Barney Pelty

Barney Pelty (September 10, 1880 – May 24, 1939) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher known as "the Yiddish Curver" because he was one of the first Jewish baseball players in the American League. As of 2017^[update] he is in the top-ten for his career of all pitchers in the St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles franchise in batters hit by pitch (first), complete games (third), ERA (sixth), and innings pitched and shutouts (eighth).

Pelty was born (and later died) in Farmington, Missouri, where his family was the only Jewish family at the time. His parents were Samuel (who immigrated to the US from Prussia at the age of 17) and Helena Pelty, who were both Jewish, and he was the youngest of six children. His father was a cigar maker, and opened up a cigar store. Pelty and his wife had a son, who became the city engineer of Farmington.

Pelty was offered free tuition at the now-defunct Carleton College in Farmington, Missouri, to pitch for them. While attending Carleton, he met Eva Warsing, whom he married. After two years at Carleton, Pelty transferred to Blees Military Academy in Macon, Missouri, and pitched for the Academy team in the 1899 and 1900 spring seasons.

Pelty began his professional career with the 1902 Nashville Volunteers, but an arm injury cut his season short. After playing semi-pro ball, he was signed by the Cedar Rapids Rabbits of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League for 1903, and pitched in 25 games for them.

The Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Browns got into a bidding war for him in 1903, and the Browns won with an offer of $850 ($30,000 today). Pelty was 22 years old when he made his Major League debut that year. He became a coach when not pitching.

Pelty was a workhorse for the Browns, a member of their starting rotation from 1904, when he pitched 31 complete games and 301 innings, through 1911.

In 1904 Pelty led the league in hit batsmen (20; a franchise record that still stands), and was 6th in wild pitches (9), while pitching 31 complete games (tied for 6th-most in franchise history). In 1905 he was 14–14 with a 2.75 ERA, while the team's other pitchers were a combined 40–85.

His peak year was 1906, when Pelty went 16–11 with a 1.59 ERA (2nd in the AL). He also led the league in fewest hits allowed per nine innings pitched (6.53) and lowest batting average against (.206), and was second in hit batsmen (19). He especially was dominant against the World Series champion 1906 White Sox, allowing one run in 32 innings. In one three-game series against Chicago, Pelty pitched every game, including a scoreless tie in 10 innings. His 1.59 ERA in 1906 is the lowest single-season ERA in the history of the Browns/Baltimore Orioles franchise, and his WHIP of 0.951 is the second-lowest (behind Dave McNally's 0.852 in 1968).