Kid Carsey
From BR Bullpen
Wilfred Carsey
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 5' 7", Weight 168 lb.
- Debut April 8, 1891
- Final Game July 20, 1901
- Born October 22, 1872 in New York, NY USA
- Died March 29, 1960 in Miami, FL USA
[edit] Biographical Information
"They called me a fooler. I made a study of each batter's weakness and knew just where to throw the ball. Sometimes I'd get 'em out and sometimes I wouldn't." - Kid Carsey, quoted in the article Memories of Kid Carsey in the May 1951 Baseball Digest
Wilfred "Kid" Carsey pitched 10 seasons in the majors, twice winning 20+ games. More than half of his major league career was with the Philadelphia Phillies in a lively ball era.
Carsey was born in New York, NY and was playing minor league ball by age 16. In 1890 at age 17 he was all the way out in California, playing for Oakland with much older players such as Peek-A-Boo Veach.
Kid made his major league debut at age 18 with the 1891 Washington Statesmen in the last year of the American Association as a major league. He led the league in losses with 37, as well as hits allowed, home runs allowed, earned runs allowed and wild pitches. On the good side, his 174 strikeouts were 6th in the league.
He moved over to the National League the following year to spend 5+ seasons with the Phillies. He won at least 18 games each year from 1892 to 1895. It was a high-run environment: when he went 18-12 in 1894, his 5.52 ERA was better than the team ERA of 5.63 on a team which finished 71-57 for the year. As the league ERA's went down, however, in the later years of the 1890s, Carsey's did not. He struggled in his major league career after 1896 and spent part of 1900 in the minors.
In 1902, he pitched at least one game of interborough baseball in New York City, playing for the Metropolitans, according to an article in the New York Times of September 1, 1902.
Baseball Digest in May 1951 did an article called "Memories of Kid Carsey". Carsey recalled that when he was a young player, his father served as his catcher. When Carsey pitched for Oakland, he threw a no-hitter against San Francisco. In the article he gave his recollections about Billy Hamilton, Connie Mack and John McGraw. He apparently worked for the Brooklyn Dodgers at the time of the interview, at least during spring training.
The January 1917 issue of Baseball Magazine, in an article lamenting the decline of the drop ball, said that "Another delivery that has gone, but mainly through the change of rules, was the cross-fire, Kid Carsey’s best stock in trade. When a man's foot is glued to a small slab, he can't do much cross-firing." [1]
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 20 Wins Seasons: 2 (1893 & 1895)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 5 (1891-1895)
- 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 4 (1891-1893 & 1895)
- 400 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1891)
