I Don't Need No Stinkin' DH

I Don't Need No Stinkin' DH

Walther Johnson one of the greatest pitchers of all-time, was not a slouch with the bat

Walter "The Big Train" Johnson is known as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. His career pitching records are legendary, some of which are unbroken nine decades after he retired from baseball. He remains by far the all-time career leader in shutouts with 110 and second in wins with 417. He held the career record in strikeouts for nearly 56 years, with 3,508. Moreover, Johnson led the American League in strikeouts a record 12 times. Amazingly, he had 11 seasons with an earned run average below 2.00, and what seems almost incomprehensible a century later, 531 complete games in 666 starts.

But few people remember that Johnson knew how to handle a bat. Walter hit more homers than he allowed in four seasons (1910, 1915, 1916, 1919). In four other seasons he hit as many homers as opposing batters (1908, 1909, 1912, 1914). Johnson also had 94 career doubles and a surprising 41 career triples which is quite an unusual feat for any pitcher. Needless to say with the implementation of the DH now in both the American and National Leagues, most of these batting records for a pitcher will likely stand forever--even with Shohei Ohtani.