An excellent pitcher for a long time, and an all star quality hurler from 1938 through 1945. A few things stick out with Byrd:
First, he had spectacular control, allowing him to generally have well below-average WHIP’s.
Second, he was never a full-time starter, occupying a swing spot in the rotation, both starting and seeing a fair bit of usage out of the bullpen. This did keep his IP totals relatively low, which may have positively contributed to his longevity and consistency. It’s an interesting conundrum, as he was very well known for his durability, which is generally associated with pitchers who were purely (or nearly so) used as starters throwing 8 or 9 innings an outing. But that’s not Byrd’s profile.
Finally, around 1940, he figured something out and his strikeout rates increased somewhat dramatically.
We project Byrd in the minors or being a borderline MLB arm for a few years, then becoming a full time MLB arm in 1933. He spent the 1940 season in Venezuela, so we filled that in, and have him lasting an additional year (1949). This is unusual for these projections, but Byrd’s performance in 1948 sort of demands an final year at age 41. I have a feeling we are, if anything, underestimating how good Byrd was–he really belongs in that group with Leon Day, Ray Brown, Satchel, and may be as good as Brown was ultimately.
Byrd was one of the last NeL pitchers to legally throw a spitball; interestingly, there is more evidence about him _faking_ the spitball than the pitch itself.
| Name | Bill Byrd |
| ID / Status | byrd-01bil / |
| Pos | P |
| DOB / i9s Career | 07/15/1907 / 1929 - 1948 |
| Birthplace | Canton, GA (USA) |
| Height / Weight | 6'1" / 210 |
| B / T | B / R |
Batting Projections
Pitching Projections
| Year | G | GS | IP | HA | W | K | HRA | eD | eT | eHBP | BB/9 | H/9 | K/9 | ERA | WHIP |
| 1929 | 16 | 9 | 96.0 | 128 | 28 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.6 | 12.0 | 3.0 | 4.99 | 1.63 |
| 1930 | 22 | 13 | 130.0 | 171 | 35 | 51 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.4 | 11.8 | 3.5 | 5.04 | 1.58 |
| 1931 | 17 | 17 | 129.0 | 165 | 27 | 40 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.9 | 11.5 | 2.8 | 4.50 | 1.49 |
| 1932 | 35 | 24 | 209.0 | 248 | 61 | 65 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2.6 | 10.7 | 13.3 | 4.32 | 1.48 |
| 1933 | 34 | 15 | 172.0 | 175 | 28 | 49 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.5 | 9.2 | 2.6 | 3.39 | 1.18 |
| 1934 | 28 | 12 | 138.0 | 168 | 38 | 47 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.5 | 11.0 | 3.1 | 4.44 | 1.49 |
| 1935 | 35 | 24 | 208.0 | 230 | 38 | 79 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.6 | 10.0 | 3.4 | 3.85 | 1.29 |
| 1936 | 35 | 29 | 237.0 | 208 | 65 | 90 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2.5 | 7.9 | 3.4 | 3.18 | 1.15 |
| 1937 | 32 | 19 | 177.0 | 184 | 50 | 77 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.5 | 9.4 | 3.9 | 3.77 | 1.32 |
| 1938 | 44 | 24 | 234.0 | 236 | 57 | 98 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.2 | 9.1 | 3.8 | 3.52 | 1.25 |
| 1939 | 36 | 20 | 196.0 | 193 | 37 | 8 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.7 | 8.9 | 4.0 | 3.28 | 1.17 |
| 1940 | 35 | 30 | 240.0 | 238 | 41 | 110 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.5 | 8.9 | 4.1 | 3.27 | 1.16 |
| 1941 | 32 | 30 | 233.0 | 198 | 65 | 93 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.5 | 7.6 | 3.6 | 2.91 | 1.13 |
| 1942 | 28 | 23 | 190.0 | 176 | 48 | 94 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.3 | 8.3 | 4.5 | 2.86 | 1.18 |
| 1943 | 35 | 26 | 225.0 | 200 | 63 | 100 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2.5 | 8.0 | 10.5 | 2.86 | 1.17 |
| 1944 | 32 | 18 | 182.0 | 153 | 44 | 90 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.2 | 7.6 | 4.5 | 2.54 | 1.08 |
| 1945 | 29 | 19 | 177.0 | 162 | 49 | 72 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.5 | 8.2 | 3.7 | 3.11 | 1.19 |
| 1946 | 28 | 14 | 150.0 | 168 | 27 | 56 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.6 | 10.1 | 3.4 | 3.68 | 1.30 |
| 1947 | 35 | 16 | 178.0 | 155 | 51 | 64 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.6 | 7.8 | 3.2 | 3.06 | 1.16 |
| 1948 | 31 | 15 | 166.0 | 135 | 40 | 73 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.2 | 7.3 | 4.0 | 2.78 | 1.05 |
| 1949 | 12 | 7 | 70.0 | 81 | 21 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.7 | 10.4 | 2.2 | 4.47 | 1.46 |