Christy Mathewson: Baseball's Most Overlooked Player

When you think of great baseball pitchers who do you think of? If your like most fans you will say Ryan, Clemons, Koufax. One of the most overlooked pitchers of all time is Christy Mathewson. Mathewson played from 1900-1916 with the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds. Mathewson's outstanding stats and persona may have been lost in time. To put it in perspective Mathewson was elected into the first class of the Baseball Hall Of Fame along with other greats Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, and Walter Johnson in 1936.

Mathewson in his career was 3rd all-time in wins with 373, 8th in Earned Run Average (ERA), 5th in WHIP (Walks plus Hits per Innings Pitched) with a 1.059, had 79 shutouts which is 3rd all time, pitched in two no hitters and made the MLB All-Century Team. He is credited with being one of the first to throw the screwball (which is instead of breaking away to a right handed hitter it breaks towards them.) His career record was 373-188. What's more impressive then his life on the field is his life off.

In a world where athletes are subject to scandal and biased media coverage, many athletes get caught up in the limelight. Although, there was not as much press coverage back when Mathewson played he was the definition of a good person. He never played games on Sunday's because he was a devout Christian. He, as a person, was the perfect role model for anybody of that time, for he prided himself on religion and being a good person. For this, he became a fan favorite in New York and his manager John McGraw took him under his wing. Mathewson married Jane Mathewson who was, what else but a Sunday school teacher. Mathewson died in 1925 and is remembered as a great baseball players but I believe he should be regarded as one of the top pitchers in major league history.