Kentucky features a wealth of baseball icons. Overall, 345 players have come out of the state. So, finding Kentucky’s best MLB players is a bit more of a chore than other states. Thankfully, they invented the Internet, so that makes the job a lot easier. Digressions aside, Kentucky has managed to offer up a fairly substantial list of well-known baseball figures. Names like Brandon Webb, Travis Fryman, Jay Buhner, and Tyler Clippard all call the state home. Unfortunately for them, their WAR numbers exclude them from today’s list. Even the Hall of Famer Earle Combs just barely missed out. So, the question now becomes one of who made the top five. Let’s not delay any further. Here are Kentucky’s best MLB players by WAR.
Kentucky’s Best MLB Players
Jesse Tannehill (47.0 WAR)
Jesse Tannehill was not physically impressive. At 5′ 8″ and 150 pounds, he might have been described as a “beanpole.” However, he ranks among Kentucky’s best MLB players. His pitching career was based upon one simple idea: don’t walk anyone. He averaged 276 innings per year in his career while averaging only 48 walks. Though he gave up a huge amount of hits, he kept his ERA low. In fact, from 1898 to 1906, it only broke 3.00 twice. In 1901, while with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he led the league with a 2.18 ERA. He had six career 20-win seasons and finished with 264 complete games, 34 of which were shutouts.
Bobby Veach (48.0 WAR)
Resting one WAR point ahead of Tannehill is Detroit Tigers great Bobby Veach. He was one of the most consistent hitters of the 1910s and ’20s. He led the league in hits (191), doubles (45), and triples (17) in 1919. From 1915 to 1923, his yearly batting average only fell below .300 once. He was also very productive, leading the league in RBI three times. Speed and power played a role in his game, too. He hit 16 homers in 1921, good for second on the team. His 189 stolen bases are eighth in franchise history, and he also ranks in the top ten in batting runs and batting wins. Though he played in Ty Cobb’s shadow, Veach’s contributions should not be overlooked.
Carl Mays (51.5 WAR)
What makes pitcher Carl Mays one of Kentucky’s best MLB players is a dogged sense of determination. His stat line speaks to that. In a 15-year career, he had some of the most explosive streaks this writer has ever seen. He spent five seasons apiece with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Cincinnati Reds. His greatest success was with Boston, where he won 72 games with a 2.21 ERA. In 1921, while in New York, he led the league with 27 wins. Oddly enough, he also led the league with seven saves. He was the definition of a hybrid, bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen throughout his career. All of this helped him rack up 207 wins, a 2.92 ERA, and a 120 ERA+.
Jim Bunning (59.4 WAR)
The first Cooperstown inductee on our list, Jim Bunning was one of the more feared pitchers of the 1950s and ‘60s. The seven-time All-Star won 20 games once and 19 games four times. Altogether, he spent 17 years in the big leagues, putting together a resumé that includes 224 wins and a 3.27 ERA. He’s best known for his time with the Tigers. In nine seasons with Detroit, he won 118 games with a 3.45 ERA. He’s sixth on their all-time strikeout list (1,406) and ranks in the top ten in WHIP (1.208) and K/9 (6.777).
After leaving Detroit, he went to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he won 89 games in six seasons with a 2.93 ERA. It was with the Phils that Bunning pitched a perfect game against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium in 1964. He leads all Kentucky pitchers in WAR and strikeouts and is second in wins. That is what makes him one of Kentucky’s greatest MLB players.
Jim Bunning throwing the last pitch of his perfect game on Father’s Day, 1964 pic.twitter.com/vsPFpWrVNV
— Baseball In Pics (@baseballinpix) August 5, 2023
Pee Wee Reese (68.4 WAR)
Upon looking at the entire list of Kentucky-born players, the greatest becomes fairly obvious. Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese paces the state in a few major offensive categories. He’s first in hits (2,170), runs scored (1,338), and walks (1,210). However, the ten-time All-Star could do more than just provide a solid offensive option. In fact, some might argue that it was his defense that got him elected to Cooperstown. They would have a solid case. Reese led the league in dWAR four times, with three coming consecutively from 1947-49. He retired with a career dWAR of 25.6, which ranks him ahead of fellow Hall shortstops like Lou Boudreau and Alan Trammell. Through consistent play and a deft desire to flash some leather, Pee Wee Reese takes a rightful place at the top of Kentucky’s best MLB players.
Photo Credit: “Pee Wee Reese – 1” by pvsbond is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
