Hoyt Wilhelm
Hoyt Wilhelm | |
---|---|
Pitcher | |
Born: Huntersville, North Carolina, U.S. | July 26, 1922|
Died: August 23, 2002 Sarasota, Florida, U.S. | (aged 80)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 18, 1952, for the New York Giants | |
Last MLB appearance | |
July 10, 1972, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 143–122 |
Earned run average | 2.52 |
Strikeouts | 1,610 |
Saves | 228 |
Teams | |
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Member of the National | |
Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Induction | 1985 |
Vote | 83.8% (eighth ballot) |
James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American
Wilhelm grew up in North Carolina, fought in World War II, and then spent several years in the minor leagues before starting his major league career at the age of 29. He was best known for his knuckleball, which enabled him to have great longevity. He appeared occasionally as a starting pitcher, but pitched mainly as a reliever. Wilhelm won 124 games in relief, which is still the major league record. He was the first pitcher to reach 200 saves, and the first to appear in 1,000 games.
Wilhelm was nearly 30 years old when he entered the major leagues, and pitched until he was nearly 50. He retired with one of the lowest career earned run averages, 2.52, in baseball history. After retiring as a player in 1972, Wilhelm held longtime coaching jobs with the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. He lived in Sarasota, Florida, for many years, and died there in 2002.
Early life
Wilhelm was born in 1922, long thought to have been 1923.
Wilhelm made his professional debut with the
After his release from the military, Wilhelm returned to the Moors for the 1946 season, and earned 41 wins over the 1946 and 1947 seasons.
Wilhelm's first assignment in the Giants organization was in Class B with the 1948
Major league career
Early years
Though Wilhelm was primarily a starting pitcher in the minor leagues, he had been called up to a Giants team whose strong starting pitchers had led them to a National League (NL) pennant the year before. Giants manager Leo Durocher did not think that Wilhelm's knuckleball approach would be effective for more than a few innings at a time. He assigned Wilhelm to the team's bullpen.[9]
Wilhelm made his MLB debut with the Giants on April 18, 1952, at age 29, giving up a hit and two walks while only recording one out.[10] On April 23, 1952, in his third game with the New York Giants,[10] Wilhelm batted for the first time in the majors. Facing rookie Dick Hoover of the Boston Braves, Wilhelm hit a home run over the short right-field fence at the Polo Grounds. Although he went to bat a total of 432 times in his career, he never hit another home run.[11]
Pitching exclusively in relief, Wilhelm led the NL with a 2.43 ERA in his rookie year. He won 15 games and lost three. Wilhelm finished fourth in the NL
In 1954, Wilhelm was a key piece of the pitching staff that led the 1954 Giants to a world championship.[17] He pitched 111 innings, finishing with a 12–4 record and a 2.10 ERA.[15] During one of Wilhelm's appearances that season, catcher Ray Katt committed four passed balls in one inning to set the major league record; the record has subsequently been tied twice.[18] When Stan Musial set a record by hitting five home runs in a doubleheader that year, Wilhelm was pitching in the second game and gave up two of the home runs.[19] The 1954 World Series represented Wilhelm's only career postseason play.[3] He pitched 2+1⁄3 innings over two games, earning a save in the third game.[20] The team won the World Series in a four-game sweep.[17]
Wilhelm's ERA increased to 3.93 over 59 games and 103 innings pitched in 1955, but he managed a 4–1 record. He finished the 1956 season with a 4–9 record and a 3.83 ERA in 89+1⁄3 innings.[3] Sportswriter Bob Driscoll later attributed Wilhelm's difficulties in the mid-1950s to the decline in the career of Giants catcher Wes Westrum, writing that baseball was "a game of inches, and for Hoyt, Wes had been that inch in the right direction."[21]
Middle career
On February 26, 1957, Wilhelm was traded by the Giants to the
In 1958, Cleveland manager
Orioles catchers had difficulty catching the Wilhelm knuckleball again in 1959 and they set an MLB record with 49 passed balls.[4] During one April game, catcher Gus Triandos had four passed balls while catching for Wilhelm and he described the game as "the roughest day I ever put in during my life."[27] Author Bill James has written that Wilhelm and Triandos "established the principle that a knuckleball pitcher and a big, slow catcher make an awful combination."[28] Triandos once said, "Heaven is a place where no one throws a knuckleball."[28]
Despite the passed balls, Wilhelm won the American League ERA title with a 2.19 ERA.[3] During the 1960 season, Orioles manager Paul Richards devised a larger mitt so his catchers could handle the knuckleball.[29][30] Richards was well equipped with starting pitchers during that year. By the middle of the season, he said that eight of his pitchers could serve as starters.[31] Wilhelm started 11 of the 41 games in which he appeared. He earned an 11–8 record, a 3.31 ERA and seven saves. He started only one game the following year, but he was an All-Star, registered 18 saves and had a 2.30 ERA.[3]
