20 Wins on a 100 Loss Team

The 1951 St. Louis Browns were not just bad, they were forty-six games out of first bad. They were last in hits, runs scored, batting average, and on-base percentage. They were first only in runs allowed, hits allowed, home runs allowed, earned run average, and average hits per game. They finished the season at 52-102. On a team that had the great Satchel Paige, only one bright spot could be seen, the virtually unknown Ned Garver. Garver had only been in the big leagues for three years, and had not yet had a winning season; however, this would be his year.

Garver was not only the winningest Browns' pitcher in 1951, he was the only one to finish with a winning record, one of only three winning records Garver had in his entire career. He finished with twenty wins (a total of 39% of the team’s wins) and twelve losses (only 12% of the teams losses). Garver's season was more than just the highlight of an otherwise unremarkable career, it was a tribute to those players who rise above their team's record to make something of themselves. Like Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, Garver was able to become an All-Star on a last place team and give hope to those who root for the underdog. Here, are the game by game records of Ned Garver of the 1951 St. Louis Browns — the first and ONLY American League pitcher to have twenty or more wins on a hundred loss team.