Milwaukee’s Best, Part 5: The 50 Best To Play For Braves, Brewers: 10-1
By Phil Watson
Warren Spahn, shown on an undated poster.
5. Warren Spahn, P
Braves 1953-64
Warren Spahn was already a four-time All-Star by the time the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1953 and he just kept on keeping on for another dozen years.
Spahn was a nine-time All-Star for the Braves in Milwaukee, winning at least 20 games in a season nine times, leading the NL in ERA twice, in innings twice and in complete games for seven consecutive seasons from 1957-63.
Spahn was MLB’s Cy Young Award winner—before it was split into two awards, one for each league, in 1957 and finished in the top five in the four other times, including three runner-up finishes. He was also in the top five of the Most Valuable Player voting five times.
Spahn was 1-1 in two starts in the 1957 World Series for the Braves and went 2-1 in three starts—including a Game 4 shutout of the New York Yankees—in 1958.
He signed with the team then known as the Boston Bees in June 1940 out of South Park High School in Buffalo, N.Y., and made his big-league debut for the franchise—now known again as the Braves—in April 1942.
The Braves sold Spahn’s contract to the New York Mets in November 1964 and he also played with the San Francisco Giants before retiring after the 1965 season.
His 363 wins are the most by a left-hander in major-league history and later managed for five seasons at Tulsa in both the Pacific Coast League and American Association from 1967-71. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973.
He died in Broken Arrow, Okla., in November 2003 at the age of 82.
Here are Spahn’s statistics from his 12 seasons with the Braves in Milwaukee:
| Year | Age | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA+ | FIP | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 ★ | 32 | 23 | 7 | .767 | 2.10 | 35 | 32 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 265.2 | 211 | 62 | 14 | 70 | 148 | 188 | 2.97 | 1.058 |
| 1954 ★ | 33 | 21 | 12 | .636 | 3.14 | 39 | 34 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 283.1 | 262 | 99 | 24 | 86 | 136 | 119 | 3.46 | 1.228 |
| 1955 | 34 | 17 | 14 | .548 | 3.26 | 39 | 32 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 245.2 | 249 | 89 | 25 | 65 | 110 | 115 | 3.61 | 1.278 |
| 1956 ★ | 35 | 20 | 11 | .645 | 2.78 | 39 | 35 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 281.1 | 249 | 87 | 25 | 52 | 128 | 125 | 3.20 | 1.070 |
| 1957 ★ | 36 | 21 | 11 | .656 | 2.69 | 39 | 35 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 271.0 | 241 | 81 | 23 | 78 | 111 | 130 | 3.63 | 1.177 |
| 1958 ★ | 37 | 22 | 11 | .667 | 3.07 | 38 | 36 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 290.0 | 257 | 99 | 29 | 76 | 150 | 116 | 3.55 | 1.148 |
| 1959 ★ | 38 | 21 | 15 | .583 | 2.96 | 40 | 36 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 292.0 | 282 | 96 | 21 | 70 | 143 | 119 | 3.23 | 1.205 |
| 1960 | 39 | 21 | 10 | .677 | 3.50 | 40 | 33 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 267.2 | 254 | 104 | 24 | 74 | 154 | 98 | 3.42 | 1.225 |
| 1961 ★ | 40 | 21 | 13 | .618 | 3.02 | 38 | 34 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 262.2 | 236 | 88 | 24 | 64 | 115 | 122 | 3.66 | 1.142 |
| 1962 ★ | 41 | 18 | 14 | .563 | 3.04 | 34 | 34 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 269.1 | 248 | 91 | 25 | 55 | 118 | 125 | 3.59 | 1.125 |
| 1963 ★ | 42 | 23 | 7 | .767 | 2.60 | 33 | 33 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 259.2 | 241 | 75 | 23 | 49 | 102 | 124 | 3.41 | 1.117 |
| 1964 | 43 | 6 | 13 | .316 | 5.29 | 38 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 173.2 | 204 | 102 | 23 | 52 | 78 | 67 | 4.36 | 1.474 |
| TOTALS | 234 | 138 | .629 | 3.05 | 452 | 399 | 232 | 36 | 19 | 3162.0 | 2934 | 1073 | 280 | 791 | 1493 | 118 | 3.48 | 1.178 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/22/2015.
Next: 4. Could Hit Everything ... And Did