gold star for USAHOF

49. Eddie Foster

Eddie Foster was one of the better leadoff men in the 1910s, but as he played for the Washington Senators, he did not receive a lot of attention.

Debuting for the Senators in 1912, he led the American League in At Bats four times (1912, 1914, 1915 & 1918), and swiped at least 20 bases in his first four years in Washington.  While he was not the most prolific hitter, he did compile 1,177 Hits over his eight years in D.C..

Mostly, Foster was lauded for his defensive skills, especially; in the deadball era that he played in. 

239. Joe Judge

Joe Judge played the vast majority of his career with the Washington Senators, where he was one of the best First Baseman of the American League during his era.

Judge debuted for the Washington Senators in 1915, and two years later, he was cemented as the starter at First for the Sens. Judge would regularly collect Hits, and as a Senator, he had nine .300-plus seasons.  The First Baseman helped lead Washington to their first World Series win in franchise history, and he would amass 2,352 Hits and a .298 Batting Average over his career.

190. Buddy Myer

Buddy Myer was referred to as the "cocky little Second Baseman," though that was not meant as a compliment, and was usually used by opponents or opponents' fans after Myer did well.

According to his peers, Myer was one of those super-nice guys, but once on the field, he was one of the most tenacious players in diamond history.  He first cracked the Majors with Washington in 1925, where, as a rookie, he was part of their American League pennant win.  He would take over as their starting Shortstop the year after, batting .304, which would be the Infielder's first of eight .300 years.  The Senators inexplicably traded Myer to Boston during the 1927 season, and in 1928, he led the AL in Stolen Bases.  Washington reacquired Myer in the offseason, and they never let him go again.

Myer later helped the Senators win the Pennant in 1933, though they would lose to the New York Giants.  It was a tumultuous year for Myer, who got involved in a bloody brawl with Ben Chapman, who made anti-Semitic remarks toward Myer.  This was par for the course for Chapman, who later tormented Jackie Robinson with racial slurs when he was the Phillies Manager.

Myer would later go to two All-Star Games and win the Batting Title in 1935.  That year, he finished fourth in MVP voting.  Myer played until 1941 and left the game with 2,131 Hits and a lifetime Batting Average of .303.

147. Camilo Pascual

Camilo Pascual left Cuba in 1951 at the age of 17, and a year later, he was part of the Washington Senators’ farm system. Pasucal was impressive and made the Washington main roster in 1954.

Pascual was largely unimpressive in his first few years, but he came of age in 1959, when he went 17-10 and led the American League in Complete Games (17) and FIP (2.44).  The Cuban was an All-Star for the first time and would be in four of the next five seasons.

The Senators relocated to Minnesota, becoming the Twins in 1961, and in the first three years of the franchise's relocation, he was the league-leader in Strikeouts.  The Twins won the American League Pennant in 1965, of which Pascual was a part, but he was no longer the same Pitcher by this time.

He was traded back to the city of Washington and the new version of the Senators at the end of the 1966 season, and he had a pair of 12 Win years.  He finished his career with Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and Cleveland, retiring in 1971 with a 174-170 record with 2,167 Strikeouts.

128. Firpo Marberry

The quick synopsis of Fred “Firpo” Marberry is a Pitcher who was used in a way that was ahead of its time.

Marberry was one of the best hurlers of the 1920s, and the Washington Senators used him mostly as a reliever, making him one of the first players in baseball to be used in that capacity.  Debuting in 1923, the following season, Marberry led the American League in Games Pitched (50), Games Finished (31), and Saves (15), and in the '24 World Series, he appeared in four games with a 0-1 record with a 1.13 ERA en route to the championship win over the New York Giants.

Over the rest of his run with Washington, Marberry repeated similar seasons, and he led the AL in Games Pitched five more times, Games Finished three more times, and Saves five more times.  Marberry’s value to Washington was incalculable, and he set the template in which other relievers would follow.

