Bill Donovan
Born: 10/13/1876 in Lawrence, MA, USA
Died: 12/9/1923 in Forsyth, NY, USA
MLB Debut: 1898-04-22 | Final Game: 1918-09-02
Bats: B | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 190 lbs
Full name: William Edward Donovan
Biography
Bill Donovan, born in 1876, was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball during the early 20th century, with a career that spanned from 1898 until his retirement in 1918. Known for his skillful pitching and competitive spirit, Donovan finished his career with a record of 185-139 and an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 2.69. Over the course of his career, he accumulated 1,552 strikeouts and recorded 8 saves, showcasing his ability to not only excel as a starting pitcher but also contribute in crucial late-game situations.
Donovan played during a transformative period in baseball history, characterized by the game's evolution from the deadball era into a more offense-oriented approach. His pitching style was marked by a blend of finesse and power, which allowed him to become a key figure on the mound for his teams. With a competitive edge and strategic approach, Donovan left a lasting impact on the game, earning respect from peers and fans alike for his contributions to baseball during a time when the sport was gaining widespread popularity. His legacy is remembered as one of the standout pitchers of his era, reflecting the hard work and dedication that defined the early days of Major League Baseball.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 185 | 139 | 378 | 327 | 289 | 35 | 8 | 2964.7 | 2631 | 886 | 30 | 1059 | 1552 | 2.69 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898 | WAS | NL | 1 | 6 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 88.0 | 88 | 42 | 69 | 36 | 4.30 | -2104.7 |
| 1899 | BRO | NL | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 25.0 | 35 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 4.32 | 144.1 |
| 1900 | BRO | NL | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 31.0 | 36 | 23 | 18 | 13 | 6.68 | -254.6 |
| 1901 | BRO | NL | 25 | 15 | 45 | 38 | 36 | 2 | 3 | 351.0 | 324 | 108 | 152 | 226 | 2.77 | 4224.7 |
| 1902 | BRO | NL | 17 | 15 | 35 | 33 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 297.7 | 250 | 92 | 111 | 170 | 2.78 | 3287.1 |
| 1903 | DET | AL | 17 | 16 | 35 | 34 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 307.0 | 247 | 78 | 95 | 187 | 2.29 | 3894.9 |
| 1904 | DET | AL | 16 | 16 | 34 | 34 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 293.0 | 251 | 80 | 94 | 137 | 2.46 | -857.5 |
| 1905 | DET | AL | 18 | 15 | 34 | 32 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 280.7 | 236 | 81 | 101 | 135 | 2.60 | -139.0 |
| 1906 | DET | AL | 9 | 15 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 211.7 | 221 | 74 | 72 | 85 | 3.15 | -1595.3 |
| 1907 | DET | AL | 25 | 4 | 32 | 28 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 271.0 | 222 | 66 | 82 | 123 | 2.19 | 650.3 |
| 1908 | DET | AL | 18 | 7 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 242.7 | 210 | 56 | 53 | 141 | 2.08 | 3789.6 |
| 1909 | DET | AL | 8 | 7 | 21 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 140.3 | 121 | 36 | 60 | 76 | 2.31 | -54.5 |
| 1910 | DET | AL | 17 | 7 | 26 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 206.7 | 184 | 56 | 61 | 107 | 2.44 | 1363.1 |
| 1911 | DET | AL | 10 | 9 | 20 | 19 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 168.3 | 160 | 62 | 64 | 81 | 3.31 | 249.0 |
| 1912 | DET | AL | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0.90 | 204.8 |
| 1915 | NYY | AL | 0 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33.7 | 35 | 18 | 10 | 17 | 4.81 | - |
| 1916 | NYY | AL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | - |
| 1918 | DET | AL | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.50 | 0.0 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 459 | 1302 | 142 | 251 | 30 | 11 | 7 | 95 | 36 | 77 | 321 | 0.193 | 0.241 | 0.249 | 0.490 | -4388.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898 | WAS | NL | 39 | 103 | 11 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 0.165 | -507.5 |
| 1899 | BRO | NL | 5 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.231 | 0.0 |
| 1900 | BRO | NL | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1901 | BRO | NL | 46 | 135 | 16 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 27 | 0.170 | -772.3 |
| 1902 | BRO | NL | 48 | 161 | 16 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 26 | 0.174 | -813.5 |
| 1903 | DET | AL | 40 | 124 | 11 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 34 | 0.242 | -322.7 |
