Herman Polycarp Pillette (December 26, 1895 – April 30, 1960), nicknamed "Old Folks" in the later part of his career, was an American right-handed professional

baseball 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 ...

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, who played in 29 seasons (1917–1945). During his playing days, Pillette was listed as tall, weighing , while batting and throwing right-handed. Pillette played in

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 ...

(MLB) for the

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(one inning in 1917) and

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(1922–1924). In 1922, he compiled a 19–12

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and ranked second in the

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(AL) with a 2.85

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and four

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s, while placing seventh in the AL in wins. Pillette never achieved the same level of success again and concluded his major league career with a 34–32 record and a 3.45 ERA in 107 games. Pillette also played 23 years in the

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

(PCL) from 1920 to 1921 and 1925 to 1945. He set PCL records with 708 games pitched, 23 PCL seasons as a pitcher, and seven PCL teams as a pitcher; Pillette was one of the inaugural inductees into the

Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame The Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame is an American baseball hall of fame which honors players, managers, and executives of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). It was created by the Helms Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles in 1942 to honor those ind ...

, in 1943. Across all levels of minor and major league play for which records are available, he pitched in 789 games and compiled a 298–296 record.

Early years

Pillette was born in St. Paul, Oregon, in 1895. He dropped out of school at a young age to work on his father's farm and began playing semipro baseball in Newberg and

Woodburn, Oregon Woodburn is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. Incorporated in 1889, the community had been platted in 1871 after the arrival of the railroad. The city is located in the northern end of the Willamette Valley between Portland, Oregon, ...

Professional baseball

Minor leagues and Cincinnati

Pillette began his professional baseball career in 1917, playing for the Tacoma Tigers and the Richmond Quakers. He also pitched one inning for the Cincinnati Reds, on July 30, 1917, giving up four hits and two earned runs. Pillette did not appear in another major league game until five years later. Pillette continued in the minor leagues with the Tacoma Tigers in 1918, the Des Moines Boosters in 1919, and the Regina Senators in 1920. He also played for the Standifer Steel Shipyard team in 1918. He began a long association with the PCL in 1920 with the Portland Beavers. Pillette compiled a rare feat, losing 30 games, with Portland in 1921.

Detroit Tigers

In December 1921, the

purchased Pillette from Portland. The Tigers paid $40,000 and players for Pillette and one other player. In his rookie season of 1922, Pillette compiled a 19–12 record, and had a 2.85 ERA — a full point below the league average ERA of 3.87 in 1922. Pillette's performance in 1922 ranked him second in the American League in ERA (2.85), sixth in winning percentage (.613), seventh in wins (19), second in shutouts (4), second in hit batsmen (15), fourth in games started (37), and ninth in

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 ...

() and batters faced (1,183). One of Pillette's losses in 1922 came in a perfect game pitched by

Charlie Robertson Charles Culbertson Robertson (January 31, 1896 – August 23, 1984) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher, and is best remembered for throwing a perfect game in 1922. Early life and car ...

on April 30, 1922. Pillette took the 2–0 loss. After a strong rookie season, Pillette never reached the same level of performance. In 1923, his ERA rose by a full run to 3.85 — up from 2.85 the prior year. And, instead of being among the win leaders, Pillette led the American League with 19 losses. Pillette saw limited action in 1924, starting only three games and finishing 1–1. He played in his final major league game on September 28, 1924.

Pacific Coast League

Although his major league career ended in 1924, Pillette pitched for another 21 years in the PCL with the Portland Beavers (1925),

Mission Reds The Mission Reds were a Minor League Baseball team located in San Francisco, California, that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1926 through 1937. First Missions team In early September of 1914, the failed Sacramento Solons team moved ...

(1926–1933),

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(1933–1935),

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles–based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars ( ...

(1935),

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(1936–1942), and

Sacramento Solons The Sacramento Solons were a Minor League Baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909–1914, 1918–1960, 1974–1976). The current Sacramento River Cats began ...

(1943–1945). He pitched a no-hitter for the

on October 5, 1929, and won a PCL championship in 1937 with San Diego. Pillette was three months shy of his 50th birthday when he appeared in his final PCL game in September 1945. In all, Pillette played 23 seasons in the PCL, compiling a 226–235 record and 3.74 ERA in PCL play. He was selected in 1943 as one of the inaugural inductees in the

. He set PCL records with 708 games worked by a pitcher, 23 PCL seasons as a pitcher, and seven PCL teams as a pitcher. Across all levels of minor and major league play for which records are available, Pillette pitched in 789 games and compiled a 298–296 record.

Family and later years

Pillette's son

Duane Pillette Duane Xavier "Dee" Pillette (July 24, 1922 – May 6, 2011) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four different teams from 1949 through 1956. Listed at , , Pill ...

was a major league pitcher, from 1949 to 1956. On April 30, 1960, Pillette died in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, at age 64 in 1960. He was buried at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Sacramento.

References

External links

Herman Pillette
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pillette, Herman 1895 births 1960 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players Detroit Tigers players Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Baseball players from Oregon Tacoma Tigers players Richmond Quakers players Des Moines Boosters players Regina Senators players Portland Beavers players Mission Bells players Mission Reds players Seattle Indians players Hollywood Stars players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Sacramento Solons players 20th-century American sportsmen