New York Giants manager John McGraw considered Bugs Raymond one of the greatest pitchers he ever managed–or tried to manage.
“What a terrific spitball pitcher he was,” teammate Rube Marquard later reminisced. “Bugs drank a lot, you know, and sometimes it seemed the more he drank the better he pitched. They used to say he didn’t spit on the ball; he blew his breath on it and the ball came up drunk.”
But after only two successful seasons–1908, when he was the ace of the dreadful St. Louis Cardinals, and 1909, when he went 18-12 for the Giants–Raymond drank himself out of the National League in 1911. One year later he was dead at the age of 30.
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enlarge 72KB, 358x640 1 Bugs Arthur Lawrence "Bugs" Raymond (February 24, 1882 – September 7, 1912) was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1904 to 1911. He played for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York Giants.
enlarge 64KB, 230x640 2 Bugs Raymond
enlarge 93KB, 464x640 3 Bugs
enlarge 67KB, 522x640 4 Bugs Raymond
enlarge 29KB, 720x424 5 Bugs Raymond Born: February 24, 1882 Chicago, Illinois Died: September 7, 1912 (aged 30) Chicago, Illinois
Batted: Right Threw: Right
enlarge 107KB, 640x462 6 Bugs Raymond This picture was taken in 1911
enlarge 96KB, 392x640 7 SGC 40 Played For Detroit Tigers (1904) St. Louis Cardinals (1907-1908) New York Giants (1909-1911)
enlarge 69KB, 342x640 8 SGC 40 Broke into the big leagues on September 23, 1904, with the Detroit Tigers
enlarge 73KB, 375x640 9 SGC 40 Acknowledged as one of the greatest spitball pitchers of his era. Drank himself out of the NL in 1911. A year later he was dead at the age of 30
enlarge 83KB, 378x640 10 SGC 10 Who knows what records he could have set with the proper treatment for alcoholism.
enlarge 99KB, 411x640 11 SGC 40 "What a terrific spitball pitcher he was," said teammate Rube Marquard
enlarge 69KB, 371x640 12 SGC 30 In spite of an uncontrollable addiction to alcohol, Raymond carved out a respectable big-league career, including one stellar season in 1909.
enlarge 82KB, 384x640 13 SGC 30 However, 6 weeks before the 1909 season ended, Raymond quit the Giants to tend bar hanging his uniform in the window to advertise his presence. Missing out on a chance to become a 20-game winner, he still won 18 games and finished with a 2.47 ERA.
enlarge 83KB, 387x640 14 PSA 2 1910 at Spring Training McGraw insisted on buying Bugs a suit of clothes, rather than trusting Bugs to do it himself. Bugs later returned the suit in exchange for a cheaper model and spent the seven dollars he saved on alcohol.
enlarge 83KB, 378x640 15 PSA 3 New York Giants mgr. John McGraw considered Bugs Raymond one of the greatest pitchers he ever managed-or tried to manage.
enlarge 96KB, 395x640 16 SGC 30 A fan threw a piece of brick at Bugs during a semi-pro game in August 1912, Bugs picked it up and threw it back into the stands and randomly hit Fred Cigranz of Chicago. Cigranz ran out on to the field and proceeded to kick and beat Raymond. Bugs was hospitalized for a short time, then released.
enlarge 85KB, 390x640 17 SGC 20 At midday on Sat., September 7, 1912, a maid entered Raymond's shabby room in the Hotel Veley and found him dead in his bed. The coroner found that he had died from a cerebral hemorrhage due to a fractured skull.
enlarge 90KB, 408x640 18 PSA 1 Police arrested Fred Cigranz, who admitted to beating up Bugs several days earlier.
enlarge 84KB, 378x640 19 SGC 50 Raymond also had been in a brawl three weeks earlier and had been hit several times in the head with a baseball bat.
Career Raymond was born in Chicago. He started his professional baseball career with the Waterloo Microbes in 1904.[1] After a short stint with the Tigers, Raymond returned to the minors. He developed his spitball sometime in 1906. With the new pitch, he had a big season in 1907, going 35-11 for the South Atlantic League's Charleston Sea Gulls. Raymond pitched a no-hitter that year, as well, and led Charleston to the pennant.[2] The Cardinals purchased him in September, and in 1908, he was the best pitcher on the team. His 2.03 earned run average ranked tenth in the National League, and his 145 strikeouts were fourth-best. During the 1908 season, he gave up fewer hits per game than Christy Mathewson and threw five shutouts
