Sal Maglie

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Salvatore Anthony Maglie (April 26, 1917 - December 28, 1992) was a Major League Baseball player for the New York Giants, Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals from 1945 to 1958. Maglie was a pitcher known as "Sal the Barber," because he gave close shaves—that is, pitched inside to hitters. Coincidentally, he also sported a five o'clock shadow look. He also had the distinction of being one of the few players to play for all three New York City baseball teams. He was the Dodgers' pitcher opposing Don Larsen of the Yankees in the latter's famous perfect game of the 1956 World Series. Maglie won 119 games and lost 62, with an earned run average of 3.15, over his career.

Maglie was integral to the brilliant success of the New York Giant teams of the early 1950's.

In 1969, Maglie later became a pitching coach for the Seattle Pilots team. He was profiled unflatteringly in Jim Bouton's book Ball Four, despite the fact that he was a boyhood hero of Bouton. Bouton comments that Maglie rarely gave useful advice to the pitchers, and frequently second guessed their choice of pitches, often contradicting his previous second guessing.

However, Bouton was known as an incessant trouble maker at the time, as Hall of Famer Don Drysdale credits Maglie with giving him the ability to pitch inside that would later make Drysdale a legend. Jim Lonborg, AL Cy Young Award winner in 1967 also learned to brush hitters back under instruction from Maglie; before that he had been an inconsistant pitcher.

The book Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings (2004) includes short stories from former Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine. Maglie is prominent in many of these stories.

[edit] External link

• Sal Maglie at Baseball Reference