Raymond was born in Chicago. He started his professional baseball career with the Waterloo Microbes in 1904.[1] After a short stint with the Tigers, Raymond returned to the minors. He developed his spitball sometime in 1906. With the new pitch, he had a big season in 1907, going 35-11 for the South Atlantic League's Charleston Sea Gulls. Raymond pitched a no-hitter that year, as well, and led Charleston to the pennant.[2] The Cardinals purchased him in September, and in 1908, he was the best pitcher on the team. His 2.03 earned run average ranked tenth in the National League, and his 145 strikeouts were fourth-best. During the 1908 season, he gave up fewer hits per game than Christy Mathewson and threw five shutouts, but he was also on the mound eleven times when the Cardinals failed to score.[3]
Raymond was known for his spitball and got his nickname because of his zany antics on the mound. What might have been a promising career was short-circuited by a severe addiction to alcohol. The only manager who could keep Raymond in line for any length of time was hard-nosed Giants manager John McGraw. McGraw picked him up in the Roger Bresnahan trade before the 1909 season, and Bugs won 18 games for him that year.[2]
However, Raymond could never stay sober for long. McGraw tried everything – including fining him so there wouldn't be any money left for drinks and hiring a detective to trail Bugs – but nothing worked. In addition, Raymond had a subpar performance on the mound in 1910, going 4-11. He was released midway through the Giants' 1911 pennant-winning season.[2]
In 1912, after a stint with the Cincinnati Pippins of the short-lived United States League, Raymond got into a number of fights in Chicago and ended up badly beaten. He died of a fractured skull a few weeks later at age 30.[4]
Referencesedit
^"Bugs Raymond Minor League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
^Crazy '08: How a cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads and Magnates created the Greatest Year in Baseball History, p. 166, by Cait Murphy, Smithsonian Books, a Division of Harper Collins, 2007, ISBN978-0-06-088937-1
^""Bugs" Raymond Was Slain – Autopsy Revealed a Fractured Skull and Assailant's Arrest Followed". New York Times. via thedeadballera.com. September 10, 1912. p. 7. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
bugs, raymond, arthur, lawrence, bugs, raymond, february, 1882, september, 1912, major, league, baseball, pitcher, from, 1904, 1911, played, detroit, tigers, louis, cardinals, york, giants, raymond, 1911pitcherborn, 1882, february, 1882chicago, illinoisdied, s. Arthur Lawrence Bugs Raymond February 24 1882 September 7 1912 was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1904 to 1911 He played for the Detroit Tigers St Louis Cardinals and New York Giants Bugs RaymondRaymond in 1911PitcherBorn 1882 02 24 February 24 1882Chicago IllinoisDied September 7 1912 1912 09 07 aged 30 Chicago IllinoisBatted RightThrew RightMLB debutSeptember 23 1904 for the Detroit TigersLast MLB appearanceJune 16 1911 for the New York GiantsMLB statisticsWin loss record45 57Earned run average2 49Strikeouts401TeamsDetroit Tigers 1904 St Louis Cardinals 1907 1908 New York Giants 1909 1911 Career highlights and awardsLed NL in losses with 25 1908 Biography editRaymond was born in Chicago He started his professional baseball career with the Waterloo Microbes in 1904 1 After a short stint with the Tigers Raymond returned to the minors He developed his spitball sometime in 1906 With the new pitch he had a big season in 1907 going 35 11 for the South Atlantic League s Charleston Sea Gulls Raymond pitched a no hitter that year as well and led Charleston to the pennant 2 The Cardinals purchased him in September and in 1908 he was the best pitcher on the team His 2 03 earned run average ranked tenth in the National League and his 145 strikeouts were fourth best During the 1908 season he gave up fewer hits per game than Christy Mathewson and threw five shutouts but he was also on the mound eleven times when the Cardinals failed to score 3 Raymond was known for his spitball and got his nickname because of his zany antics on the mound What might have been a promising career was short circuited by a severe addiction to alcohol The only manager who could keep Raymond in line for any length of time was hard nosed Giants manager John McGraw McGraw picked him up in the Roger Bresnahan trade before the 1909 season and Bugs won 18 games for him that year 2 However Raymond could never stay sober for long McGraw tried everything including fining him so there wouldn t be any money left for drinks and hiring a detective to trail Bugs but nothing worked In addition Raymond had a subpar performance on the mound in 1910 going 4 11 He was released midway through the Giants 1911 pennant winning season 2 In 1912 after a stint with the Cincinnati Pippins of the short lived United States League Raymond got into a number of fights in Chicago and ended up badly beaten He died of a fractured skull a few weeks later at age 30 4 References edit Bugs Raymond Minor League Statistics amp History baseball reference com Retrieved 2010 10 24 a b c Bugs Raymond at the SABR Baseball Biography Project by Don Jensen Retrieved 2010 10 24 Crazy 08 How a cast of Cranks Rogues Boneheads and Magnates created the Greatest Year in Baseball History p 166 by Cait Murphy Smithsonian Books a Division of Harper Collins 2007 ISBN 978 0 06 088937 1 Bugs Raymond Was Slain Autopsy Revealed a Fractured Skull and Assailant s Arrest Followed New York Times via thedeadballera com September 10 1912 p 7 Retrieved July 17 2022 External links edit nbsp Biography portal nbsp Baseball portal nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bugs Raymond Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference or Baseball Reference Minors Bugs Raymond at the SABR Baseball Biography Project by Don Jensen Retrieved 2010 10 24 Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers Bugs Raymond at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bugs Raymond amp oldid 1186765225, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
