Warren_Spahn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Warren Spahn Warren Spahn Warren Spahn Pitcher Born: April 23, 1921(1921-04-23) Buffalo, New York Died: November 24, 2003 (aged 82) Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Batted: Left MLB debut April 19, 1942 for the Boston Braves Last MLB appearance October 1, 1965 for the San Francisco Giants Career statistics Win-Loss record Earned run average Strikeouts Teams • Boston / Milwaukee Braves (1942, 1946-1964) • New York Mets (1965) • San Francisco Giants (1965) Career highlights and awards • 14× All-Star selection (1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963) • World Series champion (1957) • 1957 Cy Young Award • 4× NL TSN Pitcher of the Year (1953, 1957, 1958, 1961) • 1961 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award • Atlanta Braves #21 retired Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Vote 1973 82.89% 363-245 3.09 2,583 Threw: Left aged 42. Spahn was the 1957 Cy Young Award winner, and was the runner-up three times, all during the period when just one award was given. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, with 83% of the total vote. (His eligibility was delayed, under the rules of the time by 2 years of token minor league play). Spahn was regarded as a "thinking man’s" pitcher who liked to outwit batters. He once described his approach on the mound: "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing." Spahn won more games (363) than any other left-handed pitcher in history, and more than any other pitcher who played his entire career in the post-1920 live-ball era. He is acknowledged as one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball history. The Warren Spahn Award, given to the major leagues’ best left-handed pitcher, is named after him. Baseball career His major league career began in 1942 with the Braves and he spent all but one year with that franchise, first in Boston and then in Milwaukee. He finished his career in 1965 with the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. With 363 wins, Spahn is the sixth-winningest pitcher in history, trailing only Cy Young (511), Walter Johnson (417), Grover Cleveland Alexander (373), and Christy Mathewson (373), and Pud Galvin (364) on MLB’s all-time list. Spahn also threw two no-hitters, and won 3 ERA titles. He appeared in 14 All-Star Games, the most of any pitcher in the 20th century. Spahn acquired the nickname "Hooks", not so much because of his pitching, but due to the prominent shape of his nose. He had once been hit in the face by a thrown ball that he was not expecting, and his broken nose settled into a hook-like shape. In Spahn’s final season, during his stint with the Mets, Yogi Berra came out of retirement briefly and caught 4 games, one of them with Spahn pitching. Yogi later told reporters, "I don’t think we’re the oldest battery, but we’re certainly the ugliest." Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American lefthanded pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for 21 seasons, all in the National League. He won 20 games each in 13 seasons, including a 23-7 record when he was 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Spahn was known for a very high leg kick in his delivery, surpassed perhaps only by eventual Giants teammate Juan Marichal. Photo sequences show that this high kick served a specific purpose. As a left-hander, Spahn was able not only to watch any runner on first base, but also to not telegraph whether he was delivering to the plate or to first base, thereby forcing the runner to stay close to the bag. As his fastball waned, Spahn adapted, and relied more on location, changing speeds and a good screwball. He led or shared the lead in the NL in wins from 1957-1961 (age 36 through 40). Spahn was also a good hitter, hitting at least one home run in 17 straight seasons, and finishing with an NL career record for pitchers, with 35 home runs. Wes Ferrell, who spent most of his time in the American League, holds the overall record for pitchers, with 37. Warren Spahn only Cy Young in all-time wins. Spahn was philosophical: "People say that my absence from the big leagues may have cost me a chance to win 400 games. But I don’t know about that. I matured a lot in three years, and I think I was better equipped to handle major league hitters at 25 than I was at 22. Also, I pitched until I was 44. Maybe I wouldn’t have been able to do that otherwise."[1] Boston Braves In 1947, Spahn led the National League in ERA while posting a 21–10 record. It was the first of his thirteen 20-win seasons. Spahn also won two more ERA titles, in 1953 and 1961. In 1951, Spahn allowed the first career hit to Willie Mays, a home run. Mays had begun his career 0-for-12, and Spahn joked, "I’ll never forgive myself. We might have gotten rid of Willie forever if I’d only struck him out." (In 1962, another Hall of Famer hit his first career home run off Spahn: Sandy Koufax, who only hit one other.) Brief call-up First signed by the Boston Braves before the 1940 season, Spahn reached the major leagues in 1942 at the age of 21. He clashed with Braves manager Casey Stengel, who sent him to the minors after Spahn refused to throw at a batter in an exhibition game. Spahn had pitched in only 4 games, allowing 15 runs (10 earned) in 15-2/3 innings. Stengel later said that it was the worst managing mistake he had ever made. The 1942 Braves finished next to last, and Stengel was fired the following year. Spahn was reunited with his first manager 23 years later, for the even more woeful last-place New York Mets, and later quipped, "I’m probably the only guy who worked with Stengel before and after he was a genius."[1] "Pray for rain" Spahn’s teammate Johnny Sain was the ace of the pennant-winning 1948 Braves staff, with a win-loss record of 24–15. Spahn went 15–12 while, contrary to legend, teammates Bill Voiselle (13–13), and Vern Bickford (11–5) also pitched well. In honor of the pitching duo, Boston Post sports editor Gerald V. Hern wrote this poem which the popular media eventually condensed to "Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain":[2] First we’ll use Spahn then we’ll use Sain Then an off day followed by rain Back will come Spahn followed by Sain And followed we hope by two days of rain. The poem was inspired by the performance of Spahn and Sain during the Braves’ 1948 pennant drive. The team swept a Labor Day doubleheader, with Spahn throwing a complete 14-inning win in the opener, and Sain pitching a shutout in the second game. Following two off days, it did rain. Spahn won the next day, and Sain won the day after that. World War II Along with many other major leaguers, Spahn chose to enlist in the United States Army, after finishing the 1942 season in the minors. He served with distinction, and was awarded a Purple Heart[1] and the Bronze Star for bravery. He saw action in the Battle of the Bulge and at the Ludendorff Bridge as a combat engineer, and was awarded a battlefield commission[1]. Spahn returned to the major leagues in 1946 at the age of 25, having missed 3 full seasons. Had he played, it is possible that Spahn would have finished his career behind 2 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Three days later, Spahn won again. Sain won the next day. After one more off day, the two pitchers were brought back, and won another doubleheader. The two pitchers had gone 8–0 in twelve days’ time.