Top Ten All Time Chicago Cubs By Position

Starting Pitcher — Mordecai Brown (1904-1912, 1916)

Besides being one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, Mordecai Brown had the one of the best (and most accurate) nicknames in the game. He was known as “Three Finger” due to a childhood accident that mangled his pitching hand. The injury actually helped Brown develop his superlative curveball.

That curveball that made Brown’s career was devastating and was well-respected by the game’s biggest hitters. “It was a great ball, that downward curve of his,” said Ty Cobb, owner of the game’s best career batting average, of the curveball that evolved from Brown’s misshapen fingers. “I can’t talk about all of baseball, but I can say this: It was the most deceiving, the most devastating pitch I ever faced.”

Brown won 20+ games from 1906-1911. He owned a 1.04 ERA in 1906. That is still a Modern Day NL record. His career 2.06 ERA ranks fifth in the Modern Day MLB history.

Brown was not just the National League’s best starting pitcher, he was the best reliever. He led the league in saves four seasons in a row, saving a then-record 13 in 1911.

In 1908, Brown got the victory in the last regular season game that gave the Cubs the NL pennant. He also won two games in the World Series that year, giving the Cubs their last World Series title in franchise history (so far).

Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown had a 188-86 record, with a 1.80 ERA. If his 241 starts, he completed 206 of them, and had 48 shutouts.

Next: Closer -- The Slow And Easy Fastball