- Born Sept. 5, 1872
Orth was born in Tipton, Indiana and attended DePauw University.\n', '
As a young pitcher with the Lynchburg minor league team in the Virginia League in 1895, Orth won 28 games. He was called up to the Philadelphia Phillies and won his first eight starts for them. He finished the year with an 8-1 record and a 3.89 ERA in 11 games, with nine complete games and one save in a total of 88 innings. He had 25 strikeouts and 22 walks. Batting wise, he had a .356 batting average due to having 16 hits in 45 at-bats with a home run and 13 RBIs. The following year, Orth went 15-10 with a 4.41 ERA in 25 games and 196 innings of work. He had 23 strikeouts and 46 walks while having 19 complete games. In 25 games, he batted .256 while having 13 RBIs and a home run. Before the 1902 season, Orth and several other Phillies left for the American League; Orth joined the Washington Senators. When Orth was traded to the New York Highlanders in 1904 after struggling the year before, he picked up the spitball from Jack Chesbro and had his best year in 1906, going 27โ17 and leading the American League in wins. During that season, Orth threw 36 complete games in 39 starts.\n', '
Known as The Curveless Wonder, Orth never relied on the breaking ball. Instead, his pitching success centered on his control and his ability to change pitch speeds. His pitch was once described in a poem by W.A. Phelon as a "glistening ball... but little speed, and scarce a curve at all." Orth twice finished with the fewest walks in his league. He is one of a handful of pitchers to earn 100 wins in both the National League and the American League. After Orth earned his 199th win in 1907, it took nine attempts to earn number 200; this still represents the greatest difficulty any pitcher has had in reaching the milestone.\n', '
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