Erskine Mayer

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Erskine John Mayer (born Jacob or James Erskine on January 16, 1889, in Atlanta, Georgia – died March 10, 1957, in Los Angeles, California) was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. His brother, Sam Mayer, played outfield in the major leagues in 1915.

He was 91-70 in his career, with a 2.96 ERA. He was one of the best Jewish pitchers in major league history, 3rd career-wise in ERA behind only Barney Pelty and Sandy Koufax, and 6th in wins, 9th in strikeouts (482), and 10th in games (245).[1]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Minor leagues 3 Major league career 3.1 Philadelphia Phillies (1912-18) 3.2 Pittsburgh Pirates (1918-19) 3.3 Chicago White Sox (1919) 3.4 Pitching 4 Death 5 External links

[edit] Early life

Mayer's paternal grandparents were Jews from Germany. His mother traced her ancestry back to the Mayflower. Mayer's maternal grandmother had converted to Judaism, and both his parents were raised Jewish.

He is an alumnus of Georgia Military Academy and attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he studied engineering. He dropped out in his senior year to pursue his baseball career.

[edit] Minor leagues

In 1910 Mayer signed with the Class D Fayetteville Highlanders of the East Carolina League. Mayer led the league with an .882 winning percentage (15-2).

After a 14-13 season at Albany (Georgia) of the South Atlantic League in 1911, in 1912 Mayer, pitching for Portsmouth (Virginia), led the Virginia League in both wins (26) and winning percentage (.743).

[edit] Major league career

[edit] Philadelphia Phillies (1912-18)

In August 1912 he was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Atlanta (Southern Association) for $2,500. Mayer made his Major League Baseball debut with the Phillies on September 4, 1912.

In 1914 he had a 2.58 ERA and was 2nd in the NL in games (48), 3rd in games started (39) and hit batsmen (13), 5th in innings (321), 7th in wins (21) and complete games (24), and 9th in strikeouts (114) and shutouts (4).

In 1915 he had a 2.36 ERA and was 3rd in the NL in wins (21), 6th in complete games (20), and 8th in games (43). He also batted .239, with 7 RBIs, in a season when the Philadelphia team as a whole had a batting average of .247. He pitched in the World Series that year, going 0-1 with a 2.38 ERA.

In 1917 Mayer had a 2.76 ERA and was 8th in the league in won-lost percentage (.647).

[edit] Pittsburgh Pirates (1918-19)

In July 1918 the Philadelphia Phillies traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Elmer Jacobs.

In 1918 he had a 2.65 ERA and was 3rd in the NL in won-lost percentage (.696), 7th in wins (16), and 10th in complete games (18). He was 9-3 with a 2.36 ERA during his stint with the Pirates.

[edit] Chicago White Sox (1919)

In August 1919 he was selected off waivers by the Chicago White Sox from the Pittsburgh Pirates for $2,500.

Mayer appeared in his final regular season game on September 27, 1919, at the age of 30. He pitched 1 scoreless inning in the World Series that year.

[edit] Pitching

Mayer was not overpowering. He had good speed, but relied more on superb control, a tricky delivery, and an excellent alternately underhand and sidearm curve ball, a pitch that led Brooklyn manager Wilbert Robinson to call Mayer "Eelskine" because the pitch was "so slippery."[2]

[edit] Death

Mayer was operating a cigar store in downtown Los Angeles when he died of a heart attack on March 10, 1957. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in nearby Glendale.

[edit] External links

• Erskine Mayer at Baseball Reference.com
• SABR Bio
• Jews in Sports Bio
• Jewish Major League Career Leaders