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World War II Hurt Feller's CareerIndians Pitcher Bob Feller Was Great, But He Should Be An ImmortalBob Feller had a Hall of Fame career that was interrupted by World War II. More than any other player, Feller's lost time adversely affected his legacy.
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Cleveland Indians ace Bob Feller took little time in deciding whether it would be career or country. Rapid Robert, as he was called because of his great fastball, joined the Navy the very next day, and spent the following four years as a Gun Captain on the USS Alabama. During his time in the Navy, Feller received five campaign ribbons and eight battle stars. He also aged from an energetic youth of 23 to a man who had seen the worst this world has to offer at age 27. Bob Feller Lost His Prime Years When looking at Feller's statistics year by year, it seems that the four seasons he lost -- from 1942 through 1945 -- would most likely have been the absolute prime of his career. The numbers clearly support this: from 1939 through 1941 (his three years before the war), Feller averaged 25 wins and 257 strikeouts per season. In his first season back after the War, in 1946, Feller won 26 games, had an ERA of 2.18 and struck out 348 batters. It's a logical leap to surmise that if Feller was great before the War, and otherworldly after it, he would have been pretty damn good during the four seasons he missed during it. Feller Could Have Been Among the Very, Very Best Assuming Feller's pace during those four years remained fairly steady, he would have won about 25 games a year and struck out 250-300 batters per season. That equates to an additional 100 wins and 1,100 strikeouts for Feller. Adding those numbers to his actual career totals, Rapid Robert Feller could have won 366 games and recorded 3,581 strikeouts. At the time he retired in 1956, those numbers would have ranked Feller 5th in career wins and 1st in career strikeouts. Even today, some 50 years later, he would still rank 5th in wins and 7th in strikeouts. Instead, Feller ranks 35th in wins (266), and 25th in strikeouts (2,581). Very impressive rankings, indeed, and Feller is remembered as a great Hall of Fame pitcher. But he is never discussed in the company of immortals like Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Roger Clemens, or even Greg Maddux, and he really should be. Because, but for the war years, Feller's career statistics and rankings would have been at least as impressive as those great hurlers. He still did pretty well for himself.
The copyright of the article World War II Hurt Feller's Career in Baseball is owned by James Lincoln Ray. Permission to republish World War II Hurt Feller's Career in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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