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Billy Pierce, arguably the best left-handed pitcher not enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, has passed away at the age of 88.
Pierce, a native of Detroit, signed with the hometown Tigers in 1945 and made his big league debut late that season. But Pierce would be traded to the Chicago White Sox prior to the 1949 season for catcher Aaron Robinson in one of the most lopsided trades of that era and would spend the bulk of his career on the South Side of Chicago. Between 1953 and 1961, Pierce led the AL in complete games thrice, in wins, strikeouts, and ERA once apiece, and was named to the AL All-Star Team seven times. He would also pitch on the Chisox AL pennant winning team in 1959. The Chisox would trade Pierce and Don Larsen (of World Series perfect game fame) to the San Francisco Giants prior to the 1962 season. Pierce’s 16 wins that year were good enough to earn him third place in the inaugural Cy Young balloting (which at the time covered both the AL & NL) and would pitch in another World Series.
Pierce would retire following the 1964 season. He finished with a won-loss record of 211-169 with a 3.27 ERA. Pierce had 193 complete games and struck out 1,999 batters. Those numbers are comparable with Whitey Ford who finished his Hall of Fame career with a record of 236-106 with a 2.75 ERA with 156 complete games and 1,956 strikeouts. To be sure, Ford had a better record and a lower ERA, but Pierce has him beat in strikeouts and complete games. What if Ford had pitched with those mediocre Chicago teams while Pierce pitched with the Yankees? How would they have compared?
Unfortunately, when Pierce got to the Hall of Fame ballot he couldn’t muster 2% of the vote. He did get some consideration last fall from the Golden Era Veterans Committee, but fell short as did his former Chisox teammate Minnie Minoso, who passed away back in March. At the top of this post, you can watch a short video of both Pierce and Minoso at a White Sox fan seminar from earlier this year. The fans who were in attendance must now know how lucky they were to be there.
