Lew Burdette passed away yesterday after a fight with lung cancer. I wish his family the best and it seems appropriate that he be the next in line in my series on the 1957 Braves.
If Warren Spahn was the Braves’ ace in 1957, Lew Burdette proved to be one of the better number two men in baseball in 1957. While Bob Buhl probably had a better regular season if you just look at ERA and wins, Burdette’s 1.243 WHIP was second only to Spahn’s in the rotation. He walked only 59 batters in 256 2/3 innings and those numbers earned Burdette his first appearance in an All Star Game.
Burdette finished in the top five in the National League in several categories. He finished fourth in wins (17), third in innings pitched (256 2/3) and he was fifth in with 14 complete games. Burdette was very good in the second half of the season. After a 6-6 first half, Burdette went 11-3 in the second half and he walked only 24 batters in 135 second half innings.
Of course all of this goes out the window once Burdette went to the World Series. After the Braves lost game one to the Yankees, Burdette held the Yankees to two runs and won game two. He then threw a seven hit shutout in game five to give the Braves a 3-2 lead in the series. Then after the Braves lost game six, Burdette threw another seven hit shutout in game seven and the Braves won their first world series since the team was in Boston way back in 1914. Burdette walked away with the World Series MVP after the three complete game wins and it’s one of the best World Series performances by a pitcher in history.
Here’s a look at Burdette’s 1957 numbers:
Wins 17
Losses 9
Games 37
Games Started 33
Complete Games 14
Innings Pitched 257
Hits 260
Runs 117
Earned Runs 106
Walks 59
Strikeouts 78
ERA 3.71
Runs Saved Above Average -8
Shutouts 1
H/9 9.11
BR/9 11.24
SO/9 2.73
BB/9 2.07
SO/BB 1.32
Neutral Wins 12
Neutral Losses 14
