In 1914, Hess was a member of the Braves team that went from last place to first place in two months, becoming the first team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July. Born in Bern, Hess was the first person born in Switzerland to play in Major League Baseball.
In 10 seasons he had a 70-90 win–loss record in 198 games, with 165 games started, 129 complete games, 18 shutouts, 5 saves, 1,418 innings pitched, 1,355 hits allowed, 663 runs allowed, 25 home runs allowed, 448 walks allowed, 580 strikeouts, 83 hit batsmen, 38 wild pitches and a 2.98 ERA. He died in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 47.
Hess was a good hitting pitcher in his major league career, posting a .216 batting average (154-for-714) with 63 runs, 21 doubles, 9 triples, 5 home runs, 56 RBI and 27 bases on balls. He also played 51 games in the outfield and 6 games at first base.

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