Joe Page

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Joseph Francis Page (October 28, 1917 - April 21, 1980), nicknamed Fireman and The Gay Reliever, is a former Major League Baseball player. Page, a left-handed pitcher who also batted left, was a starting/relief pitcher with the New York Yankees from 1944 to 1950 and with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1954.

[edit] Professional career

Page did not attend college, and was never drafted by a major league team. However, he was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1940. After spending time in the Yankees farm system, Page made his Major League Baseball debut on April 19, 1944.

In his rookie season (starting 16 games, and relieving in 3 others), Page was voted to play in the All-Star Game and ended his season with over 100 innings pitched and a humble 4.56 ERA. The next season, Page only pitched in 9 of the 20 games he played in the whole season, and greatly improved his ERA to 2.82, along with a 6-3 record.

In 1946, Page split his time between closing and starting games, and he picked up 3 saves while posting a 3.57 ERA and a 9-8 record. In 1947, Page spent practically the whole season in the bullpen and only started twice. He was voted to play in the All-Star Game once again as he played very well, leading the American League with 17 saves and posting a 2.48 ERA and a 14-8 record. He was fourth in the league in American League MVP voting.

In 1948, Page again posted decent stats, finishing second in the American League in saves and striking out 77 in 107.7 innings.

The following season is perhaps the best professional season of Joe Page's career, in which he had a 13-8 record and a 2.59 ERA, and finished first in the American League in saves with 27. He gave up only 103 hits in 135.3 innings and struck out 99 batters. He was named to play at the All-Star Game, and finished first in the league in three categories: games finished, games pitched, and saves. Page won the inaugural Babe Ruth Award for his stellar pitching in the 1949 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. He also finished 3rd in the American League MVP voting.

1950 was not particularly a good season for Page, and as a result he was sent back to the minors. On May 16, 1951, the New York Yankees released Page. Almost 3 years later, on April 12, 1954, Page was signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Page played just 7 games, posting a disastrous 11.17 ERA. A few days after his last major league game (May 25, 1954), Page was released by the Pirates on June 1, 1954.