Claude Raymond (baseball)

Jean Claude Marc Raymond (born May 7, 1937 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada) was a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox (1959), Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (1961–63 and 1967–69), Houston Colt .45's/Astros (1964–67) and Montreal Expos (1969–71). He was one of the few baseball players to wear glasses and, as he came from Quebec, he was nicknamed "Frenchy".

Although the White Sox won the 1959 American League pennant and the Braves won the 1969 National League Western Division, Raymond pitched only in three games for Chicago in early 1959 and was released by the Braves to Montréal in August 1969.

He was named to the 1966 National League All-Star Team.

In 12 seasons he had a 46–53 record, appeared in 449 games, started 7 games, recorded 2 complete games, 270 Games Finished, 83 Saves, 721 Innings Pitched, 711 Hits Allowed, 338 Runs Allowed, 293 Earned Runs Allowed, 75 Home Runs Allowed, 225 Walks Allowed, 497 Strikeouts, 28 Hit Batsmen, 32 Wild Pitches, 3,048 Batters Faced, 54 Intentional Walks, 4 Balks and a 3.66 ERA. Claude was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.

Although he was traded from the division-leading Braves to the upstart Expos, Raymond remarked that it was one of the happiest moments of his life, as he was able to play for his home province.

After his playing career, Raymond worked as a French-language broadcaster with the Expos from 1972 to 2001. During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Raymond was the public address announcer for baseball. This was because the International Olympic Committee specified that announcements at Olympic venues must also be made in French, which made Raymond, who had previously pitched in Atlanta, uniquely well suited for the job. He was also an Expo English-language broadcaster in 2004, their last season in Montreal.

Raymond joined the Expos staff as their Roving Coach in 2002 and served for three seasons.^[1]

According to The Baseball Hall of Shame 2, Raymond's picture on his baseball card (Topps) in 1966 and 1967 both showed him with his fly unzipped.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders

Notes

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Canada Sports Hall of Fame