1911-1985
| RHP 1931-43, 45 Dodgers , Giants |
"(Van) Mungo and I get along fine. I just tell him I won't stand for no nonsense, and then I duck." - Casey Stengel
In the mid-1930s, Mungo was considered to have the talent of contemporaries Dizzy Dean and Carl Hubbell, but he pitched for losing Dodger clubs and made matters worse by being easily upset by his teammates' ineptitude. Accused of wasting his strength by compiling strikeouts early in his games, he believed the only sure way to retire batters was to fan them. He was the 1936 National League strikeout leader, with 238. He also led the NL in walks three times. In an era when starters were expected to go the distance, Mungo, who led the NL in games started in 1934 and 1936, only finished 47% of his career starts. But between 1932 and 1936, he averaged 16 wins a year.
Mungo was wild and mean,
a high-kicking fireballer with a fierce temper. He was known as a drinker,
and was involved in some bizarre off-the-field incidents. He once had to
be smuggled out of Cuba to escape the machete-wielding husband of a nightclub
dancer with whom he'd been caught in bed. His career went downhill after
he injured his arm in the 1937 All-Star Game. He won only 13 ML games over
his next six seasons. Becoming a junkballer, he went 14-7 in 1945. The
lifetime .221 hitter sometimes pinch-hit. In 1970 his colorful name was
prominently used in a nostalgic bossa nova ballad.
Click here for a Van Lingle Mungo story.
Career Statistics
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Started |
Games |
|
|
Pitched |
|
Runs |
Allowed |
Balls |
Outs |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
1
|
5
|
4
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
31.0
|
27
|
8
|
0
|
13
|
12
|
2.32
|
|
|
|
|
|
13
|
11
|
39
|
33
|
11
|
1
|
2
|
223.3
|
224
|
110
|
9
|
115
|
10
|
4.43
|
|
|
|
|
|
16
|
15
|
41
|
28
|
18
|
3
|
0
|
248.0
|
223
|
75
|
7
|
84
|
110
|
2.72
|
|
|
|
|
|
18
|
16
|
45
|
38
|
22
|
3
|
3
|
315.3
|
300
|
118
|
15
|
104
|
184
|
3.37
|
|
|
|
|
|
16
|
10
|
37
|
26
|
18
|
4
|
2
|
214.3
|
205
|
87
|
13
|
90
|
143
|
3.65
|
|
|
|
|
|
18
|
19
|
45
|
37
|
22
|
2
|
3
|
311.7
|
275
|
116
|
8
|
118
|
238
|
3.35
|
|
|
|
|
|
9
|
11
|
25
|
21
|
14
|
0
|
3
|
161.0
|
136
|
52
|
3
|
56
|
122
|
2.91
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
11
|
24
|
18
|
6
|
2
|
0
|
133.3
|
133
|
58
|
11
|
72
|
72
|
3.92
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
5
|
14
|
10
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
77.3
|
70
|
28
|
7
|
33
|
34
|
3.26
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
22.0
|
24
|
6
|
1
|
10
|
9
|
2.45
|
|
|
|
|
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2.0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
4.50
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
2
|
9
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
36.3
|
38
|
24
|
4
|
21
|
27
|
5.94
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
7
|
45
|
13
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
154.3
|
140
|
67
|
7
|
79
|
83
|
3.91
|
|
|
|
|
|
14
|
7
|
26
|
26
|
7
|
2
|
0
|
183.0
|
161
|
65
|
4
|
71
|
101
|
3.20
|
|
|
|
120
|
115
|
364
|
259
|
123
|
20
|
16
|
2112.7
|
1957
|
815
|
89
|
868
|
1242
|
3.47
|
Appearances on Leaderboards and Awards
| All-Star
1934 1936 1937 1945 |
ERA
1933-2.72-7th 1936-3.35-7th 1937-2.91-6th |
Wins
1933-16-10th 1934-18-7th 1935-16-10th 1936-18-4th 1945-14-9th |
Won-Loss %
1945-.667-6th |
(BB + H)/9IP
1934-11.53-10th 1936-11.35-8th 1937-10.73-7th 1945-11.41-10th |
Hits Allowed/9IP
1933-8.09-5th 1934-8.56-5th 1935-8.61-6th 1936-7.94-2nd 1937-7.60-1st 1945-7.92-4th |
| Games
1933-41-9th 1934-45-9th 1936-45-5th 1943-45-4th |
Saves
1936-3-9th 1937-3-8th |
Innings
1934-315.3-1st 1936-311.7-2nd |
Strikeouts
1932-107-7th 1933-110-6th 1934-184-2nd 1935-143-3rd 1936-238-1st 1937-122-7th 1945-101-4th |
Comp. Games
1933-18-10th 1934-22-4th 1935-18-9th 1936-22-3rd |
Shutouts
1933-3-9th 1934-3-5th 1935-4-1st 1936-2-10th |
| Home Runs Allow.
1934-15-8th |
Base On Balls Allow.
1932-115-1st 1933-84-3rd 1934-104-1st 1935-90-3rd 1936-118-1st 1943-79-7th |
Hits Allowed
1934-300-1st 1936-275-4th |
Losses
1933-15-7th 1934-16-6th 1936-19-3rd |
 Other Mungo Related Topics |
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the Van Lingle Mungo Page