Bullet Joe Bush, baseball player, 1912-1928

Bullet Joe Bush

Born: 11/27/1892 in Gull River, MN, USA

Died: 11/1/1974 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

MLB Debut: 1912-09-30 | Final Game: 1928-09-30

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'9" | Weight: 173 lbs

Full name: Leslie Ambrose Bush

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Biography

Bullet Joe Bush was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, known for his durability and effectiveness on the mound during the 1910s and 1920s. Born in 1892, he played from 1912 until his retirement in 1928, establishing himself as a reliable starter and a key figure in an era characterized by the transition from the deadball period to a more offense-driven game. Over the course of his career, Bush compiled a record of 195 wins and 183 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.51. His ability to strike out batters was notable, as he recorded a total of 1,319 strikeouts, alongside 20 saves. Bush's playing style was defined by his strong fastball and competitive spirit, earning him a reputation as a fierce competitor on the field. He was a significant contributor to the teams he played for, notably the Philadelphia Athletics and the New York Yankees, and he was part of the Yankees' pitching staff during their early years of success. His contributions to the game extended beyond just his statistics; he was a part of the evolution of pitching during a time when the sport was rapidly changing, marking an important chapter in baseball history.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
195 183 489 366 225 35 20 3087.3 2992 1205 96 1263 1319 3.51 0

Career ERA 3.51 vs. league average 3.58 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1912 PHA AL 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 8.0 14 7 4 3 7.88 — 0.0
1913 PHA AL 15 6 39 16 6 1 3 200.3 199 85 66 81 3.82 3.07 (-25%) 216.7
1914 PHA AL 16 12 38 22 14 2 3 206.0 184 70 81 109 3.06 2.93 (-4%) 551.8
1915 PHA AL 5 15 25 18 8 0 0 145.7 137 67 89 89 4.14 2.90 (-43%) -1815.6
1916 PHA AL 15 24 40 33 25 8 0 286.7 222 82 130 157 2.57 2.78 (+7%) -208.3
1917 PHA AL 11 17 37 31 17 4 2 233.3 207 64 111 121 2.47 2.69 (+8%) -992.5
1918 BOS AL 15 15 36 31 26 7 2 272.7 241 64 91 125 2.11 2.83 (+25%) 2001.2
1919 BOS AL 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 9.0 11 5 4 3 5.00 3.09 (-62%) 0.0
1920 BOS AL 15 15 35 32 18 0 1 243.7 287 115 94 88 4.25 3.45 (-23%) -425.6
1921 BOS AL 16 9 37 32 21 3 1 254.3 244 99 93 96 3.50 4.02 (+13%) -467.1
1922 NYY AL 26 7 39 30 20 0 3 255.3 240 94 85 92 3.31 4.18 (+21%) -
1923 NYY AL 19 15 37 30 22 3 0 275.7 263 105 117 125 3.43 4.03 (+15%) -
1924 NYY AL 17 16 39 31 19 3 1 252.0 262 100 109 80 3.57 4.13 (+13%) -
1925 SLA AL 14 14 33 28 15 2 0 208.7 230 118 91 63 5.09 4.55 (-12%) -4933.8
1926 WSN AL 1 8 12 11 3 0 0 71.3 83 53 35 27 6.69 4.11 (-63%) -
1926 PIT NL 6 6 19 11 9 2 3 110.7 97 37 35 38 3.01 4.11 (+27%) -285.9
1927 PIT NL 1 2 5 3 0 0 0 6.7 14 10 5 1 13.50 — 0.0
1927 NY1 NL 1 1 3 2 1 0 0 12.0 18 10 5 6 7.50 4.08 (-84%) -102.6
1928 PHA AL 2 1 11 2 1 0 1 35.3 39 20 18 15 5.09 4.13 (-23%) -82.2

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
581 1239 128 313 59 17 7 137 4 53 194 0.253 0.283 0.345 0.628 -2397.1

Career AVG .253 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — 6.8% below league average.

Career OBP .283 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 15.2% below league average.

Career SLG .345 vs. league average .368 across their career seasons — 6.4% below league average.

Career OPS 0.628 vs. league average 0.702 across their career seasons — 10.6% below league average.

