Frank Bissell "Lefty" Killen (November 30, 1870 – December 3, 1939) was a professional

baseball player Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. He was a left-handed

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, ...

over parts of ten seasons (1891–1900) with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, Washington Senators (NL),

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Boston Beaneaters Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

and Chicago Orphans. He was born and later died in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, at the age of 69.

Career

In 1893, Killen posted a league-best 36 victories against fourteen defeats. No left-hander in National League history has won as many games since then. He was 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 ...

wins leader in 1893Sent It Back: Frank Killen Asked to Sign a Cheap John Contract
" Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: ''The Pittsburgh Post'', February 12, 1893, p. 6 (subscription required). and 1896 with Pittsburgh, leading the league in complete games and

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s in 1896. For his career, he compiled a 164–131 record in 321 appearances, with a 3.78

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 725

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s. As a hitter, Kileen posted a career .241

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(241-for-998) with eleven

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

, 127 RBI, 151

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

and drew 131

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Killen, Frank 1870 births 1939 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Pittsburgh Milwaukee Brewers (1891) players Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Boston Beaneaters players Pittsburgh Pirates players Chicago Orphans players National League (baseball) wins champions Minor league baseball managers Grand Rapids Shamrocks players Manistee (minor league baseball) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Toronto Canucks players Wheeling Stogies players Indianapolis Indians players Atlanta Crackers players

Career

See also

References

External links