Alva William Javery (June 5, 1918 – August 16, 1977) was an American professional

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played from 1940 to 1946, spending all seven seasons with the

Boston Bees The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). Then in 1966 they were relocated to Atlanta, whe ...

Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The club was founded in Boston, ...

. He became a key part of the rotation during World War II, which he did not serve in due to

varicose veins Varicose veins, also known as varicoses, are a medical condition in which superficial veins become enlarged and twisted. Although usually just a cosmetic ailment, in some cases they cause fatigue, pain, itch, itching, and cramp, nighttime leg cram ...

. Nicknamed "Beartracks", he made his debut on April 23, 1940. Javery spent the 1940 season primarily as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

, starting four games and pitching in 29 total, finishing with a 2–4 record. In 1941, he became a starter for the Braves, notching nine

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s in 23 starts, earning a 10–11 record in the process. The 1942 season marked the beginning of his workhorse years, finishing fifth in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

with 261. He was second on the team to Jim Tobin, who led the league. Javery also started a league-leading 37 games, and finished the season with a 3.03

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

and was 31st in MVP voting. In 1943, Javery arguably had his best season. He led the league in innings pitched with 303, led the league in batters faced with 1286, finished with a 17–16 record, the only winning record of his career, and finished 17th in MVP voting. He also pitched the final two innings of the 1943 All-Star Game, his first, strikings out three and not allowing a run en route to a 5–3

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

win. He was again named to the All-Star Game in 1944, but he did not pitch. Javery finished the 1944 season with 254 innings pitched, a 10–19 record, and a 3.54 ERA, and finished second in the National League in strikeouts per 9 innings. He showed signs of slowing down in the 1945 season, after pitching in only 17 games and winning two. Two games early in the 1946 season marked the end of his career with the Braves. He was released on May 23, 1946, and sent to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

due to arm trouble the previous two seasons. Javery died on August 16, 1977, in

Putnam, Connecticut Putnam is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 10,214 at the 2020 census. History Putnam, originally known as Aspinock, then part of Killi ...

References

External links

*
Al Javery
at

SABR Sabr () (literally 'endurance' or more accurately 'perseverance' and 'persistence'"Ṣabr", ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'') is one of the two parts of Iman (concept), faith (the other being ''shukr'') in Islam. It teaches to remain Spirituality, sp ...

Bio Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Javery, Al 1918 births 1977 deaths Baseball players from Worcester, Massachusetts Boston Bees players Boston Braves players Evansville Bees players Little Rock Travelers players Major League Baseball pitchers National League All-Stars St. Hyacinthe Saints players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Lexington Bees players