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
1912 PHA AL 1 4 1 2 0 1 0 3 0 0 2 0.500 — — — — 0.0
1913 PHA AL 39 70 8 11 3 1 0 1 0 2 21 0.157 .259 (-40%) .325 (-44%) .345 (-34%) .670 (-39%) -467.5
1914 PHA AL 38 74 6 14 4 0 1 8 0 2 25 0.189 .255 (-26%) .322 (-35%) .339 (-16%) .661 (-25%) -326.1
1915 PHA AL 25 49 2 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 22 0.143 — — — — -403.5
1916 PHA AL 41 100 4 14 4 0 0 6 0 0 23 0.140 .248 (-44%) .314 (-55%) .326 (-45%) .640 (-50%) -805.5
1917 PHA AL 37 80 9 16 2 1 0 4 0 5 12 0.200 .248 (-20%) .312 (-21%) .323 (-23%) .635 (-22%) -279.2
1918 BOS AL 36 98 8 27 3 2 0 14 0 6 11 0.276 .255 (+8%) .318 (avg) .326 (+6%) .645 (+3%) 21.6
1919 BOS AL 5 5 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0.400 — — — — 0.0
1920 BOS AL 45 102 14 25 2 0 0 7 0 9 15 0.245 .271 (-10%) .331 (-8%) .363 (-27%) .694 (-18%) -279.4
1921 BOS AL 50 120 19 39 5 4 0 17 2 3 14 0.325 .286 (+14%) .344 (-1%) .395 (+10%) .739 (+5%) 55.0
1922 NYY AL 39 95 15 31 6 2 0 12 0 3 11 0.326 .285 (+14%) .345 (avg) .397 (+9%) .743 (+5%) 48.4
1923 NYY AL 38 113 12 31 5 3 2 19 0 3 8 0.274 .282 (-3%) .344 (-15%) .390 (+9%) .734 (-2%) -101.7
1924 NYY AL 60 124 13 42 9 3 1 14 0 7 6 0.339 .283 (+19%) .345 (+8%) .389 (+24%) .734 (+17%) 330.9
1925 SLA AL 57 102 10 26 12 0 2 18 2 6 8 0.255 .288 (-12%) .349 (-15%) .407 (+6%) .756 (-4%) -115.0
1926 WSN AL 17 30 1 7 0 0 0 3 0 3 2 0.233 — — — — 0.0
1926 PIT NL 28 49 5 13 4 0 1 7 0 1 10 0.265 — — — — 0.0
1927 PIT NL 7 5 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0.600 — — — — 0.0
1927 NY1 NL 3 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.500 — — — — 0.0
1928 PHA AL 15 15 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0.067 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
10 24 2 5 1 0 0 2 2 4 0.208

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1923 WS NYA 4 7 2 3 1 0 0 1 1 1 0.429
1922 WS NYA 2 6 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.167
1918 WS BOS 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.000
1914 WS PHA 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000
1913 WS PHA 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.250

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 5 9 6 1 60.7 49 18 20 18 2.67

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1923 WS NYA 1 1 3 1 0 16.7 7 2 4 5 1.08
1922 WS NYA 0 2 2 2 0 15.0 21 8 5 6 4.80
1918 WS BOS 0 1 2 1 1 9.0 7 3 3 0 3.00
1914 WS PHA 0 1 1 1 0 11.0 9 4 4 4 3.27
1913 WS PHA 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 5 1 4 3 1.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 9 0 5 0 0 0
P 489 0 208 839 34 50

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1912 PHA P 1 0 1 1 1 1
1913 PHA P 39 0 15 74 2 4
1914 PHA P 38 0 8 55 3 1
1915 PHA P 25 0 7 39 3 3
1916 PHA P 40 0 19 94 6 8
1917 PHA P 37 0 20 61 6 0
1918 BOS P 36 0 16 81 2 5
1919 BOS P 3 0 0 2 0 1
1920 BOS OF 2 0 1 0 0 0
1920 BOS P 35 0 24 66 4 7
1921 BOS OF 4 0 2 0 0 0
1921 BOS P 37 0 13 64 1 0
1922 NYA P 39 0 16 61 0 4
1923 NYA P 37 0 15 74 3 3
1924 NYA P 39 0 24 60 1 4
1925 SLA OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1925 SLA P 33 0 17 54 0 5
1926 WS1 OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1926 WS1 P 12 0 3 18 2 2
1926 PIT P 19 0 5 21 0 1
1927 PIT P 5 0 0 2 0 0
1927 NY1 P 3 0 0 2 0 0
1928 PHA OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1928 PHA P 11 0 5 10 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 488
Left Field 5
Center Field 3
Right Field 4

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1922 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1
1922 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1922 Most Valuable Player AL 4th 19.0 64 0