Tom Zachary, baseball player, 1918-1936

Tom Zachary

Born: 5/7/1896 in Graham, NC, USA

Died: 1/24/1969 in Burlington, NC, USA

MLB Debut: 1918-07-11 | Final Game: 1936-05-28

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 187 lbs

Full name: Jonathan Thompson Walton Zachary

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Biography

Tom Zachary was a professional baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1918 to 1936. Born in 1896, Zachary played during a transformative period in baseball, witnessing the evolution of the game through the deadball era and into a more offense-driven style. Over the course of his career, he posted a record of 186 wins and 191 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.73. His ability to strike out batters was notable, as he registered a total of 720 strikeouts, alongside 22 saves, highlighting his versatility and effectiveness on the mound. Zachary's playing style was characterized by his durability and competitive spirit. He was known for his ability to pitch in crucial situations, contributing not only as a starter but also as a reliable reliever. His career spanned the early years of the Major Leagues, and he played for several teams, including the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators. While he may not have garnered the same level of fame as some of his contemporaries, Zachary's contributions to his teams and the game itself showcased the skills and resilience of pitchers during a pivotal era in baseball history.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
186 191 533 409 186 24 22 3126.3 3580 1295 119 914 720 3.73 0

Career ERA 3.73 vs. league average 4.10 across their career seasons — 9.1% better than 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
1918 PHA AL 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 8.0 9 5 7 1 5.62 — 0.0
1919 WSN AL 1 5 17 7 0 0 0 61.7 68 20 20 9 2.92 3.09 (+5%) -
1920 WSN AL 15 16 44 31 19 3 2 262.7 289 110 78 53 3.77 3.45 (-9%) -
1921 WSN AL 18 16 39 31 17 2 1 250.0 314 110 59 53 3.96 4.02 (+2%) -
1922 WSN AL 15 10 32 25 13 1 1 184.7 190 64 43 37 3.12 4.18 (+25%) -
1923 WSN AL 10 16 35 29 10 0 0 204.3 270 102 63 40 4.49 4.03 (-11%) -
1924 WSN AL 15 9 33 27 13 1 2 202.7 198 62 53 45 2.75 4.13 (+33%) -
1925 WSN AL 12 15 38 33 11 1 2 217.7 247 93 74 58 3.85 4.55 (+16%) -
1926 SLA AL 14 15 34 31 18 3 0 247.3 264 99 97 53 3.60 4.11 (+12%) -3380.6
1927 SLA AL 4 6 13 12 6 0 0 78.3 110 38 27 13 4.37 4.08 (-7%) -744.0
1927 WSN AL 4 7 15 14 5 1 0 102.7 116 45 30 13 3.94 4.08 (+3%) -
1928 WSN AL 6 9 20 14 5 1 0 102.7 130 62 40 19 5.44 4.13 (-32%) -
1928 NYY AL 3 3 7 6 3 0 1 45.7 54 20 15 7 3.94 4.13 (+5%) -
1929 NYY AL 12 0 26 11 7 2 2 119.7 131 33 30 35 2.48 4.60 (+46%) -
1930 NYY AL 1 1 3 3 0 0 0 16.7 18 12 9 1 6.48 4.80 (-35%) -
1930 BSN NL 11 5 24 22 10 1 0 151.3 192 77 50 57 4.58 4.80 (+5%) 709.7
1931 BSN NL 11 15 33 28 16 3 2 229.0 243 79 53 64 3.10 4.10 (+24%) 2152.5
1932 BSN NL 12 11 32 24 12 1 0 212.0 231 73 55 67 3.10 4.13 (+25%) 2874.1
1933 BSN NL 7 9 26 20 6 2 2 125.0 134 49 35 22 3.53 3.86 (+9%) 1132.8
1934 BSN NL 1 2 5 4 2 1 0 24.0 27 9 8 4 3.38 4.29 (+21%) -82.9
1934 BRO NL 5 6 22 12 4 0 2 101.7 122 50 21 28 4.43 4.29 (-3%) 788.8
1935 BRO NL 7 12 25 21 9 1 4 158.0 193 63 35 33 3.59 4.35 (+17%) 201.1
1936 BRO NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.3 2 2 1 0 54.00 — 0.0
1936 PHI NL 0 3 7 2 0 0 1 20.3 28 18 11 8 7.97 4.59 (-74%) -452.2

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
546 1122 79 254 28 12 6 112 0 62 261 0.226 0.268 0.289 0.557 -3088.2

Career AVG .226 vs. league average .280 across their career seasons — 19.2% below league average.

Career OBP .268 vs. league average .342 across their career seasons — 21.6% below league average.

Career SLG .289 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 26.2% below league average.

