1929-Bullet Rogan
Outfielder, Pitcher and Second Baseman
In Cooperstown? Yes (Inducted in 1998 by Veteran’s Committee)
Best Season-1925
Career WAR-61.4 120-52, 2.65 ERA, 214 G, 157 GS, 16 SV, 1500 IP, 918 K, 1.157 WHIP
Charles Wilber “Bullet” Rogan was born on July 28, 1893 in Oklahoma City. The five-foot-seven, 160 pound righty was a Negro League player who was Shohei Ohtani long before Shohei was born. He was a starting pitcher for the Kansas City Monarchs for nine years and when he wasn’t on the mound, he played in the field, sometimes in the infield, sometimes in the outfield. Despite his small size, he was an incredible athlete and was the first great player of the Negro Major Leagues.
According to Wikipedia, “In December 2020, Major League Baseball announced that based on recent decades of historical research, it was added to the six historical “major league” designations it made in 1969. It classified the seven “major Negro leagues” as additional major leagues, thus recognizing statistics and approximately 3,400 players who played from 1920 to 1948.” There were Negro Leagues before and after those years, but those are the records Baseball Reference records and by which I’m basing my picks. So even though Bullet Rogan played high level Negro League ball before 1920, BR doesn’t have those records, so they’re not considered.
It should also be noted the Negro Leagues don’t always have the most accurate records and played shorter seasons, so the stats for their time are impressive but when it comes to counting stats, you won’t find Negro League players among the all-time leaders.
Rogan played only for the Kansas City Monarchs, from 1920-through-1938. He was part of numerous pennant-winning teams and pitched in the postseason three seasons, going 8-2 with a 2.72 ERA. He also shined as a hitter in the postseason, going 30-for-78 (.385) with two doubles.
The year 1925 was a typical year for Bullet. He pitched in 21 games and played in the outfield 18 games. On the mound, he went 15-2 with a 1.74 ERA (302 ERA+) and at the plate, he slashed .360/.424/.592 for a 1.016 OPS (170 OPS+). He led the Negro National League in WAR (9.3), WAR for Pitchers (7.4), win-loss percentage (.882), strikeouts (96), complete games (15), shutouts (4), strikeouts/base on balls (3.097), adjusted pitching runs (59), and adjusted pitching wins (6.0). Combined with his prolific hitting, Rogan had one of the greatest years of all time, yet it was practically a normal year for him.
Wikipedia says, “George Carr, said,
“Rogan was the greatest pitcher that ever threw a ball. He had not only an arm to pitch with but a head to think with. Rogan was a smart pitcher with a wonderful memory. Once Rogan pitched to a batter, he never forgot that batter’s weaknesses and strong points. And don’t think Rogan was nicknamed “Bullet” for nothing. That guy had a ball that was almost too fast to catch. He would really burn ’em in there.”
Rogan died in Kansas City on March 4, 1967 at the age of 73.
Next year’s ONEHOF nominees-Oscar Charleston, Charlie Bennett, Elmer Flick, Art Fletcher, Carl Mays, Wally Schang, Frankie Frisch, Biz Mackey, and Joe Sewell.
ONEHOF (One-A-Year Hall of Fame) 