Speed Martin

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1917-1922)

Speed Martin was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1917 to 1922 for the St. Louis Browns and the Chicago Cubs, a span of 6 seasons. Across 126 career appearances, he went 29-42 with a 3.78 ERA and 207 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 396.8.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 29–42
ERA 3.78
WHIP 1.41
SO 207
Pitcher PIV 396.8
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 165 lb
Born
9/15/1893 in Wawawai, WA, USA
Died
6/14/1983 in Lemon Grove, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1917-07-05
Last Game
1922-04-17

Full name: Elwood Good Martin

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Career Pitching Statistics

Speed Martin — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
29 42 126 63 30 4 6 592.1 645 249 16 191 207 3.78 396.8

Career ERA 3.78 vs. league average 3.43 across their career seasons — 10.2% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Speed Martin — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1917 SLA AL 0 2 9 2 0 0 0 15.2 20 10 5 5 5.74 2.69 (-114%) 35.2
1918 CHN NL 5 2 9 5 4 1 1 53.2 47 11 14 16 1.84 2.83 (+35%) 399.3
1919 CHN NL 8 8 35 14 7 2 2 163.2 158 45 52 54 2.47 3.09 (+20%) 229.1
1920 CHN NL 4 15 35 13 6 0 2 136.0 165 73 50 44 4.83 3.45 (-40%) -58.8
1921 CHN NL 11 15 37 28 13 1 1 217.1 245 105 68 86 4.35 4.02 (-8%) -208.0
1922 CHN NL 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 6.0 10 5 2 2 7.50 — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 29 42 126 63 30 4 6 592.1 645 249 191 207 3.78 — 397

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Speed Martin — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
127 180 10 35 7 1 1 12 2 6 44 .194 .220 .261 .482 -312

Career AVG .194 vs. league average .270 across their career seasons — 28.0% below league average.

Career OBP .220 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — 33.4% below league average.

Career SLG .261 vs. league average .363 across their career seasons — 28.0% below league average.

Career OPS .482 vs. league average .693 across their career seasons — 30.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Speed Martin — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1917 SLA AL 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1918 CHN NL 9 16 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .188 — — — — 0.0
1919 CHN NL 35 44 3 8 1 0 0 2 0 1 15 .182 — — — — 0.0
1920 CHN NL 35 44 5 7 1 0 1 4 1 3 10 .159 — — — — 0.0
1921 CHN NL 37 73 2 17 4 1 0 6 1 1 16 .233 .286 (-19%) .344 (-29%) .395 (-20%) .739 (-25%) -312.0
1922 CHN NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 127 180 10 35 7 1 1 12 2 6 44 .194 — — — — -312

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (253 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Speed Martin — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home639151705.187
Away648951815.202

Pitching — Home / Away

Speed Martin — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home63310.23391251071163.62
Away63280.129912085953.85

Last 10 Games — Batting

Speed Martin — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1922-04-17 CHCSTLW 100000011
1921-10-01 CHCCINL 100000001
1921-09-28 CHCCINW 100000001
1921-09-25 CHCBSNW 100000000
1921-09-21 CHCNY1L 100000000
1921-09-04 CHCSTLW 401000000
1921-08-30 CHCNY1L 300000001
1921-08-26 CHCBROW 512000002
1921-08-20 CHCPHIW 300000001
1921-08-18 CHCBSNL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Speed Martin — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1922-04-17 CHCSTL W 6.01055220
1921-10-01 CHCCIN — 3.0622010
1921-09-28 CHCCIN W 5.0400020
1921-09-25 CHCBSN — 4.0554331
1921-09-21 CHCNY1 — 2.0744100
1921-09-04 CHCSTL W 9.0400420
1921-08-30 CHCNY1 L 7.2755222
1921-08-26 CHCBRO W 9.0733371
1921-08-20 CHCPHI W 9.0622160
1921-08-18 CHCBSN L 0.1472101

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Speed Martin — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 126 0 31 191 10 6

Season-by-Season Fielding

Speed Martin — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1917 SLA P 9 0 3 11 1 0
1918 CHN P 9 0 4 18 1 1
1919 CHN P 35 0 9 53 3 3
1920 CHN P 35 0 6 44 4 1
1921 CHN P 37 0 9 65 1 1
1922 CHN P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Speed Martin — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 126

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Speed Martin (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bill Steele
    37-43, 4.02 ERA
  2. 96
    Bob Keegan
    40-36, 3.66 ERA
  3. 95
    Walt Dickson
    26-50, 3.60 ERA
  4. 92
    Dickey Kerr
    53-34, 3.84 ERA
  5. 92
    Gene Schott
    28-41, 3.72 ERA
  6. 91
    Sig Jakucki
    25-22, 3.79 ERA

Speed Martin: the record in brief

According to the bio, Speed Martin debuted on July 5, 1917 and played a final game on April 17, 1922. By club, Martin's seasons break down as the St. Louis Browns (1917) and the Chicago Cubs (1918 through 1922). Martin played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on September 15, 1893, in Wawawai, WA, USA and a listed size of 6'0" and 165 pounds. The bio records the death on June 14, 1983, in Lemon Grove, CA, USA. The bio lists the given name Elwood Good.

The pitching table credits Martin with a 29-42 record and a 3.78 ERA in 126 games. Martin had 207 strikeouts and 30 complete games. The league ERA over Martin's seasons was 3.43, so the 3.78 figure ran 10.2% worse than average. No season topped the 11 wins of 1921. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 2.47 in 1919, when the league's was 3.09.

Frequently Asked Questions about Speed Martin

What years did Speed Martin play?
Speed Martin played in Major League Baseball from 1917 to 1922.
Was Speed Martin a pitcher?
Yes. Speed Martin pitched in the major leagues, recording 29 wins and 207 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Speed Martin hit?
Speed Martin hit 1 career home run with 35 hits.
What teams did Speed Martin play for?
Speed Martin played for 2 teams: the St. Louis Browns (1917) and the Chicago Cubs (1918–1922).
What were Speed Martin's career stats?
In 126 games, Speed Martin went 29-42 with a 3.78 ERA, 207 strikeouts, 592.1 innings pitched, and 6 saves.
What position did Speed Martin play?
Speed Martin played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Speed Martin and how much did he weigh?
Speed Martin was listed at 6 feet and 165 pounds.
What was Speed Martin's career ERA?
Speed Martin finished with a 3.78 career ERA, going 29-42 with 207 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Speed Martin have?
Speed Martin recorded 207 career strikeouts.
Is Speed Martin in the Hall of Fame?
No. Speed Martin has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.