Recalling the 5 best-hitting pitchers in Chicago Cubs history

Cubs: Not having all ten fingers did not stop Mordecai Brown from dominating

Hall of Famer Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown is one of the Cubs all-time best pitchers. His microscopic 1.80 ERA and 2.21 FIP in 346 games as a Cub go down in history. Losing his index finger on his right hand while having his other fingers not properly reset due to other injuries allowed him to use his abnormal throwing hand to implement different grips on the ball.

Oh, and he could also hit. Brown only hit two home runs, but he racked up 166 hits, 14 doubles and eight triples. Those eight triples are the most by any Cubs pitcher, while his 166 total hits rank second in that category behind Charlie Root. Brown’s slash as a Cub was .195/.227/.237. Worth noting he struck out only 39 times vs. walking 35 times.

His best offensive season was arguably 1915, when he posted an OPS+ of 98 and slashed .293/.318/.341.

Brown suffered some horrific injuries to his hand, and yet that did not stop him from being a Hall of Fame player. The fact he could also swing the bat well too adds to his incredible story. Sadly since he played so long ago we do not have much highlight reel tape of him playing, but the numbers speak for themselves.