Mickey McDermott
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Personal Info | |
|---|---|
| Birth | April 29, 1929, Poughkeepsie, New York |
| Death: | August 7, 2003, Phoenix, Arizona |
| Professional Career | |
| Debut | April 24, 1948, Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees, Yankee Stadium |
| Team(s) | Boston Red Sox Washington Senators |
| Career Highlights | |
Maurice Joseph "Mickey" McDermott Jr. (April 29, 1929 - August 7, 2003) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who is best known not for his accomplishments, but for what he didn't accomplish. A "can't miss" prospect, McDermott failed to live up to his potential due in part to his wildness on and off of the pitcher's mound.
Contents |
[edit] Pre-professional career
Mickey McDermott was the third son of Maurice McDermott Sr., a police officer and former minor league baseball player. Maurice, replaced at first base on the Hartford Senators in the Eastern League by future Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, had determined one of his three sons would grow up to be a baseball player and fulfill his dream. The first son, Jimmy, died at the age of seven and his second son, Billy, was born with deformed legs. That left only Mickey to dump all of Maurice's dreams on.
McDermott started playing first base, his father's position, until his coach at St. Mary's Grammar School noticed that his ball had a natural curve when thrown. By the time he was playing in the parochial school league for St. Patrick's High, he was averaging twenty strikeouts per game. McDermott played for the semi-pro Ferrara Trucking Company at the age of 13 against adults and some major league baseball players moonlighting to pick up some extra money. He went to his first tryout also at the age of 13 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Mule Haas, a scout for the Dodgers, said that he wanted to sign McDermott, but because of his age it was illegal. At the age of 15, his father changed his birth certificate to make it appear as of Mickey was 15 years old. Joe Cronin, general manager of the Red Sox, did some research and found out McDermott was only 15. Cronin and McDermott's father worked it out so that McDermott's father got a $5,000 signing bonus and two truck loads of Ballantine Beer for McDermott.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] Minor leagues
McDermott was assigned to the Red Sox's Double A affiliate, the Scranton Red Sox of the Eastern League. He ended up the season with a 16-6 record with a 3.29 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 175 innings. On July 14, 1946, at the age of 17, McDermott threw a no-hitter against the Albany Senators, making him possibly the youngest pitcher to throw a no-hit game in the high minors.
The following season, McDermott was moved up to Boston's Triple-A affiliate, the Louisville Colonels where he had a tough time with his control. Subsequently, he was sent back to Scranton to work on his mechanics. In Scranton, something clicked and he ended up going 12-4 with 4 shutouts for the rest of the season, averaging almost one strikeout per nine innings. During the playoffs, McDermott, threw his second minor league no-hitter. Playing at home against the Utica Blue Sox, McDermott walked Richie Ashburn in the ninth inning. Ashburn took second on a fielders's choice and reached third on a sacrifice fly. With two outs, the catcher called for a curve, but McDermott missed the sign and threw a fastball. The catcher, expecting a curve, couldn't catch the ball as it went sailing past him. Ashburn scored the only run of the game to give Utica the victory and McDermott the no-hit loss.
[edit] Major leagues
McDermott made it onto the Boston Red Sox's roster for at the beginning of the 1948 season. He appeared in seven games during the first two months of the season, mostly in lopsided losses. In 23 innings, he had 16 strikeouts and 35 walks. Because of his dismal performance, McDermott was sent back to Scranton for more seasoning. After the minor league season ended, he was called back up when the major league roster which had expanded for the playoff run. While with Scranton, McDermott threw his third career minor league no-hitter.
After the 1949 spring training, McDermott was assigned to the Louisville Colonels. On May 24, he struck out 20 St. Paul Saints to set a new American Association record that was never broken (the American Association folded in 1962). Over the next four games after his 20 strikeout performance, he struck out 19, 18, 17 and 19 to set a record for the most strikeouts over a five game period, 93. Under pressure from sports writers, Boston, which was already 11 games out of first place, brought up McDermott to help their ailing pitching staff.
