One of the greatest control artists
of all time, Phillippe averaged just 1.25 walks per nine innings over his
career. He broke in with Louisville of the NL in 1899, winning 20 and pitching
a no-hitter (5/25/99) to beat the Giants 7-0. When the NL pared to eight
teams the next year, Phillippe was one of the players former Louisville
owner Barney Dreyfuss took to Pittsburgh when he purchased the Pirates.
The tall righthander won 22, 20, and 24 for Pirate pennant winners in 1901-03.
After a slump in 1904, he came back to win 22 in 1905. He was the Pittsburgh
star in the first World Series (1903) when injuries decimated the Pirate
pitching staff. He pitched a six-hitter to defeat Cy Young in Game One of
the best-of-nine, a four-hitter to win Game Three, and, following a rain-out,
a nine-hitter to win Game Four. After two straight Pirate losses, Phillippe
pitched his fourth complete game but lost to Young. Three days later, he
threw his record fifth complete game and allowed only three runs on eight
hits, but Boston's Bill Dinneen ended the Series with a three-hitter. In
1910, after several years battling a sore arm, he won 13 straight games
to go 14-2.