Milwaukee’s Best, Part 4: The 50 Best To Play For Braves, Brewers: 20-11
By Phil Watson
Bob Buhl, as shown on a 1957 Topps baseball card.
18. Bob Buhl
Braves 1953-62
The Boston Braves landed right-hander Bob Buhl as a free agent in the spring of 1948 after he was released by the Chicago White Sox organization and he rewarded their faith by emerging as a regular in the starting rotation by opening day the Braves’ first season in Milwaukee in 1953.
Buhl was part of the Braves rotation for the better part of a decade and was an All-Star in 1960, when he was 16-9 with a 3.09 ERA and 1.278 WHIP in 36 appearances, 33 starts, and 238.2 innings.
Buhl won a career-high 18 games in both 1956 and 1957 and led the National League with four shutouts in 1959.
Buhl was third in the NL in ERA in 1953, 1955 and 1959, fourth in 1957 and ninth in both 1956 and 1960. He was in the top 10 in wins five times, was 10th in innings in 1960 and seventh in strikeouts in 1955.
He also made two starts in 1957 World Series for the Braves, but allowed five runs—four earned—on six hits with six walks and four strikeouts in just 3.1 innings.
Buhl was traded to the Chicago Cubs in April 1962 in exchange for left-hander Jack Curtis.
He had been signed as an amateur free agent by the White Sox out of Saginaw (Mich.) High School in August 1946. Buhl remained with the Cubs until an April 1966 trade to the Philadelphia Phillies, who released him in May 1967.
One thing Buhl could not do was hit—he holds the major-league record for the most at-bats in a season without a hit, going 0-for-70 in 1962, and has the records for longest hitless streak (87 at-bats) and the most at-bats with a sub-.100 average, hitting .089 in 857 career at-bats.
Buhl died Feb. 16, 2001, in Titusville, Fla., at the age of 72.
Here are Buhl’s statistics from his 10 seasons with the Braves:
| Year | Age | W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA+ | FIP | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | 24 | 13 | 8 | 2.97 | 30 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 154.1 | 133 | 51 | 9 | 73 | 83 | 133 | 3.75 | 1.335 |
| 1954 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 4.00 | 31 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 110.1 | 117 | 49 | 5 | 65 | 57 | 94 | 3.78 | 1.650 |
| 1955 | 26 | 13 | 11 | 3.21 | 38 | 27 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 201.2 | 168 | 72 | 13 | 109 | 117 | 117 | 3.68 | 1.374 |
| 1956 | 27 | 18 | 8 | 3.32 | 38 | 33 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 216.2 | 190 | 80 | 18 | 105 | 86 | 105 | 4.14 | 1.362 |
| 1957 | 28 | 18 | 7 | 2.74 | 34 | 31 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 216.2 | 191 | 66 | 15 | 121 | 117 | 128 | 3.95 | 1.440 |
| 1958 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 3.45 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 73.0 | 74 | 28 | 5 | 30 | 27 | 104 | 3.90 | 1.425 |
| 1959 | 30 | 15 | 9 | 2.86 | 31 | 25 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 198.0 | 181 | 63 | 19 | 74 | 105 | 123 | 3.88 | 1.288 |
| 1960 ★ | 31 | 16 | 9 | 3.09 | 36 | 33 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 238.2 | 202 | 82 | 23 | 103 | 121 | 111 | 4.10 | 1.278 |
| 1961 | 32 | 9 | 10 | 4.11 | 32 | 28 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 188.1 | 180 | 86 | 23 | 98 | 77 | 89 | 4.98 | 1.476 |
| 1962 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 22.50 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 7.62 | 5.000 |
| TOTALS | 109 | 72 | 3.27 | 282 | 220 | 83 | 16 | 5 | 1599.2 | 1442 | 582 | 130 | 782 | 791 | 110 | 4.05 | 1.390 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/20/2015.
Next: 17. A Home Run Champ For Milwaukee