Player #116: Paul V. Zahniser. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1923-1924. 25 wins and 1 save in 5 MLB seasons. His best season was his first as he posted a 9-10 record and a 3.86 ERA in 177 innings pitched. After Washington he pitched less effectively for the Boston Red Sox in 1925-1926 and then briefly for the Cincinnati Reds in 1929. Babe Ruth eventually wrote that Zahniser was "tipping" his pitches in Boston, which contributed to his ineffectiveness.
Zahniser's SABR biography covers his time with Washington: As it happens, Zahniser was called up and had his big-league debut on April 18, 1923 (in relief for Washington in a lost game that was already out of reach) . . . .
. . . By season’s end, he had appeared in 33 games (21 starts) and had an ERA of 3.86 (marginally better than the Senators’ team ERA of 3.98) with a record of 9-10.
Some were amused by the combination of pitcher Zahniser and manager Bush, making the connection to the Anheuser-Busch brewery. “What a kick we have!” crowed baseball comedian and Senators coach Nick Altrock.
The Washington Post didn’t expect the 1924 Senators to be any better than the 1923 team, which finished in fourth place with a losing 75-78 record. That the Senators would win the pennant and then the World Series over the New York Giants was not in the cards, as the Post saw things on the first day of April. The paper’s sports editor, N. W. Baxter, felt that the pitching staff would show a “33 1/3 percent improvement” but that there was little hope for betterment in other areas. In spring training, he said that Zahniser “is no better this year than he was last, nor does he appear to be any worse.” As it happens, he wasn’t as good, but Walter Johnson and Tom Zachary were much better, and George Mogridge held his own, benefitting from a little more run support than in 1923. Zahniser’s ERA declined to 4.40 (from 3.86) and his won/loss record was 5-7. His problems were largely with control. . . .
. . . President Calvin Coolidge celebrated the winning of the pennant on October 1, along with much of Washington who joined in a parade for the players. Zahniser was on the postseason roster but was not called upon to pitch in any of the seven games, two of which went to 12 innings (Game One and Game Seven).
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