Charlie Root
Born: 3/17/1899 in Middletown, OH, USA
Died: 11/5/1970 in Hollister, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 1923-04-18 | Final Game: 1941-09-02
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 190 lbs
Full name: Charles Henry Root
Biography
Charlie Root was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1923 to 1941. Born in 1899, Root made his mark primarily with the Chicago Cubs, where he established himself as a reliable starter. He finished his career with a win-loss record of 201-160 and posted an earned run average (ERA) of 3.59. With a total of 1459 strikeouts and 40 saves, Root demonstrated his ability to control the game from the mound, contributing to his team's successes during a competitive era in baseball.
Root's playing style was characterized by his durability and skill, as he often pitched deep into games, showcasing a solid command of his pitches. His performance in the 1932 World Series became legendary, particularly for his role in the pivotal Game 3, where he faced Babe Ruth. Root's contributions to the Cubs helped them secure multiple pennants, solidifying his status as a significant figure in the franchise's history. As a pitcher who thrived during the interwar years, Root's career remains a testament to the talent and competitive spirit of the era.
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Batting
| PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.0 | 9.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0.111 | 0.111 | 0.111 | 0.222 |
Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 27.0 | 18.0 | 16.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 5.47 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 1926 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.666 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
| Season | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 16.0 | 12.0 | 11.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 5.12 |
| 1926 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 11.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 6.43 |
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 201 | 160 | 632 | 341 | 177 | 21 | 40 | 3197.3 | 3252 | 1274 | 187 | 889 | 1459 | 3.59 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | SLA | AL | 0 | 4 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60.0 | 68 | 38 | 18 | 27 | 5.70 | -169.6 |
| 1926 | CHC | NL | 18 | 17 | 42 | 32 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 271.3 | 267 | 85 | 62 | 127 | 2.82 | - |
| 1927 | CHC | NL | 26 | 15 | 48 | 36 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 309.0 | 296 | 129 | 117 | 145 | 3.76 | - |
| 1928 | CHC | NL | 14 | 18 | 40 | 30 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 237.0 | 214 | 94 | 73 | 122 | 3.57 | - |
| 1929 | CHC | NL | 19 | 6 | 43 | 31 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 272.0 | 286 | 105 | 83 | 124 | 3.47 | - |
| 1930 | CHC | NL | 16 | 14 | 37 | 30 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 220.3 | 247 | 106 | 63 | 124 | 4.33 | - |
| 1931 | CHC | NL | 17 | 14 | 39 | 31 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 251.0 | 240 | 97 | 71 | 131 | 3.48 | - |
| 1932 | CHC | NL | 15 | 10 | 39 | 23 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 216.3 | 211 | 86 | 55 | 96 | 3.58 | - |
| 1933 | CHC | NL | 15 | 10 | 35 | 30 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 242.3 | 232 | 70 | 61 | 86 | 2.60 | - |
| 1934 | CHC | NL | 4 | 7 | 34 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 117.7 | 141 | 56 | 53 | 46 | 4.28 | - |
| 1935 | CHC | NL | 15 | 8 | 38 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 201.3 | 193 | 69 | 47 | 94 | 3.08 | - |
| 1936 | CHC | NL | 3 | 6 | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 73.7 | 81 | 34 | 20 | 32 | 4.15 | - |
| 1937 | CHC | NL | 13 | 5 | 43 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 178.7 | 173 | 67 | 32 | 74 | 3.38 | - |
| 1938 | CHC | NL | 8 | 7 | 44 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 160.7 | 163 | 51 | 30 | 70 | 2.86 | - |
| 1939 | CHC | NL | 8 | 8 | 35 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 167.3 | 189 | 75 | 34 | 65 | 4.03 | - |
| 1940 | CHC | NL | 2 | 4 | 36 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 112.0 | 118 | 48 | 33 | 50 | 3.86 | - |
| 1941 | CHC | NL | 8 | 7 | 19 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 106.7 | 133 | 64 | 37 | 46 | 5.40 | - |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 632 | 1086 | 86 | 196 | 46 | 7 | 11 | 93 | 1 | 44 | 329 | 0.180 | 0.217 | 0.266 | 0.483 | -6115.8 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | SLA | AL | 27 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0.077 | 0.0 |
| 1926 | CHC | NL | 42 | 91 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 0.143 | -802.1 |
| 1927 | CHC | NL | 48 | 122 | 15 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 35 | 0.221 | -606.4 |
| 1928 | CHC | NL | 40 | 73 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 0.178 | -526.4 |
| 1929 | CHC | NL | 43 | 96 | 8 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 0.156 | -688.7 |
| 1930 | CHC | NL | 37 | 80 | 4 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 0.263 | -171.9 |
| 1931 | CHC | NL | 39 | 90 | 7 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 31 | 0.222 | -371.6 |
| 1932 | CHC | NL | 39 | 76 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0.171 | -620.3 |
| 1933 | CHC | NL | 35 | 85 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 0.094 | -896.9 |
| 1934 | CHC | NL | 34 | 40 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0.175 | 0.0 |
| 1935 | CHC | NL | 38 | 69 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 0.203 | -340.1 |
| 1936 | CHC | NL | 33 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 | 0.0 |
| 1937 | CHC | NL | 43 | 67 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 0.179 | -466.4 |
| 1938 | CHC | NL | 44 | 48 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 0.167 | -366.5 |
| 1939 | CHC | NL | 35 | 57 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 0.175 | -258.5 |
| 1940 | CHC | NL | 36 | 31 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0.129 | 0.0 |
| 1941 | CHC | NL | 19 | 33 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0.152 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | WS | CHN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1935 | WS | CHN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1932 | WS | CHN | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1929 | WS | CHN | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 22.7 | 26 | 17 | 6 | 15 | 6.75 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | WS | CHN | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.00 |
| 1935 | WS | CHN | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 18.00 |
| 1932 | WS | CHN | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 10.38 |
| 1929 | WS | CHN | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13.3 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 4.72 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 632 | 0 | 95 | 506 | 15 | 21 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | SLA | P | 27 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926 | CHN | P | 42 | 0 | 8 | 58 | 4 | 4 |
| 1927 | CHN | P | 48 | 0 | 6 | 49 | 2 | 2 |
| 1928 | CHN | P | 40 | 0 | 6 | 39 | 1 | 2 |
| 1929 | CHN | P | 43 | 0 | 12 | 35 | 1 | 2 |
| 1930 | CHN | P | 37 | 0 | 9 | 27 | 0 | 1 |
| 1931 | CHN | P | 39 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 1 | 0 |
| 1932 | CHN | P | 39 | 0 | 8 | 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 1933 | CHN | P | 35 | 0 | 11 | 36 | 1 | 4 |
| 1934 | CHN | P | 34 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 1 |
| 1935 | CHN | P | 38 | 0 | 7 | 27 | 1 | 0 |
| 1936 | CHN | P | 33 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| 1937 | CHN | P | 43 | 0 | 8 | 36 | 1 | 2 |
| 1938 | CHN | P | 44 | 0 | 5 | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| 1939 | CHN | P | 35 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 2 | 0 |
| 1940 | CHN | P | 36 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941 | CHN | P | 19 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 632 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1927 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P1 |
| 1927 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P1 |
| 1927 | TSN All-Star | P |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 25th | 3.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1937 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 12th | 15.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1931 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 20th | 3.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1927 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 4th | 46.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1926 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 16th | 8.0 | 80 | 0 |