In 1962, Wilhelm had his fourth All-Star season, finishing with a 7–10 record, a 1.94 ERA and 15 saves. On January 14, 1963, Wilhelm was traded by the Orioles with Ron Hansen, Dave Nicholson and Pete Ward to the Chicago White Sox for Luis Aparicio and Al Smith.[3] Early in that season, White Sox manager Al López said that Wilhelm had improved his pitching staff by 40 percent. He said that Wilhelm was "worth more than a 20-game winner, and he works with so little effort that he probably can last as long as Satchel Paige."[32] He registered 21 saves and a 2.64 ERA.[3]
In 1964, Wilhelm finished with career highs in both saves (27) and games pitched (73). His ERA decreased to 1.99 that season; it remained less than 2.00 through the 1968 season. In 1965, Wilhelm contributed to another passed balls record when Chicago catcher J. C. Martin allowed 33 of them in one season. That total set a modern single-season baseball record for the category.[33] Wilhelm's career-low ERA (1.31) came in 1967, when he earned an 8–3 record for the White Sox with 12 saves.[3]
In the 1968 season, Wilhelm was getting close to breaking the all-time games pitched record belonging to Cy Young (906 games). Chicago manager Eddie Stanky began to think about using Wilhelm as a starting pitcher for game number 907. However, the White Sox fired Stanky before the record came up. Wilhelm later broke the record as a relief pitcher. He also set MLB records for consecutive errorless games by a pitcher, career victories in relief, games finished and innings pitched in relief.[34] Despite Wilhelm's success, the White Sox, who had won at least 83 games per season in the 1960s, performed poorly. They finished 1968 with a 67–95 record.[35]
Wilhelm was noted during this period for his mentoring of relief pitcher Wilbur Wood, who came to the 1967 White Sox in a trade. Wood sometimes threw a knuckleball upon his arrival in Chicago, but Wilhelm encouraged him to throw it full-time. By 1968, Wood won 13 games, saved 16 games and earned a 1.87 ERA. He credited Wilhelm with helping him to master the knuckleball, as the White Sox coaches did not know much about how to throw it. Between 1968 and 1970, Wood pitched in more games (241) than any other pitcher and more innings―400+1⁄3―than any other relief pitcher.[36]
After the 1968 season, MLB expanded and an
Later career
Wilhelm pitched 44 games for the 1969 California Angels and had a 2.47 ERA, ten saves, and a 5–7 record. On September 8, 1969, Wilhelm and Bob Priddy were traded to the Atlanta Braves for Clint Compton and Mickey Rivers. He finished the 1969 season by pitching in eight games for the Braves, earning four saves and recording a 0.73 ERA over 12+1⁄3 innings pitched. Wilhelm then spent most of the 1970 season with the Braves, pitching in 50 games for the team and earning ten saves.[3]
On September 21, 1970, Wilhelm was selected off waivers by the Chicago Cubs, for whom he appeared in three games.[3] He was traded back to the Braves for Hal Breeden on November 30, 1970.[37] As the Cubs had acquired Wilhelm late in the season to bolster their playoff contention, the trade back to the Braves was a source of controversy. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn investigated the transaction,[38] and in December ruled that he did not find evidence of impropriety associated with the transactions that sent Wilhelm to the Cubs and quickly back to the Braves.[39]
Wilhelm was released by the Braves on June 29, 1971, having pitched in three games for that year's Braves. He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 10, 1971, and appeared in nine games for the Dodgers, giving up two earned runs in 17+2⁄3 innings.[3] He also pitched in eight games that season for the team's Class AAA minor league affiliate, the Spokane Indians. Wilhelm started six of those games and registered a 3.89 ERA.[40]
Wilhelm pitched in 16 games for the Dodgers in 1972, registering a 4.62 ERA over 25 innings. The Dodgers released him on July 21, 1972. He never appeared in another game.[3]
At the time of his retirement, Wilhelm had pitched in a then major league record 1,070 games.[4] He is recognized as the first pitcher to have saved 200 games in his career, and the first pitcher to appear in 1,000 games. Wilhelm is one of the oldest players to have pitched in the major leagues; his final appearance was 16 days short of his 50th birthday.
Wilhelm retired with the lowest career earned run average of any major league hurler after 1927 (Walter Johnson) who had pitched more than 2,000 innings.
Later life
After his retirement as a player, Wilhelm managed two minor league teams in the
Wilhelm was on the ballot for the
He and his wife Peggy lived in Sarasota, Florida. They raised three children together: Patti, Pam, and Jim. Wilhelm died of heart failure in a Sarasota nursing home in 2002.[5]
In 2013, the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award honored Wilhelm as one of 37 Baseball Hall of Fame members for his service in the United States Army during World War II.[46]
Legacy
[Hoyt] had the best knuckleball you'd ever want to see. He knew where it was going when he threw it, but when he got two strikes on you, he'd break out one that even he didn't know where it was going.
