Mordecai Brown by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Mordecai Brown

Page 82

era. Three Finger Brown was one of the top two pitchers in the league with Christy Mathewson again, going 27–9 with a 1.31 ERA.

“Brown is my idea of the almost perfect pitcher. It will usually be found at the end of a season, that he has taken part in more key games than any other pitcher in baseball.” “A catchers efficiency as a thrower depends largely on the pitcher’s ability to have good enough control of the ball, to be able to pitch out when necessary. Brown helps a catcher by the way he watches the bases, not permitting the runners to take any lead on him.”- Christy Mathewson

Here’s a legendary story from that remarkable 1909 season; one that fits the texture of the year, the personalities involved, and the way Brown moved through the world. It’s not a tale of triumph or disaster, but one of those quiet hinge moments that reveal why he was who he was.

The morning had that pale Pittsburgh haze that never quite decided whether it wanted to be fog or smoke. Mordecai Brown liked it that way. It softened the edges of the world, made the ballpark feel like a place apart from ordinary life. He arrived early, as he always did, long before the Pirates’ grounds crew