Bill Drake is the kind of player who is really the cornerstone of this project. Was he a HoF candidate? No. Was he clearly talented enough to be a front of rotation starter for at least a few years in the Major Leagues? Abso-fucking-lutely. From 1920 to 1925 especially, he could contribute to a winning rotation, although probably falling short of an “ace” designation.
Drake was a pretty well known prototype: he pitched a lot of innings, gave up his fair share of baserunners, and struck out enough batters to remain effective despite all the traffic on the basepaths. His nickname is related to a pretty high HBP rate.
He figured something key out early in his career, as his HR rate drops precipitously after a few years on the mount. That is probably an important turning point: if Plunk doesn’t give up a lot of dingers, all those baserunners don’t translate into as many runs.
Being a workhorse, he will also be on the fringes of the league leaders in hits allowed, walks, and strikeouts.
We’ve projected him being drafted in 1916 and making the big leagues in 1919. 1918 was lost to WWI, and we’ve filled that in, as well as a few decline years in 1928 and 1929. Honestly, I doubt he sees 1930, being more likely to exit the big leagues in 1928 or 1929.
I think these projections of Drake need some perhaps significant refinement–exactly how his strikeout rate moves around, which years were off years, things like that may shift. But I think this early draft captures his shape well.
| Name | Bill Drake (Plunk) |
| ID / Status | drake01bil / Draft |
| Pos | SP |
| DOB / i9s Career | 06/08/1895 / 1916 - 1930 |
| Birthplace | Sedalia, MO (USA) |
| Height / Weight | 6'0" / 205 |
| B / T | R / R |
Batting Projections
Pitching Projections
| Year | G | GS | IP | HA | W | K | HRA | eD | eT | eHBP | BB/9 | H/9 | K/9 | ERA | WHIP |
| 1918 | 24 | 17 | 144.0 | 152 | 54 | 53 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3.4 | 9.5 | 3.3 | 3.17 | 1.43 |
| 1919 | 33 | 27 | 213.0 | 221 | 67 | 77 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2.8 | 9.3 | 3.3 | 3.22 | 1.35 |
| 1920 | 42 | 42 | 309.0 | 321 | 94 | 104 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2.7 | 9.3 | 3.0 | 3.42 | 1.34 |
| 1921 | 44 | 38 | 304.0 | 302 | 92 | 144 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2.7 | 8.9 | 4.3 | 3.24 | 1.30 |
| 1922 | 49 | 41 | 335.0 | 364 | 113 | 125 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3.0 | 9.8 | 3.4 | 3.85 | 1.42 |
| 1923 | 37 | 33 | 255.0 | 281 | 82 | 97 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2.9 | 9.9 | 3.4 | 3.80 | 1.42 |
| 1924 | 39 | 39 | 290.0 | 318 | 111 | 110 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3.4 | 9.9 | 3.4 | 4.05 | 1.48 |
| 1925 | 39 | 39 | 286.0 | 287 | 84 | 134 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2.6 | 9.0 | 4.2 | 3.57 | 1.30 |
| 1926 | 31 | 30 | 227.0 | 232 | 70 | 118 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2.8 | 9.2 | 4.7 | 3.32 | 1.33 |
| 1927 | 39 | 35 | 265.0 | 289 | 97 | 94 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3.3 | 9.8 | 3.2 | 3.95 | 1.46 |
| 1928 | 34 | 26 | 215.0 | 246 | 65 | 73 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2.7 | 10.3 | 3.1 | 4.06 | 1.45 |
| 1929 | 17 | 17 | 126.0 | 150 | 49 | 29 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3.5 | 10.7 | 2.1 | 4.88 | 1.58 |
| 1930 | 16 | 3 | 62.0 | 89 | 33 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.8 | 12.9 | 2.5 | 6.30 | 1.97 |
| 1916 | 10 | 1 | 36.0 | 33 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.8 | 8.3 | 2.8 | 2.91 | 1.22 |
| 1917 | 10 | 4 | 52.0 | 77 | 22 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3.8 | 13.3 | 2.3 | 4.81 | 1.90 |