Herb Pennock

Played For
Philadelphia Athletics (1912-1915)
Boston Red Sox (1915-1922)
New York Yankees (1923-1933)
Boston Red Sox (1934)

Best Season: 1926
Pennock led the American League in WHIP, and was second in wins (23) and win percentage. He walked just 43 batters in more than 260 innings. The Yankees won the AL flag.

The Law Office of McMillan, Murray, Skinner
McMillan, Murray, Skinner, and $50,000...that's what the Red Sox received from the Yankees for Pennock on January 30, 1923.

Norm McMillan was 27 years old and played for the Sox for just one season, batting .253 with no homers and a .299 OBP. He made 35 errors sharing time at third, second and short. George "Smiler" Murray was used as a swingman by Boston in 1923-1924, going 9-20 with a 5.48 ERA in 250+ innings before moving on. Camp Skinner was not a summer vacation spot for kids, it was a player. He turned 26 in 1923 and batted 13 times for the Red Sox before disappearing from the major league map. Thus, the BoSox got swindled by the Yankees...again.

Born
Herbert Jefferis Pennock was born on February 10, 1894, in Kennett Square, PA.

Died
January 30, 1948, New York, NY

Batted:  Both
Threw:  Left

Primary Position:  P

Primary Team:  NYA

Major League Debut
May 14, 1912

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1912
Rabbit Maranville
Cy Williams
Del Pratt
Bobby Veach
Ray Schalk
Casey Stengel
Buck Weaver
Ray Chapman
Herb Pennock

Nicknames
The Knight Of Kennett Square

"The Knight Of Kennett Square" — Pennock was born in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, which is located 25 miles southwest of Philadelphia and 12 miles northwest of Wilmington, Delaware. The tiny village calls itself the "Mushroom Capital of the World."

Similar Players
None

Related Players
Bob Shawkey, Carl Mays and Waite Hoyt were all teammates of Pennock's on either Philadelphia or Boston before teaming with him in New York on the Yankees.

Hall of Fame Voting Year Election Votes Pct 1937 BBWAA 15 7.5% 1938 BBWAA 37 14.1% 1939 BBWAA 40 14.6% 1942 BBWAA 72 30.9% 1945 BBWAA 45 18.2% 1946 BBWAA 16 6.1% 1946 Nominating Vote 41 20.3% 1947 BBWAA 86 53.4% 1948 BBWAA 94 77.7%

Post-Season Appearances
1914 World Series
1923 World Series
1926 World Series
1927 World Series
1932 World Series

Post-Season Notes
Pennock was in the service in 1918 and missed out on Boston's World Series victory.

Feats
On April 14, 1915, Pennock came within one out of pitching the first no-hitter on opening day in baseball history. Red Sox outfielder and future Hall of Famer Harry Hooper singled with two outs in the ninth inning to spoil Pennock's bid.

Transactions
June 13, 1915: Selected off waivers by the Boston Red Sox from the Philadelphia Athletics; January 30, 1923: Traded by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for Camp Skinner, Norm McMillan, George Murray, and $50,000 cash.

Legendary A's manager Connie Mack made a rare mistake in losing Herb Pennock. In June of 1915, Pennock, who was struggling with a 5.32 ERA, was placed on waivers by Mack and claimed by the Boston Red Sox. Mack felt he had plenty of young pitchers coming along who were just as good or better than Pennock. The left-hander went on to win 223 games after slipping through the A's fingers.

Best Strength as a Player
Pennock was a winner. It would be tempting to say he was fortunate to play on three very good teams at a time when they dominated the American League, but it goes deeper than that. Pennock was an excellent pitcher, and his career winning percentage of .597 is higher than that of the team's he pitched for.

Largest Weakness as a Player
His mark of 9.83 hits per nine innings is the third-highest among 200-game winners since 1900. Only Earl Whitehill (9.89) and George Uhle (9.86) posted a higher mark.

Learn More about Herb Pennock
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