Marberry would later have stints with the Detroit Tigers and New York Giants before finishing his career in a return to Washington.  While his 99 career saves seem pedestrian today, he accomplished those over multi-inning appearances and was a closer before anyone knew what that meant. 

183. Dutch Leonard

There were two Pitchers in baseball who were named Dutch Leonard.  The first was Hubert “Dutch” Leonard, who was a lefthander who had a 139-113 record with two World Series Championships with the Boston Red Sox.  The second was Emil John “Dutch” Leonard, a righthander who may not have had a World Series Ring, but had a much longer tenure and was one of the better knuckleballers in baseball history.

Leonard debuted in 1933 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and while he had a decent 1934 (14-11, 3.28 ERA), he faltered and was back in the minors by 1936.  The minors allowed him to perfect his knuckleball, and he was back in the Majors, this time with the Washington Senators, with whom he returned in 1938.

With the Senators, Leonard secured a 20 Win season (1939) and would go to three All-Star Games.  He was in the top ten in bWAR for Pitchers and ERA four times with Washington.  The knuckleballer was also first in WHIP (1938), and twice in BB/9 (1938 & 1943) as a Senator.

As is typical with many who mastered the knuckleball, Leonard played into his 40s.  He was with Philadelphia for two years, and at the age of 40, he joined the Chicago Cubs, where he played five more seasons, including an All-Star season in 1951.

Leonard had 191 Wins against 181 Losses over his career.

171. Mickey Vernon

Mickey Vernon arrived in the Majors in 1939 with the Washington Senators, and he was entrenched as their starting First Baseman in 1941.  Vernon would do well in the early 40s, with three straight 145-plus Hit seasons before World War II, and he would miss 1944 and 1945.  When he returned, he would take his place in the upper tier of First Basemen.

The popular player would be named an All-Star in 1946, leading the American League in Doubles (51) and Batting Average (.353), and he would place fifth in MVP voting.  Vernon was an All-Star again in 1948 and would join the Cleveland Indians for a year and a half before returning to Washington.  The 1950s saw Vernon go to four consecutive All-Star Games (1953-056), and he won his second Batting Title in 1953.  He also would top the leaderboard in Doubles in the AL in both '53 and 1954, both of which were top ten finishes in MVP voting.

Vernon would play two years with the Boston Red Sox (1956-57), another with Cleveland, and one more with the Milwaukee Braves.

In his final season in baseball (1960), he was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the World Series.  He didn’t play in that series, but it was a nice end to an excellent career that would see him accrue 2,495 Hits.

173. Bobo Newsom

When you are named Bobo Newsom, you have to assume that the possessor is a colorful character.  He was, but there was a period where Newsom was also an excellent Pitcher.

Looking at Newsom's career, the first thing you notice is that he had a losing record of 211-222 and led his league in losses four times.  You also see that he was a vagabond pitcher who played for eight different teams, some of which he played for on multiple occasions.  Yet, this is a guy who stuck around a lot and struck out a ton of batters, so the value of Newsom is definitely there.

On three occasions, Newsom was a 20 Game winner, and he was an All-Star in all of those years.  Newson won the Strikeout Title in 1942 (113), and in the five seasons leading up to that, he was the runner-up.  Newson would end up with a nice number of 2,082 Strikeouts over his career.

While Newson was not known for having a great ERA, he did have four top-ten finishes in that stat, and regarding overall efficiency, he also had six top-seven ranks in bWAR for Pitchers.  Newsom also won a World Series Ring with the New York Yankees in 1947.

50. Tom Zachary

A member of the 1924 World Series Championship Team, Tom Zachary would have four seasons for the Washington Senators where he hit the 15 Win mark.  The lefthander would go 2-0 in the ’24 World Series and he finished in second place in ERA during the regular season.  He would later win a second World Series Ring with the 1929 New York Yankees.

Zachary's Senators record was 96 and 104 with a 3.78 ERA.

