Root began his professional career on April 18, 1923, with the
St. Louis Browns. Root pitched in relief for the final inning against the
Detroit Tigers, striking out one while allowing no hits. Root made his first career start on July 4 for the second game of a double-header against the
Chicago White Sox. He lasted two innings while allowing two runs on five hits with one strikeout, receiving the loss as the White Sox prevailed 3–1. He would start just one more game that year while appearing in 27 total games, finishing 15 of them while having 60 innings of work, going 0–4 with a 5.70 ERA. He had 27 strikeouts and 18 walks. Root was traded after the 1923 season by manager
George Sisler along
Cedric Durst,
Rasty Wright, and
Josh Billings to the
Los Angeles Angels in the
Pacific Coast League for
George Lyons and
Tony Rego. In his season with the Angels, he won 21 games in 322 innings. His contract was purchased by the Cubs after the season for $30,000 and two players. He was sent back to the Angels for more seasoning after spring training with the team, winning 25 games with the Angels. In 1926, he began play with the Cubs. In 42 games for the team (starting in 32 of them), he went 18–17 while throwing 21 complete games with two saves and two shutouts in 271 innings of work. He had 62 walks and 127 strikeouts, beginning six consecutive seasons with over a hundred strikeouts. He finished 16th in the MVP voting that year. For 1927, Root was selected to pitch the Opening Day game for the Cubs, pitching against the
St. Louis Cardinals at
Wrigley Field, facing future Hall of Fame inductee
Grover Cleveland Alexander. Root pitched a complete game while allowing one run on seven hits while having seven strikeouts and five walks as the Cubs rolled over the Cardinals 10–1. That year, he went 26–15 with a 3.76 ERA in 48 games and 309 innings, both career highs. Although he allowed 117 walks, he had 145 strikeouts in the 1,316 batters he faced, all career highs. Fielding-wise, he had six putouts, 49 assists, two errors and two double plays for a .965 fielding percentage. He led the league in wins, games, and innings while finishing in the top ten in hits per 9 innings (8.621, 6th), strikeouts per 9 innings (4.223, 5th), strikeouts (2nd) and shutouts (4, 2nd). Root finished fourth in the MVP voting that year, receiving 46 vote points as
Paul Waner received the award with 72. He regressed the following year, going 14–18 with a 3.57 ERA and two saves in 40 games and 237 innings pitched. He had 73 walks with 122 strikeouts. In 1929, Root pitched in 43 games and 272 innings while having a 19–6 record and a 3.47 ERA. He had 83 walks along with 124 strikeouts. That year the Cubs won the
National League pennant, and Root started Game 1 and Game 4 of the
World Series against the
Philadelphia Athletics. In the first game, he faced off against
Howard Ehmke. Root was scoreless until the seventh inning, where
Jimmie Foxx hit a home run off him to give the Athletics their first run. Root was replaced by
Guy Bush for the eighth inning, but Root (seven innings, three hits) was charged with the 3–1 loss. Root started the pivotal fourth game of the Series, facing off against
Jack Quinn. He was clean of runs until the seventh inning, where he was taken out for
Art Nehf after getting only one out on six runs as the Cubs tried to preserve a 8–6 lead. However, the two following Cubs pitchers allowed four runs to score as the A's completed their comeback and ultimately won the game 10–8 along with the Series a game later. Root played mostly to form for 1932. It was the first year the Cubs wore numbers on their jerseys; Root wore 12 (he would wear three different jersey numbers over the following years). In 39 games appeared, he went 15–10 with a 3.58 ERA and three saves in 216 innings pitched. He had 96 strikeouts with 55 walks (both being lows for Root in his career thus far). The team rallied from a sluggish 53–46 record under
Rogers Hornsby to winning 37 of the next 55 games under
Charlie Grimm to win the NL pennant. Root appeared in Game 3 of the
World Series on October 1 against the
New York Yankees. In 4 innings, he allowed six hits and runs as the Cubs lost 7–5. He threw the pitch that
Babe Ruth allegedly predicted he would hit into the seats in the
1932 World Series at
Wrigley Field in
Chicago (see:
Babe Ruth's called shot). Root, however, insisted that Ruth had not pointed to the bleachers and the account of the supposed shot is disputed. Root's baseball nickname, "Chinski," was bestowed by his longtime teammate and manager,
Charlie Grimm. Root, wearing No. 17 (for which he would wear for the remaining years of his career) returned to form in 1935, going 15–8 with a 3.08 ERA in 38 games and 201 innings pitched. He had 94 strikeouts and 47 walks. The Cubs memorably won the league pennant that season, winning 21 consecutive games from September 4 to the 28th to finish 100–54 and win their third pennant in six years. Root appeared in Game 2 and 4 of the
World Series, starting in the former while closing the last two innings of the latter. In Game 2, he was knocked out of the game before finishing an inning, allowing four hits and four runs on four batters faced as the Cubs lost 8–3, with Root being charged with the loss. In Game 4, he threw the eighth and ninth inning, allowing one hit with no runs, two strikeouts, and one walk although the Cubs lost 2–1; the team lost the Series two days later. Root did not have as much as success in 1938. He appeared in 44 games while starting 11 of them and finishing 20 of them, having 9 saves while going 8–7 with a 2.86 ERA and pitching 160 innings. He had 70 strikeouts and 30 walks. For the fourth time in nine years, the Cubs rallied to win the league pennant, rallying behind player-manager
Gabby Hartnett. On September 28, the Cubs played the
Pittsburgh Pirates for possession of first place in the standings, trailing by half a game. Root stepped in for Bill Lee in the ninth inning, allowing one hit with no runs to keep the score at 5 even in the last scheduled inning to play before darkness was set to hit
Wrigley Field, which would mean a re-playing of the game the following day. In the bottom of the inning, with two outs, Hartnett hit a dramatic
home run to win the game for the team and elevate them to first place in the league (with Root receiving credit for the win). Four days later, the Cubs clinched the pennant. In the
World Series that year, he appeared in the fourth and final game against the Yankees, pitching the fourth, fifth, and sixth inning. He allowed three hits with one run (a home run to
Tommy Henrich) as the Cubs lost 8–3. In six postseason starts spread out over nine years, Root pitched a total of 22 innings while allowing 26 hits, 18 runs with 15 strikeouts and six walks while losing three of the decisions and winning none. manager Charlie Root, actress
Jane Wyatt and
Los Angeles Angels manager
Bill Sweeney sit atop a pile of baseball equipment donated to members of the
United States Armed Forces at military installations in Southern California in 1943 For his final year in 1941, Root went 8–7 with a 5.40 ERA (a career high) while pitching in 19 games, having six complete games in 106 innings of work. He allowed more hits and runs than the year before despite a reduced workload while having 46 strikeouts and 37 walks. In his final game on September 2, 1941, he pitched a complete game against the
Cincinnati Reds, allowing one run on five hits while striking out and walking five batters in a 3–1 win. Relative to his pitching counterparts, Root put up stellar stats at the plate during his 17-year major league career, compiling a .180
batting average (196-for-1086) with 86
runs, 11
home runs and 93
RBI. He also provided a sound presence on the defensive side, recording a .976
fielding percentage, which was 15 points higher than the league average at that position. As quoted by
Baseball Legends: The Charlie Root Story, by Joseph E. Bennett, Jan. 1995 Knight Templar magazine "Root was one of the fiercest competitors the game ever knew... his cigar-chomping, no-nonsense visage was one of the most intimidating tools in his baseball arsenal." ==Post-career==