Lon Warneke
The Arkansas Hummingbird could really swing the bat for a pitcher. Warneke's .223 career average and 97 RBI across 962 at-bats made him a legitimate two-way threat in an era when pitchers were expected to help themselves offensively.
His best season came in 1933 when he posted a microscopic 2.00 ERA with an ERA+ of 193 — meaning he was nearly twice as effective as the average pitcher that year. That performance anchored a Cubs rotation that helped Chicago compete in the competitive National League of the early 1930s.
Warneke's 192-121 career record and five All-Star selections reflect sustained excellence over 16 seasons. His 3.18 ERA and 122 ERA+ demonstrate he was consistently above average in a pitcher-friendly era, combining durability with effectiveness in 2,782 innings of work.
Career · Hitting
15 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | CHC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1931 | CHC | 20 | 19 | 0 | 2 | .263 | — | — |
| 1932 | CHC | 35 | 99 | 0 | 9 | .192 | — | — |
| 1933 | CHC | 39 | 100 | 2 | 13 | .300 | — | — |
| 1934 | CHC | 52 | 113 | 0 | 8 | .195 | — | — |
| 1935 | CHC | 44 | 91 | 0 | 15 | .220 | — | — |
| 1936 | CHC | 40 | 84 | 1 | 5 | .202 | — | — |
| 1937 | STL | 36 | 80 | 0 | 10 | .263 | — | — |
| 1938 | STL | 31 | 71 | 0 | 6 | .324 | — | — |
| 1939 | STL | 34 | 52 | 0 | 8 | .192 | — | — |
| 1940 | STL | 33 | 86 | 1 | 13 | .209 | — | — |
| 1941 | STL | 37 | 77 | 0 | 4 | .117 | — | — |
| 1942 | CHC | 27 | 62 | 0 | 4 | .258 | — | — |
| 1943 | CHC | 21 | 26 | 0 | 0 | .192 | — | — |
| 1945 | CHC | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — |
| Career | 459 | 962 | 4 | 97 | .223 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
15 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | CHC | 1 | 1.3 | 0 | 0 | 33.75 | 14 | 0 | 5.250 |
| 1931 | CHC | 20 | 64.3 | 2 | 4 | 3.22 | 127 | 27 | 1.617 |
| 1932 | CHC | 35 | 277.0 | 22 | 6 | 2.37 | 174 | 106 | 1.123 |
| 1933 | CHC | 36 | 287.3 | 18 | 13 | 2.00 | 193 | 133 | 1.173 |
| 1934 | CHC | 43 | 291.3 | 22 | 10 | 3.21 | 134 | 143 | 1.164 |
| 1935 | CHC | 42 | 261.7 | 20 | 13 | 3.06 | 142 | 120 | 1.173 |
| 1936 | CHC | 40 | 240.3 | 16 | 13 | 3.45 | 133 | 113 | 1.340 |
| 1937 | STL | 36 | 238.7 | 18 | 11 | 4.53 | 96 | 87 | 1.462 |
| 1938 | STL | 31 | 197.0 | 13 | 8 | 3.97 | 110 | 89 | 1.335 |
| 1939 | STL | 34 | 162.0 | 13 | 7 | 3.78 | 113 | 59 | 1.290 |
| 1940 | STL | 33 | 232.0 | 16 | 10 | 3.14 | 134 | 85 | 1.216 |
| 1941 | STL | 37 | 246.0 | 17 | 9 | 3.15 | 125 | 83 | 1.256 |
| 1942 | CHC | 27 | 181.0 | 11 | 11 | 2.73 | 131 | 59 | 1.155 |
| 1943 | CHC | 21 | 88.3 | 4 | 5 | 3.16 | 111 | 30 | 1.132 |
| 1945 | CHC | 9 | 14.0 | 0 | 1 | 3.86 | 95 | 6 | 1.214 |
| Career | 445 | 2782.2 | 192 | 121 | — | — | 1140 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.