[1] Warren Spahn for a single day: September 25, 1965, when 58-year-old Satchel Paige pitched three innings. Final season Following the 1964 season, after 25 years with the franchise, Spahn was sold by the Braves to the New York Mets. He was released by the Mets on July 22, 1965 and immediately signed with the San Francisco Giants, with whom he finished the season. Milwaukee Braves In 1957, Spahn was the ace of the champion Milwaukee Braves. Spahn pitched on two other Braves pennant winners, in 1948 and 1958. He had 2,583 strikeouts, which at the time of his retirement was the highest total for a left-handed pitcher in baseball history.[3] Spahn led the NL in strikeouts for four consecutive seasons, from 1949 to 1952 (tied with Don Newcombe in 1951), which includes a single game high of 18 strike outs (then the NL record) in a 15-inning appearance on June 14, 1952. For several decades, Spahn’s Hall of Fame plaque contained a typographical error, crediting him with 2,853 strikeouts.[4] Spahn maintained that "A pitcher needs two pitches - one they’re looking for, and one to cross ’em up." He was thus able to maintain his position as one of the game’s top pitchers until his 19th season in the sport. This was exemplified by his start on July 2, 1963. Facing the San Francisco Giants, the 42-year-old Spahn became locked into a storied pitchers’ duel with 25-year-old Juan Marichal. The score was still 0–0 after more than four hours when Willie Mays hit a gamewinning solo home run off Spahn with one out in the bottom of the 16th inning. Marichal’s manager, Alvin Dark, visited the mound in the 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, and 14th innings, and was talked out of removing Marichal each time. During the 14th-inning visit, Marichal told Dark, "Do you see that man pitching for the other side? Do you know that man is 42 years old? I’m only 25. If that man is on the mound, nobody is going to take me out of here."[5] Marichal ended up throwing 227 pitches in the complete game 1-0 win, while Spahn threw 201 in the loss, allowing nine hits and one walk. Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell, who was in attendance that night, said of Spahn, "He ought to will his body to medical science." Spahn threw his first no-hitter in 1960, when he was 39. He pitched his second nohitter the following year. By the last two seasons of his career, Spahn was the oldest active player in baseball. He lost this distinction Retirement Spahn managed Tulsa Oilers for five seasons, winning 372 games from 1967 to ’71. His 1968 club won the Pacific Coast League championship. He also coached for the Mexico City Tigers, and pitched a handful of games there. He was a pitching coach with the Cleveland Indians, in the minor leagues for the California Angels, and for six years, with Japan’s Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Death Spahn died of natural causes, at his home in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He is interred in the Elmwood Cemetery in Hartshorne. After his death a street was named after him in Buffalo, New York that connects Abbott Road with Seneca Street, through Cazenovia Park, in the heart of South Buffalo. The street is near South Park High School, Spahn’s alma mater. A few months before his death, Spahn attended the unveiling of a statue outside Atlanta’s Turner Field. The statue depicts Spahn in the middle of one of his leg kicks. The statue was created by Shan Gray, who has sculpted numerous other statues of athletes which stand in Oklahoma, including another one of Spahn that resides in the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. See also • 300 win club • List of Major career wins • List of Major champions • List of Major champions • List of Major champions League Baseball leaders in League Baseball ERA League Baseball strikeout League Baseball wins 3 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time • MLB all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers • Major League Baseball titles leaders • List of Major League Baseball no-hitters Warren Spahn Other On April 4, 2009, the facilities of Broken Arrow Youth Baseball, in Spahn’s long time home of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, were dedicated in his honor. In their Naked Gun films, producers Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker sometimes included joke credits. The trio, who were Milwaukee-area natives, included Spahn in the closing credits once, with the disclaimer, "He’s not in the film, but he’s still our all-time favorite left-hand pitcher." [2] According to the Baseball Almanac, the original doggerel appeared in Hern’s Boston Post column on September 14, 1948. [3] Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts - Baseball-Reference.com [4] "Warren Spahn from the Chronology". BaseballLibrary.com. http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ ballplayers/ player.php?name=Warren_Spahn_1921&page=chron Retrieved on 2008-12-23. [5] Two aces in the hole | Oakland Tribune | Find Articles at BNET External links • Baseball Hall of Fame – Member biography • Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube • Behind the Dugout: Warren Spahn • Spahn and Sain Notes [1] ^ Baseball Historian - Part of the Sports Historian Network Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Spahn" Categories: National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, Major League Baseball pitchers, Boston Braves players, Milwaukee Braves players, New York Mets players, San Francisco Giants players, Cy Young Award winners, National League All-Stars, Major League Baseball players from New York, 300 win club, National League ERA champions, National League strikeout champions, National League wins champions, Major League Baseball pitchers who have pitched a no-hitter, American military personnel of World War II, United States Army officers, Recipients of the Purple Heart medal, People from Buffalo, New York, People from Boston, Massachusetts, People from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, People from Manhattan, People from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Major League Baseball players with retired numbers, 1921 births, 2003 deaths This page was last modified on 18 May 2009, at 03:44 (UTC). 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