McDermott got his first big league win when Ellis Kinder left the game in the first inning, too drunk to pitch. McDermott pitched eight innings of shutout baseball before being lifted for a reliever. He finished the season with a 5-4 record and 2 shutouts, but his strikeout to walk ratio was still about one for one. McDermott continued to improve on his control. His peak came in 1953 when he went 18-10. The following year, he was traded to the lowly Washington Senators for Jackie Jensen. McDermott never really got back on track after the trade. He finished his career with a 69-69 record playing for several different teams, each on thinking that they could reach that untapped potential that he showed as a youth. After refusing to sign with the Tigers for the 1959, the Tigers sold his contract to the Dallas Eagles of the Texas League, who he also refused to sign with. Then Bill Veeck, owner of the triple A Miami Marlins of the International League, signed him to pitch on the same staff as Satchel Paige and Virgil Trucks.
While playing winter ball in Cuba in 1959, McDermott's team was up to bat when Fidel Castro led the 26th of July Movement that overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista. Several people on the field and in the stands where shot including McDermott's teammate and future Cincinnati Reds shortstop Leo Cardenas. Revolution followed McDermott to Caracas the following year when, while playing winter ball in Venezuela, Rafael Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic, tried to have Venezuelan president, Rómulo Betancourt, assassinated.
Before 1961, Detroit gave McDermott his unconditional release. He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent. After divorcing his first wife, McDermott met Linda Biggio, who would become his second wife. After being out late on night, he invited Linda to his room. The hotel detective saw her and dressed in a Hawaiian muumuu, said, "You can't bring that hooker into your room!" McDermott punched the detective in the mouth and was subsequently fired from the Cardinals.
[edit] Post-playing career
As McDermott's baseball career started winding down, he began to drink more. Eventually, he was drinking every night even when he was scheduled to pitch the next day. After kicking around the minor leagues for a while and taking odd jobs to make ends meet, McDermott's second wife, fed up with his alcoholic ways, divorced him. McDermott was hired by the California Angels in 1967 as an assistant pitching coach and batting practice pitcher. He was let go with the rest of the coaching staff after the 1968 season. McDermott participated in a few baseball camps and owned a bar but didn't really get anywhere until Billy Martin, his former teammate and drinking buddy, hired him as a scout for the Oakland A's. McDermott turned in the first A's report on Mark McGwire who eventually signed with them. McDermott was fired along with the rest of the coaching staff when Martin was fired after the 1982 season.
When free agency kicked into high gear, McDermott, along with business partner Tino Barzie, started representing baseball player as agents. McDermott would recruit the players, and Barzie would negotiate the contracts. They ended up representing Tony Armas, Mario Guerrero, Alejandro Pena, Candy Maldonado and Marty Barrett. Barzie finally had to end his business relationship with McDermott because McDermott was drinking too much. McDermott became good friends and drinking buddies with Paul Gleason and Jack Kerouac.
In 1991, at the age of 63, McDermott and his fourth wife hit the Arizona state lottery for $7 million. After getting into a car wreck and being sentenced to 60 days in jail for numerous DWI's, McDermott finally sobered up. Five years later, his wife, Betty, died of breast cancer. McDermott's health was not much better, as he went on to have a defibrillator and pacemaker surgically installed. He wrote a memoir of his playing (and non-playing) days called A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cooperstown, in which he blamed his health problems on his heavy drinking. McDermott lived long enough to see his book published. It was released in April 2003, and he died on August 7, 2003, in Phoenix, Arizona, from congestive heart failure and colon cancer, aged 74.
[edit] Note
- ↑ Mickey McDermott (2003). A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to Cooperstown. Triumph Books. ISBN 1-57243-532-1. p. 178
[edit] Reference
- Mickey McDermott (2003). A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to Cooperstown. Triumph Books. ISBN 1-57243-532-1.
[edit] External link
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
Categories: 1929 births | 2003 deaths | 1956 New York Yankees World Series Championship Team | Boston Red Sox players | Cancer deaths | Detroit Tigers players | Irish-American sportspeople | Kansas City Athletics players | Major league pitchers | Major league players from New York | New York Yankees players | People from Dutchess County, New York | St. Louis Cardinals players | Washington Senators players