Career OPS 0.557 vs. league average 0.733 across their career seasons — 24.0% 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
1918 PHA AL 2 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.500 — — — — 0.0
1919 WSN AL 17 15 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 0.333 — — — — 0.0
1920 WSN AL 51 111 7 29 6 1 0 11 0 10 27 0.261 .271 (-4%) .331 (-3%) .363 (-8%) .694 (-6%) -103.1
1921 WSN AL 39 90 9 23 1 4 0 9 0 2 23 0.256 .286 (-11%) .344 (-19%) .395 (-10%) .739 (-14%) -255.8
1922 WSN AL 32 71 4 21 2 1 1 14 0 3 20 0.296 .285 (+4%) .345 (-6%) .397 (-1%) .743 (-3%) -52.6
1923 WSN AL 35 78 6 15 1 2 0 9 0 3 23 0.192 .282 (-32%) .344 (-36%) .390 (-34%) .734 (-35%) -490.5
1924 WSN AL 33 72 7 22 1 0 0 8 0 5 8 0.306 .283 (+8%) .345 (+2%) .389 (-18%) .734 (-9%) -91.5
1925 WSN AL 38 69 5 12 0 1 1 5 0 2 20 0.174 .288 (-40%) .349 (-44%) .407 (-39%) .756 (-41%) -522.1
1926 SLA AL 34 86 4 23 4 1 1 5 0 4 19 0.267 .279 (-4%) .345 (-13%) .390 (-5%) .735 (-9%) -150.8
1927 SLA AL 13 28 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 9 0.107 — — — — 0.0
1927 WSN AL 15 36 2 5 1 0 0 6 0 2 7 0.139 — — — — 0.0
1928 WSN AL 20 33 1 10 0 0 0 3 0 1 7 0.303 — — — — 0.0
1928 NYY AL 7 15 1 2 0 0 1 4 0 0 5 0.133 — — — — 0.0
1929 NYY AL 26 42 3 10 1 0 0 5 0 1 8 0.238 — — — — 0.0
1930 NYY AL 3 8 2 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0.250 — — — — 0.0
1930 BSN NL 25 54 7 13 3 0 2 8 0 1 10 0.241 .293 (-18%) .354 (-28%) .429 (-5%) .784 (-16%) 0.0
1931 BSN NL 33 84 7 14 2 0 0 3 0 4 10 0.167 .276 (-40%) .338 (-40%) .388 (-51%) .726 (-46%) -654.2
1932 BSN NL 33 77 5 21 3 1 0 7 0 5 13 0.273 .275 (-1%) .335 (-5%) .391 (-14%) .726 (-10%) -130.9
1933 BSN NL 27 42 1 5 1 0 0 1 0 1 15 0.119 — — — — 0.0
1934 BSN NL 5 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1934 BRO NL 24 38 1 7 1 0 0 8 0 6 9 0.184 — — — — 0.0
1935 BRO NL 25 52 3 7 0 0 0 1 0 5 17 0.135 .279 (-52%) .342 (-39%) .399 (-66%) .742 (-54%) -469.6
1936 BRO NL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1936 PHI NL 8 9 0 3 1 0 0 2 0 2 3 0.333 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1928 WS NYA 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
1925 WS WS1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1924 WS WS1 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
3 0 4 3 0 28.3 25 9 5 10 2.86

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1928 WS NYA 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 9 3 1 7 3.00
1925 WS WS1 0 0 1 0 0 1.7 3 2 1 0 10.80
1924 WS WS1 2 0 2 2 0 17.7 13 4 3 3 2.04

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 533 0 83 773 29 27

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1918 PHA P 2 0 1 2 1 0
1919 WS1 P 17 0 3 15 0 0
1920 WS1 P 44 0 5 74 2 2
1921 WS1 P 39 0 6 70 5 1
1922 WS1 P 32 0 4 48 0 2
1923 WS1 P 35 0 9 50 0 3
1924 WS1 P 33 0 3 58 0 2
1925 WS1 P 38 0 17 50 1 1
1926 SLA P 34 0 5 80 5 4
1927 SLA P 13 0 3 17 1 2
1927 WS1 P 15 0 0 15 1 1
1928 WS1 P 20 0 1 32 1 2
1928 NYA P 7 0 2 14 0 0
1929 NYA P 26 0 2 15 2 1
1930 NYA P 3 0 0 7 1 0
1930 BSN P 24 0 5 24 2 2
1931 BSN P 33 0 2 65 2 1
1932 BSN P 32 0 4 39 1 1
1933 BSN P 26 0 1 32 0 0
1934 BSN P 5 0 0 5 0 0
1934 BRO P 22 0 5 18 2 0
1935 BRO P 25 0 5 38 2 2
1936 BRO P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1936 PHI P 7 0 0 5 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 533

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Guilford College Greensboro NC 1917, 1918

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1926 Most Valuable Player AL 23th 2.0 64 0