Baseball Trailblazers by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

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In 12 seasons with Detroit, he helped the team win three consecutive American League pennants from 1907 to 1909. He had five 20 win seasons for the Tigers, led the American League with 29 wins in 1909, and pitched the first no hitter in Tigers'

history on July 4, 1912.

Mullin was born in 1880 in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Irish immigrants. He attended St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo.

From 1898 to 1901, he played semipro baseball in Wabash, Indiana, and South Bend, Indiana.

Mullin began playing professional baseball in 1901 with the Fort Wayne Railroaders of the Western Association. During the 1901

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season, he appeared in 47 games and compiled a 21–20 record with a 3.48 ERA over 367 innings.

Mullin's career with the Detroit Tigers began with controversy.

Mullin signed to play for the Tigers late in the 1901 season. He subsequently signed a contract with Ned Hanlon's Brooklyn Superbas as well as having signed to play for the Fort Wayne club in 1902. The owner of the Fort Wayne club, Isadore Mautner, sought to have Mullin charged criminally with taking money under false pretenses and perjury. Mautner sent detectives to have Mullin arrested when the Tigers visited Chicago in April, but Mautner's plan was frustrated when Detroit officials moved Mullin, in disguise, out of the team hotel. In May, Mautner sought Mullin's extradition to Indiana, but the Governor of Indiana refused to sign the papers, concluding that the dispute was civil rather than criminal in nature. In July, Mullin was removed by police when the Tigers' train stopped in Fort Wayne on returning from St. Louis. A judge promptly released Mullin, holding that Mautner's remedy was a civil action for damages.

Mullin quickly left town before Mautner could have a new warrant finalized. Mautner later persuaded a grand jury to bring criminal charges against Mullin, and the saga continued to capture headlines well into 1903. In the end, the dispute was resolved in late 1903 with a payment of $1,000 to Mautner.

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In his first season in Detroit, Mullin immediately showed his ability as a workhorse and as a batsman, but struggled with his pitch control and overall effectiveness. He appeared in 35 games for the 1902 Tigers, 30 of them as a starter and 25 of them complete games. He compiled a 13–16 record with a 3.67 ERA, slightly higher than the league average of 3.57. He also led the American League with 13 wild pitches and ranked fourth with 95

batters walked. At the plate, he compiled an impressive .325

batting average.

One of the most impressive outings of Mullin's rookie year came on July 31, 1902, when he held Washington to only two hits and managed three hits and two runs in his own plate appearances.

Two weeks later, on August 18, Mullin faced Boston's star pitcher Cy Young. The game ended in a 4–4 tie when the game was called due to darkness after 11 innings. Three of Boston's runs were scored on errors by Detroit's fielders. Mullin and Young met as starting pitchers 10 times over the next seven years.

Mullin won six of those games.

In 1903, Mullin improved markedly, reducing his ERA by almost a point and a half to 2.25. He appeared in 41 games, threw 31

complete games, and compiled a 19–15 record. He ranked among the American League's leading pitchers in shutouts, games, strikeouts, innings pitched, and ERA. He continued to struggle

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with control as he led the league with 106 batters walked; the first of four consecutive years in which Mullin led the league in walks.

In 1904, Mullin had another strong year, pitching a club record 42 complete games with a 2.40 ERA. He again ranked among the league's leading pitchers in a number of categories. He also hit for a .290 batting average.

The 1905 season was Mullin's most durable. He pitched 382

innings, a figure that remains a Detroit Tigers club record. He compiled a 21–21 record with a 2.51 ERA.

In 1907, the Detroit club hired Hughie Jennings as its manager, and with the bats of Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford, the team finally had a winning combination, as they won three straight American League pennants from 1907 to 1909. During the Tigers' pennant years, Mullin remained the pitching staff's workhorse, appearing in 125 games and compiling a 66–41 record with a 2.63 ERA.

Mullin's best season was 1909, when he started the season with a one hitter on Opening Day and then recorded eleven consecutive wins. He did not lose a game until June 15, 1909, and went on to lead the American League in both wins - 29 and winning percentage - .784.

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In World Series play from 1907 to 1909, Mullin completed all six games he started and gave up only 12 earned runs in 58 innings, for a 1.86 ERA in World Series play. Despite strong pitching from Mullin, the Tigers lost each of the World Series from 1907

to 1909. Mullin had a 2.12 ERA in the 1907 World Series, but the Detroit bats went cold, and Mullin lost both games he started.

In the 1908 World Series, Mullin pitched a complete game shutout for a win. And in the 1909 World Series, Mullin appeared in four games and compiled a 2–1 record with a 2.25 ERA. Mullin's 32

innings pitched in the 1909 World Series remains a World Series record.

Mullin continued as a winner and a workhorse in 1910 and 1911, with records of 21–12 and 18–10.

On April 20, 1912, with a crowd of 26,000 in attendance, Mullin was given the honor of pitching the first game at the new Navin Field, beating the Indians 6–5 in 11 innings. Mullin won his own game with an RBI single.

On May 21, 1912, Mullin shut out the Washington Senators, earning his 200th career win — a 2–0 pitching duel with Walter Johnson.

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And on July 4, 1912, Mullin's 32nd birthday, he pitched the first no hitter in Detroit Tigers history, as Mullin helped himself with 3 hits and 2 RBIs in the game.

In 1913, Mullin got off to a shaky 1–6 start, though his ERA remained respectable at 2.75. On May 16, 1913, the Tigers sold him to the Washington Senators for the waiver price of $2,500.

In Washington, Mullin joined a pitching staff led by Walter Johnson who won 36 games in 1913 and appeared in only 11 games for the 1913 Washington team, compiling a 3–5 record and a career high 5.02 ERA. In July 1913, Washington sold Mullin to the Montreal Royals of the International League.

On January 1, 1914, Mullin announced that he had come to terms to play for the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the newly formed Federal League. He said at the time; "The fact that the Federals are willing to put two or three years' salary in the bank for players looks good to me." He enjoyed a one year revival pitching for the Hoosiers in his home state of Indiana. He appeared in 36 games for the Hoosiers compiling a 14–10 record, and his 2.70 ERA ranked 10th in the Federal League. He also hit