Grasshopper Jim Whitney was one of the best professional baseball players in the 19th century. He was a right-handed pitcher who played around the country for the Boston Red Caps/Beaneaters, Kansas City Cowboys, Washington Nationals, Indianapolis Hoosiers, and Philadelphia Athletics.
Early Life
Grasshopper Jim was a New York native born in Conklin. He grew up with his brother Charlie, who also shared an interest in baseball at a young age. The two would grow up playing together, which laid the foundation for what would become a professional career.
The two brothers would alternate positions as one would play pitcher while the other played catcher, which meant that one brother was often pitching to the other.
Career
Grasshopper Jim began playing semi-pro ball with the Binghamton Crickets, which eventually gave him the opportunity to play in the minor leagues.
Jim Whitney would make his major league debut with Harry Wright's 1881 Boston Red Caps. In his first season, he would throw a whopping 57 complete games and pitch 552 innings.
He picked up a reputation for being "the shifted pitcher in the league" and for complaining about calls that didn't go his way to the umpires.
Jim Whitney was also known for his unique pitching mechanics. In 19th-century baseball, the ball was delivered from a rectangular pitcher's box six feet in length. Pitchers would sometimes hop forward within the box before releasing the ball, and some would leap into the air during the process. Whitney had a unique hop when he pitched of which batters would poke fun.
There is some dispute about how he received the nickname Grasshopper. Some say it was because of his unique hop when he pitched, while others suggest he received the nickname because of the shape of his head and the way he walked. Regardless, Grasshopper Jim would become an effective pitcher for many years.
During his career, he tallied up a 191 - 204 record in 413 appearances. He would also set many new records for the franchise that still rank today:
- ERA: 2.49 (4th)
- WHIP: 1.082 (3rd)
- Innings Pitched: 2,263 (9th)
- Strikeouts: 1,157 (8th)
- Games Started: 254 (9th)
- Complete Games: 242 (4th)
- Strikeout to walk ratio: 5.03 (1st)
- Losses: 121 (7th)
- Wild Pitches: 162 (2nd)
While he had many successful seasons, his most memorable was in 1883 when the Beaneaters took on the dynastic Chicago White Stockings.
The Boston Beaneaters were a young club but did not have the star power of the Chicago White Stocking led by Cap Anson and King Kelly. The White Stockings boasted one of the better pitching staffs as well. They were heavy favorites going into the series.
However, the Beaneaters would pull out a surprise victory on the back of Grasshopper Jim Whitney.
A SABR article about the 1883 championship sums it up this way:
Hurling three complete games, Whitney had yielded a modest 13 hits, which in turn produced but two earned runs. Only two batters were able to milk him for walks, while 19 went down on strikes. Anson, Kelly, Gore, Pfeffer, and Ned Williamson together mustered a scant three safeties. After the series ended, the Beaneaters won nine of their final ten to win the title, but the true turning point came in that series against Chicago when Grasshopper Jim Whitney held sway over the 19th-century version of Murderers’ Row.
Later Years and Death
Grasshopper Jim's arm went lame in 1888, and he was never the same pitcher. All of those innings took a toll on his arm, and he was out of the league in his early 30s.
According to the book Baseball Rowdies of the 19th Century, Jim Whitney was considered a brawler. He would often throw over the pitcher's head to unnerve them or hit them with a pitch repeatedly since "hit by pitch" did not exist.
To avoid retaliation from the opposing pitcher, he would swing at the first three pitches regardless of where they were in the strike zone.
In June 1883, Dick Burns hit Whitney in the leg. The next time Burns was at the plate, Whitney hit him in the head on the first pitch. Burns was knocked unconscious and taken to the hospital. Grasshopper Jim was not even fined.
Unfortunately, Jim Whitney's life was cut short. He contracted tuberculosis and died at the age of 33 at his father's home.