Jim Donohue
| Jim Donohue | |
|---|---|
| Relief pitcher | |
|
Born: October 31, 1938 St. Louis, Missouri | |
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| April 11, 1961 for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 22, 1962 for the Minnesota Twins | |
| Career statistics | |
| Win-loss record | 6-8 |
| Strikeouts | 116 |
| Earned run average | 4.29 |
| Teams | |
| |
James Thomas Donohue (born October 31, 1938, in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, and Minnesota Twins from 1961 to 1962.[1]
Early career
Donohue was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1956 season and assigned to the minor league Class D Gainesville G-Men of the Florida State League. In his first full professional season, Jim posted a 5–6 win-loss record with a 2.08 earned run average in 95 innings pitched.[1] He received a late-season call to join the AAA Omaha club in October, but did not play.[2]
For the 1957 season, Jim was promoted to the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the Class C Northern League. He appeared in more games and pitched 141 innings to attain a 7–7 record, but his ERA more than doubled, ballooning to a 4.34 while having a very high mark for Walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) at 1.589.[1]
The Cardinals invited Donohue to St. Petersburg, Florida for spring training in February 1958.[3] He was later optioned to the Class A York White Roses of the Eastern League. He got off to a very hot start in his 14 games with the team, putting up a perfect 7–0 record with a 1.48 ERA in 10 starts.[1] The exceptional play earned him a mid-season advancement to the Class AA Texas League Houston Buffaloes. Jim started in prime fashion in his first game, throwing a complete game two-hit shutout against Dallas on June 26.[4] He came across some bad luck a few weeks later, however, as he was out for a week after being hit on July 14 by a line drive on his ankle.[5] Overall at Houston he compiled a 3–7 record with a 4.50 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 82 innings of work.[1] After his most successful season yet, Donohue was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals to participate in the Florida West Coast Winter Instructional League.[6]
Jim started the 1959 season in Class AAA with the American Association Omaha Cardinals. He pulled double duty as a starter and reliever, starting 18 games and playing the relief role in 16. He put down a 2.43 ERA with 87 strikeouts and a 3–7 record in 132 innings.[1] He also received some brief play around May with the Rochester Red Wings, striking out 10 in 9 innings.[1][7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Pitching Splits and Daily Pitching Logs at Retrosheet.org and Baseball-Reference.com.
- ↑ "Deals of the Week". The Sporting News. 3 October 1956. p. 32.
- ↑ Kachline, Clifford (12 February 1958). "Nine Major Clubs Hope to Speed Kids by Advance Camps". The Sporting News. p. 21.
- ↑ "Donohue Flips 2-Hitter In Bow". The Sporting News. 9 July 1958. p. 56.
- ↑ "Cats Purring Along on Smooth Hurling". The Sporting News. 23 July 1958. p. 39.
- ↑ Lieb, Fred (22 October 1958). "Gem by Cardinals Features Opening of Florida League". The Sporting News. p. 22.
- ↑ "International League". The Sporting News. 20 May 1959. p. 30.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)