| 1904 | DET | AL | 46 | 140 | 12 | 38 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 41 | 0.271 | -76.0 |
| 1905 | DET | AL | 44 | 130 | 16 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 28 | 0.192 | -419.4 |
| 1906 | DET | AL | 28 | 91 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 32 | 0.121 | -765.5 |
| 1907 | DET | AL | 37 | 109 | 20 | 29 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 4 | 6 | 34 | 0.266 | 107.0 |
| 1908 | DET | AL | 30 | 82 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 26 | 0.159 | -321.1 |
| 1909 | DET | AL | 22 | 45 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 1910 | DET | AL | 26 | 69 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 24 | 0.145 | -457.8 |
| 1911 | DET | AL | 24 | 60 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0.200 | -39.1 |
| 1912 | DET | AL | 6 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.077 | 0.0 |
| 1915 | NYY | AL | 10 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0.083 | 0.0 |
| 1916 | NYY | AL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1918 | DET | AL | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0.000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | WS | DET | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1908 | WS | DET | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1907 | WS | DET | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 50.0 | 41 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 2.88 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | WS | DET | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12.0 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 3.00 |
| 1908 | WS | DET | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 17.0 | 17 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 4.24 |
| 1907 | WS | DET | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 21.0 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 1.71 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 18 | 7 | 144 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| 2B | 8 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| OF | 37 | 9 | 58 | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| P | 378 | 187 | 173 | 654 | 49 | 20 |
| SS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898 | WAS | P | 17 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 3 | 2 |
| 1898 | WAS | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898 | WAS | SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1898 | WAS | OF | 20 | 0 | 38 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 1899 | BRO | P | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 1900 | BRO | P | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 1901 | BRO | P | 45 | 0 | 14 | 75 | 7 | 5 |
| 1902 | BRO | P | 35 | 0 | 20 | 71 | 5 | 2 |
| 1902 | BRO | 1B | 8 | 0 | 87 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
| 1902 | BRO | 2B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1902 | BRO | OF | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1903 | DET | P | 35 | 0 | 25 | 65 | 6 | 2 |
| 1903 | DET | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1903 | DET | SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 1903 | DET | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1904 | DET | P | 34 | 34 | 28 | 89 | 4 | 2 |
| 1904 | DET | 1B | 8 | 7 | 52 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1904 | DET | OF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1905 | DET | P | 34 | 32 | 16 | 67 | 6 | 3 |
| 1905 | DET | 2B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1905 | DET | OF | 8 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1906 | DET | P | 25 | 25 | 11 | 62 | 3 | 1 |
| 1906 | DET | 2B | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1906 | DET | OF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1907 | DET | P | 32 | 28 | 13 | 56 | 4 | 0 |
| 1908 | DET | P | 29 | 28 | 16 | 39 | 5 | 0 |
| 1909 | DET | P | 21 | 17 | 9 | 29 | 1 | 1 |
| 1910 | DET | P | 26 | 23 | 9 | 33 | 2 | 2 |
| 1911 | DET | P | 20 | 0 | 4 | 25 | 2 | 0 |
| 1912 | DET | P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1912 | DET | 1B | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1912 | DET | OF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1915 | NYA | P | 9 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916 | NYA | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918 | DET | P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 378 |
| First Base | 19 |
| Second Base | 9 |
| Shortstop | 3 |
| Left Field | 16 |
| Center Field | 9 |
| Right Field | 13 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1908 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P5 |