37. George Case

Leading the American League in Stolen Bases five years in a row (1939-43) George Case was one of the fastest players in his time.  Case would be chosen for three All-Star Games (albeit two during the War when there were limited stars in MLB) Case would finish as high as ninth in MVP voting (1945) and had two other years where he received MVP votes.  The outfielder would have three .300 seasons and four campaigns where he accrued over 100 Runs Scored.

Case collected 1,306 Hits, 321 Stolen Base with a .288 Batting Average

44. Jim Shaw

Playing all of his nine of his Major League seasons with the Washington Senators, Jim Shaw may have had a losing record over his career (84-98), Jim Shaw was still a good pitcher who would finish in the top ten in Strikeouts four times and would lead the AL in Innings Pitched in 1919.  He was nicknamed “Grunting” Jim Shaw, as like many tennis players when they hit the ball, he would grunt with every pitch.

45. Roy Sievers

A former Rookie of the Year for the St. Louis Browns in 1949, Roy Sievers became an offensive star for the Washington Senators in the 1950’s.  Sievers would be named to three All-Star Games as a Senator and would finish in the top five in Home Runs three times.  In 1957, he would win the Home Run and RBI Title while finishing third in American League MVP voting.

Sievers had 180 Home Runs with 823 Hits as a Senator.
Patrolling the Shortstop position for over a decade for the Washington Senators, George McBride was one of the best defensive infielders of his day.  McBride had seven seasons where he had a Defensive bWAR over 2.0 and two where he went over 3.0.  Career wise, McBride would lead the AL in Defensive bWAR four times (though granted in a time where this wasn’t a statistic) and as of this writing he is 25th overall career wise in that metric.

27. Eddie Yost

One of the most patient hitters in baseball history, Eddie Yost would lead the American League four times in Walks as a member of the Washington Senators.  While Yost would not win an On Base Percentage Title in Washington (he did in both of his seasons in Detroit) he did exceed the .400 mark six times.  Yost would also tabulate 1,521 Hits in Washington.

31. Buddy Lewis

Spending his entire professional baseball career with the Washington Senators, Buddy Lewis looked liked he was primed for greatness.  A hitting machine, Lewis had six straight 160 plus Hit seasons by the age of 24, and was only behind only Ty Cobb in the statistic of Hits by a similar age.

25. Ossie Bluege

Playing for the Washington Senators for all of his eighteen MLB seasons, Ossie Bluege was not known as a great hitter, though he was consistent enough to put together 1,751 Hits over his tenure.  Bluege was best known for his defensive skills at the hot corner and would likely have been a multi-time Gold Glove winner had that award existed at the time.
Heinie Manush was one of the most successful hitters in baseball in terms of Batting Average, as he retired with a .330 BA.  Manush was with the Senators for six years, and while we did not win a Batting Title as a Sen, he did finish in the top five three times while playing in the Capital.  Manush would however lead the AL in Hits and Triples in 1933, the season he would help take Washington to the American League Pennant.  He would finish third in MVP voting that year and also do so the season before.

24. Cecil Travis

There were few players who more hurt their baseball career more from serving their country in World War II than Cecil Travis.  Travis was a three-time All-Star and in the ’41 season, he would lead the American League in Hits with a .359 Batting Average.  Travis batted over .300 six other times and in that season before World War II finished sixth in MVP voting.
A feared knuckleball pitcher (Jackie Robinson said as much), Dutch Leonard went to three All-Star Games as a Washington Senator.  For a knuckballer, Leonard had very good control, twice leading the AL in BB/9 and once and WHIP.  As a testament o his lack of walks delivered, Leonard once led the league in SO/BB, which was especially incredible considering that he was not regarded as a Pitcher who struck out many batters.

With the Senators, Leonard had a record of 118-101 with a 3.27 ERA.

19. Joe Cronin

Joe Cronin is far more known for being a member of the Boston Red Sox.  The BoSox retired his number and he represented the American League in the All-Star Game five times.  Still, Cronin’s overall production with the Washington Senators isn’t that far off from what he accomplished in Massachusetts.