totally random

Today’s subject: Ike Pearson. Context is of the utmost importance when considering the career of Pearson, a Grenada native who pitched in six big league seasons between 1939-48. The right-hander’s record was 13-50, his career ERA 4.83. Not so good. But note that in his prime years — 1939-42 — he had the misfortune to pitch for a Philadelphia Phillies club that finished last in the National League each season. Pearson had a promising debut, throwing 3 1/3 shutout innings against the defending league champion Chicago Cubs on June 6, 1939. He finished that year 2-13 with a 5.76 ERA. In 1941, on a Phillies team that went 43-111-1 — one of the worst teams of all-time — Pearson did a creditable job. He won four games. He saved six others, ranking fourth in the league. His ERA of 3.57 was best on the staff. He made 10 starts and finished 30 games, which led the NL. He also led the league in hit batsmen with eight. Pearson served in the Marine Corps from 1943-45, returning to baseball in ’46 to pitch in five games for the Phils, still a losing team. He finished his MLB career in 1948 with the Chicago White Sox, going 2-3, 4.92, for yet another last-place team. An alumnus of Ole Miss and Mississippi Delta Community College, Pearson died in 1995.