Royal Ricketts
by Martín Abresch
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Royal Ricketts finished his career with a 635-452 record and 2.56 ERA. He holds the career records in wins (635), innings pitched (10,218), games (1,211), complete games (834), and WAR (267.1). He was the first player to strike out 3,000 batters and finished with 4,218 strikeouts. He led the league in wins (1886, 1891, 1898, 1900-01), innings pitched (1888, 1892), complete games (1886, 1888-89), shutouts (1888, 1891-92, 1897-1900), strikeouts (1891-92, 1894-95, 1899-1900), ERA (1886, 1891, 1898, 1900), WHIP (1888-89, 1891, 1898, 1900), K/BB (1885-86, 1888, 1890, 1892, 1895, 1897, 1899), BB/9 (1885, 1887-88, 1890, 1895), K/9 (1895, 1899), and WAR (1887-92, 1894-1901). He twice won the pitching Triple Crown (1891, 1900). He won Rookie of the Month once, Player of the Week 13 times, and Pitcher of the Month 10 times. He played on five Championship teams (Cincinnati 1884-86, 1900-01).
In 1937, the National Baseball League established the Royal Ricketts Award, given to the league’s best pitcher that season. In 1946, Royal Ricketts became the very first player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.