Pop Haines began his career with the Reds. He threw a five inning game in 1918, didn’t play in 1919 and in 1920 he was sold to the Cardinals. He threw 300 innings that year and lost 20 games with an ERA that was right at the league average (2.98). His first good year was 1923 when he won 20 games and finished fifth in the National League with an ERA of 3.11.
1924 and 1925 were not good years for Haines, with one exception. In 1924, his ERA ballooned to 4.41 (ERA+ of 86, WHIP of 1.531) and he finished with an 8-19 record. He didn’t do much better in 1925 although his record, 13-14, was a little better. That season his ERA was 4.57 (ERA+ of 94). The one exception was that Haines threw a no-hitter in 1924.
Haines found his groove in 1926 (as did several Cardinals). He started 14 games but he was also used as sort of a closer in that he finished seven other games. His record was an impressive 13-4 and his ERA came back down to 3.25 (ERA+ of 120). His winning percentage of .765 was the second best in the league and he finished fourth in the league with three shutouts.
Like Alexander, Haines excelled once the World Series started. He won two of the four games in the World Series and sported an impressive 1.08 ERA. He threw a five hit shutout in game three to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead over the Yankees.
Haines used his 1926 season to catapult himself into stardom. In 1927, he had his best season and won 24 games. In 1928, he won 20 more and he pitched well into his 40s. In 1970. Haines was elected into Baseball Hall of Fame.
Wins 13
Losses 4
Games 33
Games Started 21
Complete Games 14
Innings Pitched 183
Hits 186
Runs 76
Earned Runs 66
Walks 48
Strikeouts 46
ERA 3.25
Runs Saved Above Average 14
Shutouts 3
H/9 9.15
BR/9 11.61
SO/9 2.26
BB/9 2.36
SO/BB 0.96
Neutral Wins 10
Neutral Losses 7
