Tex Clevenger

Truman Eugene "Tex" Clevenger (born July 9, 1932, in Visalia, California) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher/spot starter who played for the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees from 1954 to 1962. He was 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall and 180 pounds, and threw and batted right-handed. He attended Fresno State University. Clevenger owned Clevenger Ford, an automobile dealership in Porterville, CA. He resides in Ivanhoe CA.^[1]

Career

Before the 1953 season, Tex was signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox. In the minors that year, he went 16–2 for the San Jose Red Sox, which was good enough to earn him the 1953 California League MVP Award.

On April 18, 1954, at the age of 21, Clevenger made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox. His first season was no more than mediocre, as he went 2–4 with a 4.79 ERA. Overall in his career, he went 36–37 with a 4.18 ERA, 298 walks and 361 strikeouts. Oddly enough, perhaps his best season was his last - in 21 games in 1962, he had an ERA of 2.84 and a record of 2–0. As a hitter, he hit .157, with the highlight of his hitting career being a triple in 1958. He had a .961 career fielding percentage.

Clevenger was often among the league leaders, but only led the league in any category once. Four times was he on the top 10 list for games played, leading the league in 1958. Four times was he on the top 10 list in saves, and also four times was he on the top 10 list in games finished. In each of the categories, he appeared on the top 10 lists every year from 1957 to 1960. Statistically, Clevenger has often been compared to former pitcher Hal Jeffcoat.

On September 30, 1962, Clevenger played in his final major league game.

Transactions

• On November 8, 1955, Clevenger was sent with Al Curtis (a minor leaguer), Dick Brodowski, Neil Chrisley, and Karl Olson from the Red Sox to the Washington Senators for Bob Porterfield, Mickey Vernon, Johnny Schmitz and Tom Umphlett.
• On December 14, 1960, the Los Angeles Angels drafted Clevenger in the expansion draft.
• On May 8, 1961, Clevenger was traded with Bob Cerv by the Angels to the New York Yankees for Ryne Duren, Lee Thomas and Johnny James.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference