Warren Spahn

Warren Spahn

Spahn in 1952
Pitcher
Born: April 23, 1921
Buffalo, New York
Died: November 24, 2003 (aged 82)
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 19, 1942 for the Boston Braves
Last MLB appearance
October 1, 1965 for the San Francisco Giants
Career statistics
Win–loss record 363–245
Earned run average 3.09
Strikeouts 2,583
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Induction 1973
Vote 82.89%

Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in the National League. He won 20 games or more in 13 seasons, including a 23–7 record when he was age 42. Spahn was the 1957 Cy Young Award winner, and was the runner-up three times, all during the period when just one award was given. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, with 83% of the total vote. (His eligibility was delayed, under the rules of the time, by two years of token minor league play.)

Spahn won 363 games, more than any other left-handed pitcher in history, and more than any other pitcher who played his entire career in the post-1920 live-ball era. He is acknowledged as one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball history. The Warren Spahn Award, given to the major leagues' best left-handed pitcher, is named after him.

Regarded as a "thinking man's" pitcher who liked to outwit batters, Spahn once described his approach on the mound: "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing."[1]

Baseball career

His major league career began in 1942 with the Braves and he spent all but one year with that franchise, first in Boston and then in Milwaukee. He finished his career in 1965 with the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. With 363 wins, Spahn is the 6th most winning pitcher in history, trailing only Cy Young (511), Walter Johnson (417), Grover Cleveland Alexander (373), Christy Mathewson (373), and Pud Galvin (364) on MLB's all-time list. He lead the league in wins eight times (1949-1950, 1953, 1957-1961, each season with 20+ wins) and won at least 20 games an additional five times (1947, 1951, 1954, 1956, 1963).

Spahn also threw two no-hitters (in 1960 and 1961, at ages 39 and 40), won 3 ERA titles (1947, 1953, and 1961), and four strikeout crowns (1949-1952). He appeared in 14 All-Star Games, the most of any pitcher in the 20th century. He won the NL Player of the Month Award in August 1960 (6-0, 2.30 ERA, 32 SO) and August 1961 (6-0, 1.00 ERA, 26 SO)

Spahn acquired the nickname "Hooks", not so much because of his pitching, but due to the prominent shape of his nose. He had once been hit in the face by a thrown ball that he was not expecting, and his broken nose settled into a hook-like shape. In Spahn's final season, during his stint with the Mets, Yogi Berra came out of retirement briefly and caught 4 games, one of them with Spahn pitching. Yogi later told reporters, "I don't think we're the oldest battery, but we're certainly the ugliest."

Spahn was known for a very high leg kick in his delivery, as was his later Giants teammate Juan Marichal. Photo sequences show that this high kick served a specific purpose. As a left-hander, Spahn was able not only to watch any runner on first base, but also to not telegraph whether he was delivering to the plate or to first base, thereby forcing the runner to stay close to the bag. As his fastball waned, Spahn adapted, and relied more on location, changing speeds and a good screwball. He led or shared the lead in the NL in wins from 1957–1961 (age 36 through 40).

Spahn was also a good hitter, hitting at least one home run in 17 straight seasons, and finishing with an NL career record for pitchers, with 35 home runs. Wes Ferrell, who spent most of his time in the American League, holds the overall record for pitchers, with 37.

Brief call-up

First signed by the Boston Braves before the 1940 season, Spahn reached the major leagues in 1942 at the age of 20. He clashed with Braves manager Casey Stengel, who sent him to the minors after Spahn refused to throw at Brooklyn Dodger batter Pee Wee Reese in an exhibition game.[2] Spahn had pitched in only 4 games, allowing 15 runs (10 earned) in 15 2⁄3 innings. Stengel later said that it was the worst managing mistake he had ever made: I said "no guts" to a kid who went on to become a war hero and one of the greatest lefthanded pitchers you ever saw. You can't say I don't miss 'em when I miss 'em. The 1942 Braves finished next to last, and Stengel was fired the following year. Spahn was reunited with his first manager 23 years later, for the even more woeful last-place New York Mets, and—referring to Stengel's success with the 1949–60 New York Yankees—later quipped, "I'm probably the only guy who played for Casey before and after he was a genius."[3]

World War II

Along with many other major leaguers, Spahn chose to enlist in the United States Army, after finishing the 1942 season in the minors. He served with distinction, and was awarded a Purple Heart.[3] He saw action in the Battle of the Bulge and at the Ludendorff Bridge as a combat engineer, and was awarded a battlefield commission.[3]

Spahn returned to the major leagues in 1946 at the age of 25, having missed three full seasons. Had he played, it is possible that Spahn would have finished his career behind only Walter Johnson and Cy Young in all-time wins.[4] Spahn was unsure of the war's impact on his career:

People say that my absence from the big leagues may have cost me a chance to win 400 games. But I don't know about that. I matured a lot in three years, and I think I was better equipped to handle major league hitters at 25 than I was at 22. Also, I pitched until I was 44. Maybe I wouldn't have been able to do that otherwise.[3]

Boston Braves

In 1947, Spahn led the National League in ERA while posting a 21–10 record. It was the first of his thirteen 20-win seasons. Spahn also won two more ERA titles, in 1953 and 1961.

On June 11, 1950, Spahn and pitcher Bob Rush of the Cubs each stole a base against each other; no opposing pitchers again stole a base in the same game until May 3, 2004, when Jason Marquis and Greg Maddux repeated the feat.[5][6]

In 1951, Spahn allowed the first career hit to Willie Mays, a home run. Mays had begun his career 0-for-12, and Spahn responded to reporters after the game, citing the distance between home plate and the pitcher's mound of 60 feet, 6 inches, "Gentlemen, for the first 60 feet, that was a hell of a pitch." Spahn joked a long time later, "I'll never forgive myself. We might have gotten rid of Willie forever if I'd only struck him out." (In 1962, another Hall of Famer hit his first career home run off Spahn: Sandy Koufax, who only hit one other.)

"Pray for rain"

Spahn (right) with Johnny Sain

Spahn's teammate Johnny Sain was the ace of the pennant-winning 1948 Braves staff, with a win-loss record of 24–15. Spahn went 15–12 while, contrary to legend, teammates Bill Voiselle (13–13), and Vern Bickford (11–5) also pitched well.[7]

In honor of the pitching duo, Boston Post sports editor Gerald V. Hern wrote this poem which the popular media eventually condensed to "Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain":[8]

First we'll use Spahn
then we'll use Sain
Then an off day
followed by rain
Back will come Spahn
followed by Sain
And followed
we hope
by two days of rain.

The poem was inspired by the performance of Spahn and Sain during the Braves' 1948 pennant drive. The team swept a Labor Day doubleheader, with Spahn throwing a complete 14-inning win in the opener, and Sain pitching a shutout in the second game. Following two off days, it did rain. Spahn won the next day, and Sain won the day after that. Three days later, Spahn won again. Sain won the next day. After one more off day, the two pitchers were brought back, and won another doubleheader. The two pitchers had gone 8–0 in 12 days' time.[3]

Milwaukee Braves

In 1957, Spahn was the ace of the champion Milwaukee Braves. Spahn pitched on two other Braves pennant winners, in 1948 and 1958. He had 2,583 strikeouts, which at the time of his retirement was the highest total for a left-handed pitcher in baseball history.[9] Spahn led the NL in strikeouts for four consecutive seasons, from 1949 to 1952 (tied with Don Newcombe in 1951), which includes a single game high of 18 strike outs (then the NL record) in a 15-inning appearance on June 14, 1952. For several decades, Spahn's Hall of Fame plaque contained a typographical error, crediting him with 2,853 strikeouts.[10]

Spahn in 1958.

Spahn maintained that "A pitcher needs two pitches — one they're looking for, and one to cross 'em up." He was thus able to maintain his position as one of the game's top pitchers until his 19th season in the sport. This was exemplified by his start on July 2, 1963. Facing the San Francisco Giants, the 42-year-old Spahn became locked into a storied pitchers' duel with 25-year-old Juan Marichal. The score was still 0–0 after more than four hours when Willie Mays hit a game-winning solo home run off Spahn with one out in the bottom of the 16th inning.[11] Marichal's manager, Alvin Dark, visited the mound in the 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, and 14th innings, and was talked out of removing Marichal each time. During the 14th-inning visit, Marichal told Dark, "Do you see that man pitching for the other side? Do you know that man is 42 years old? I'm only 25. If that man is on the mound, nobody is going to take me out of here."[12] Marichal ended up throwing 227 pitches in the complete game 1–0 win, while Spahn threw 201 in the loss, allowing nine hits and one walk. Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell, who was in attendance that night, said of Spahn, "He ought to will his body to medical science."

Spahn threw his first no-hitter against the Phillies 16 September 1960, when he was 39. He pitched his second no-hitter the following year, 28 April 1961, against the Giants. By the last two seasons of his career, Spahn was the oldest active player in baseball. He lost this distinction for a single day: September 25, 1965, when 58-year-old Satchel Paige pitched three innings.[13]

Spahn's seemingly ageless ability caused Stan Musial famously to quip, "[Spahn] will never get into the Hall of Fame. He won't stop pitching."

Final season

Warren Spahn's number 21 was retired by the Milwaukee Braves in 1965.

Following the 1964 season, after 25 years with the franchise, Spahn was sold by the Braves to the New York Mets. Braves manager Bobby Bragan predicted, "Spahnie won't win six games with the Mets." Spahn took on the dual role of pitcher and pitching coach. Spahn won four and lost 12 at which point the Mets put Spahn on waivers.[14] He was put on waivers on July 15, 1965 and released on July 22, 1965. He immediately signed with the San Francisco Giants, with whom he finished the season. With the Mets and Giants combined, he won seven games for the season—his last in the major leagues. His number would be retired by the Braves later that year.

Retirement

Spahn managed the Tulsa Oilers for five seasons, winning 372 games from 1967 to 1971. His 1968 club won the Pacific Coast League championship. He also coached for the Mexico City Tigers, and pitched a handful of games there. He was a pitching coach with the Cleveland Indians, in the minor leagues for the California Angels, and for six years, with Japan's Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

For many years he owned and ran the large Diamond Star Ranch south of Hartshorne, Oklahoma before retiring to live near a golf course in Broken Arrow.[15][16]

Death

A statue of Spahn is situated outside of Turner Field

Spahn died of natural causes, at his home in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He is interred in the Elmwood Cemetery in Hartshorne. After his death a street was named after him in Buffalo, New York that connects Abbott Road with Seneca Street, through Cazenovia Park, in the heart of South Buffalo. The street is near South Park High School, Spahn's alma mater.

A few months before his death, Spahn attended the unveiling of a statue outside Atlanta's Turner Field. The statue depicts Spahn in the middle of one of his leg kicks. The statue was created by Shan Gray, who has sculpted numerous other statues of athletes which stand in Oklahoma, including another one of Spahn that resides in the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.

See also

Honors

Spahn was selected for the all-time All-Star baseball team by Sports Illustrated magazine in 1991, as the left-handed pitcher. The other selections were: outfielders Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays; shortstop Cal Ripken, third baseman Mike Schmidt, second baseman Jackie Robinson, first baseman Lou Gehrig, catcher Mickey Cochrane, right-handed pitcher Christy Mathewson, relief pitcher Dennis Eckersley, and manager Casey Stengel.

Spahn was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973 and became a charter member of both the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985,[17] and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.

In 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked Warren Spahn 21st on their list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players".[18]

On April 4, 2009, the facilities of Broken Arrow Youth Baseball, in Spahn's longtime home of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, were dedicated in his honor.

In their Naked Gun films, producers Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker sometimes included joke credits. The trio, who were Milwaukee-area natives, included Spahn in the closing credits once, with the disclaimer, "He's not in the film, but he's still our all-time favorite left-hand pitcher."

Spahn also made his acting debut with a cameo appearance as a German soldier in a 1963 episode (S2E8 "Glow Against the Sky")[19] of the television series Combat!.

References

  1. ↑ "Warren Spahn Quotes". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
  2. ↑ Goldstein, Richard (November 25, 2003). "Warren Spahn, 82, Dies; Left-Handed Craftsman of the Baseball Mound for 21 Seasons". New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Baseball Historian - Part of the Sports Historian Network
  4. ↑ Bullock, Steven R. (2004). Playing for Their Nation: Baseball and the American Military during World War II. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 134–135. ISBN 0-8032-1337-9.
  5. ↑ "Jason Marquis". Athlete Promotions. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  6. ↑ Camps, Mark, "Rare feet: Opposing hurlers steal bases in the same game," The San Francisco Chronicle, 5/9/04, accessed 8/20/09
  7. ↑ Baseball Evolution - Keith
  8. ↑ According to the Baseball Almanac, the original doggerel appeared in Hern's Boston Post column on September 14, 1948.
  9. ↑ Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts - Baseball-Reference.com
  10. ↑ "Warren Spahn from the Chronology". BaseballLibrary.com. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
  11. ↑ "Milwaukee Braves vs San Francisco Giants July 2, 1963 Box Score". Baseball-Almanac.com. Baseball Almanac. 1963-07-02. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  12. ↑ "Two aces in the hole". Oakland Tribune.
  13. ↑ "Boston Red Sox vs Kansas City Athletics September 25, 1965 Box Score". Baseball-Almanac.com. Baseball Almanac. 1965-09-25. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  14. ↑ Daley, Arthur (1965-07-16). "Strong Minded Spahn Ignoring Sign Posts of Retirement?". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
  15. ↑ http://www.baseballtoddsdugout.com/spahnstory.html Retrieved 2014-12-06.
  16. ↑ http://newsok.com/memories-of-a-legend-and-a-father/article/3216734 Retrieved 2014-12-06.
  17. ↑ "Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame". Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  18. ↑ 100 Greatest Baseball Players by The Sporting News : A Legendary List by Baseball Almanac
  19. ↑ "Combat!" Glow Against the Sky (TV Episode 1963) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Don Drysdale
Frank Robinson		 Major League Player of the Month
August 1960
August 1961 		Succeeded by
Ken Boyer
Jim O'Toole
Preceded by
Lew Burdette
Warren Spahn		 No-hitter pitcher
September 16, 1960
April 28, 1961 		Succeeded by
Warren Spahn
Bo Belinsky
Preceded by
Mel Harder		 New York Mets Pitching Coach
1965 		Succeeded by
Wes Westrum
Preceded by
Cot Deal		 Cleveland Indians Pitching Coach
1972–1973 		Succeeded by
Clay Bryant