games, 16-11, 4.41 ERA, 11 complete games, 1 shutout, 208 innings, 117 strikeouts, WHIP 1.553
Jimmy Lee “Jim” “Sheriff” Constable (June 14, 1933 – September 4, 2002) was a relief pitcher in the majors from 1957 through 1963 with Giants, Indians, Senators and Milwaukee Braves; he posted a 3–4 record with a 4.87 ERA and two saves in 56 games pitched in the majors. He joined Nashville in 1951 for nine games before spending a full season with the Vols the next year when he led the Southern Association in strikeouts. Born in Jonesborough, Tennessee, he died in Johnson City, Tennessee, at the age of 69.
1953: 41 games, 19-13, 3.64 ERA, 12 complete games, 2 shutouts, 230 innings, 183 strikeouts, WHIP 1.435
James Luther “Jim” Singleton (July 2, 1931 -April 12, 1997) was born in Ironton, Ohio and began his pro career with Sanford (FL) in the Florida State League and continued his rise through the ranks when he joined Nashville in 1953. Singleton played another five seasons before leaving baseball, but not before stopping in Minneapolis and Dallas at the AA level and three years back in A ball.
1953: 42 games, 9-9, 4.64 ERA, 5 complete games, 0 shutouts, 165 innings, 67 strikeouts, WHIP 1.655
Joe Margoneri (born January 13, 1930) is a native of Somerset, Pennsylvania, and was signed by the New York Giants in 1950. That year he had his best season when he was 23-4 for Oshkosh in the Wisconsin State League, and his next-best year was in 1951 with Sunbury (PA) when he was 1808. His baseball career was interrupted by a stint in the Army for three years when he joined Nashville and led the Southern Association in strikeouts and walks (124). He rose to the ranks of the Giants farm club in Minneapolis through 1957, spending part of the 1956 and 1957 seasons with New York. He finished his career in 1960 with an 88-52 minor league won-lost record.
1954: 37 games, 14-10, 6.00 ERA, 9 complete games, 0 shutouts, 197 innings, 184 strikeouts, WHIP 1.574
Richard Elias “Dick” Libby (May 4, 1925 – March 1, 2010) was born in Bridgton, Maine. After serving in the military, he began his ascent through the ranks of the minor leagues in 1947, ending his career with two seasons in Nashville in 1953 (only nine games) and 1954 after two seasons in Minneapolis.
1954: 47 games, 12-16, 6.20 ERA, 7 complete games, 0 shutouts, 183 innings, 102 strikeouts, WHIP 1.814
Joseph Andrew “Joe” “Lefty” “Stu” Stupak (July 20, 1931 – ) was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio, and served four years in the U.S. Navy. His pro career began in 1952 with St. Cloud, Minnesota, in 1952 and Sioux City in 1953 before joining Nashville for the 1954 season. He suffered a shoulder injury which shortened his career, and after receiving a tryout with the Chicago White Sox in 1957, he retired from the game.
1954: 42 games, 9-16, 6.57 ERA, 8 complete games, 0 shutouts, 196 innings, 83 strikeouts, WHIP 1.724
Roy Eldridge Pardue, Jr. (February 1, 1932 – March 15, 2018) was a Nashville native who first received prominence as an outstanding pitcher for North High School and in 1950 and 1951 was named Most Valuable Player in the Nashville Interscholastic League. Pardue signed to play professional baseball with the Nashville Vols in 1952, then served two years in the U.S. Army before resuming his baseball career with the Vols. In 1955, he gave up the most hits (263) in the Southern Association; the southpaw returned to Nashville in 1957 but only appeared in eight games before the Vols placed him on the disabled list on May 26, 1957, ending his career with an arm injury.
1955: 40 games, 17-10, 4.34 ERA, 10 complete games, 1 shutout, 222 innings, 151 strikeouts, WHIP 1.495
Henry Joseph “Rick” Botelho (September 4, 1934 – August 14, 1998) was born in Oakland, California. His first pro assignment was in Wenatchee, Washington in the Western International League before advancing to Modesto where he had his best season with a 17-12 record. That earned him a jump to Class C ball in Columbia (SC) before joining the Nashville Vols late in the 1955 season. He spend the entire 1956 season with Nashville, but retired the next year. His best performance was not as a pitcher, but as a hitter, as on April 27, 1956, Botelho was six-for-six with two homers, driving in eight runs to lead Nashville to a 23-6 slaughter of Mobile.
1956: 34 games, 8-12, 4.70 ERA, 7 complete games, 2 shutouts, 157 innings, 109 strikeouts, WHIP 1.503
James Hopkins “Jim” Bailey (December 16, 1934 – October 12, 2022) played briefly in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds during the 1959 season. He was the younger brother of the late catcher Ed Bailey, who was his teammate (and batterymate) on the Reds; both were natives of Strawberry Plains, Tennessee. Jim Bailey began his career in Moutrie in the Georgia-Florida League in 1956, earning a call from Class D to Class B ball where he was 18-7 combined for Clovis (NM) and Wenatchee (WA). Moving up once again, he spent two seasons with Nashville while also appearing in three games for the Reds in 1959. After a final season at Macon, he retired from pro ball in 1961 after a six-year career.
1958: 35 games, 10-11 3.92 ERA, 12 complete games, 0 shutouts, 189 innings, 118 strikeouts, WHIP 1.513
James Jerome “Jim” O’Toole (January 10, 1937 – December 26, 2015) played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox during his 10-year career. In his only season with Nashville, he led the league in wins, complete games, innings pitched, bases on balls (132), and strikeouts. He was called up to the Reds after the Vols’ season ended and played in Cincinnati until his final season, 1967. That year was spent with his hometown team, the Chicago White Sox, but he was ineffective due to arm troubles. O’Toole tried to return with a 1969 expansion team, the Seattle Pilots, but was cut in spring training before the season began.
1958: 35 games, 20-8, 4.50 ERA, 21 complete games, 4 shutouts, 280 innings, 189 strikeouts, WHIP 1.346
William Jerry Cade (born September 9, 1932) was born in Seattle and attended the University of Oregon. He signed to play for Billings (MT) for 1952, but first served in the U.S. Army for two seasons before beginning his pro career with Phoenix in the Arizona-Mexido League in 1955. Cade was 17-13 for Salem (OR) in the Northwest League in 1956 before splitting the 1957 season between Macon and St. Paul. He joined Nashville in 1958 and pitched in 22 games, but his only full season with the Vols was in 1959. He retired after the 1961 season.
1959: 35 games, 11-9, 4.75 ERA, 10 complete games, 1 shutout, 182 innings, 113 strikeouts, WHIP 1.648
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© 2024 by Skip Nipper. All Rights Reserved.
There are two, and only two, standouts in this class based on what they did in Nashville: Bob Schultz and Jim O’Toole. Those are my votes. If you look at O’Toole’s 1958 season or Schultz’ 1950 season, if they happened at the MLB level, you would say That’s a Cy Young performance. And you would be right. 19 complete games! 21 complete games! Those look like Superman statistics, when many of today’s top MLB starters barely manage 1 complete game a season.
I also meant to vote for Bob Schultz. I didn’t notice that I could vote for two until after I submitted my vote for O’Toole. (I did the same thing with the righties.)