Wilhelm was known as a "relief ace", and his teams used him in a new way that became a trend. Rather than bringing in a relief pitcher only when the starting pitcher had begun to struggle, teams increasingly called upon their relief pitchers toward the end of any close game.[47] Wilhelm was the first relief pitcher elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.[4]
He is also remembered as one of the most successful and "probably the most famous 'old' player in history."[1] Although, due largely to his military service, Wilhelm did not debut in the major leagues until he was already 29 years old, he nonetheless managed to appear in 21 major league seasons. He earned the nickname "Old Folks" while he still had more than a decade left in his playing career.[1] He was the oldest player in Major League Baseball for each of his final seven seasons.[6]
Former teammate Moose Skowron commented on Wilhelm's key pitch, saying, "Hoyt was a good guy, and he threw the best knuckleball I ever saw. You never knew what Hoyt's pitch would do. I don't think he did either."[8] Baseball executive Roland Hemond agreed, saying, "Wilhelm's knuckleball did more than anyone else's ... There was so much action on it."[8]
Before Wilhelm, the knuckleball was primarily mixed in to older pitchers' repertoires at the end of their careers to offset their slowing fastballs and to reduce stress on their arms, thereby extending their careers. Wilhelm broke with tradition when he began throwing the pitch as a teenager and threw it nearly every pitch.[1] The New York Times linked his knuckleball with that of modern pitcher R. A. Dickey, as Wilhelm taught pitcher Charlie Hough the knuckleball in 1971, and Hough taught it to Dickey while coaching with the Texas Rangers.[48]
See also
- List of knuckleball pitchers
- List of Major League Baseball career ERA leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career saves leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in games finished
- List of players with a home run in first major league at-bat
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Hoyt Wilhelm (SABR BioProject)". Society for American Baseball Research.
- ^ a b "Remembering a Huntersville legend". The Herald Weekly. July 14, 2011. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Hoyt Wilhelm Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Wilhelm first reliever elected to Hall of Fame". ESPN Classic. ESPN. Associated Press. August 29, 2002. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ a b c Lueck, Thomas (August 25, 2002). "Hoyt Wilhelm, first reliever in the Hall of Fame, dies". New York Times. Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
- ^ a b c "HOYT WILHELM". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on December 14, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- ISBN 0-9748190-2-6.
- ^ a b c d e Rosenstein, Johnny (August 25, 2002). "Hoyt Wilhelm 1923–2002". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-57488-805-8. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ^ a b "Hoyt Wilhelm 1952 pitching gamelogs". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
- ^ Jaffe, Chris (April 23, 2012). "60th anniversary: Hoyt Wilhelm's only homer". TheHardballTimes.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ "1952 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ "1950 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ "1951 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 1574888056. Archivedfrom the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
- ^ "Five Giants ink 1954 contracts". The Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. February 8, 1954. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ^ Gettysburg Times. Associated Press. Archivedfrom the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ "Red Sox catcher Ryan Lavarnway ties big league record with four passed balls". mlb.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
- ^ Schwartz, Larry. "Musial was gentleman killer". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ "1954 World Series". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
- ^ Driscoll, Bob (August 30, 1959). "Hoyt Wilhelm: From skids to stardom". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ "Cards enthuse over getting Hoyt Wilhelm". The Wilmington News. February 27, 1957. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ Hoffman, Benjamin (June 20, 2012). "When Knucklers Danced With Greatness". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
- Ocala Star-Banner. Associated Press. September 21, 1958. Archivedfrom the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
- ISBN 978-1250033031. Archivedfrom the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ 100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.212
- ^ Richman, Milton (April 24, 1959). "Wilhelm's knuckler helps set 'record'". Sarasota Journal. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4391-0693-8. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ Wilks, Ed (May 28, 1960). "Courtney Uses Out-Sized Mitt To Catch Wilhelm's Knuckler". The Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. p. 7. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ISBN 0-7432-8491-7.
- ISBN 978-1476600178. Archivedfrom the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- Gettysburg Times. Archivedfrom the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ Wilmington Morning Star. Archivedfrom the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ Eisenberg, Harry (December 15, 1968). "45-year-old Hoyt Wilhelm set six records in 1968". The Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ^ "Chicago White Sox Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ISBN 978-0547517711. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ "Center Fielders Are Exchanged," The New York Times, Tuesday, December 1, 1970. Archived September 18, 2021, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved March 10, 2020
- Lewiston Evening Journal. Associated Press. Archivedfrom the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
- ^ "Baseball sessions not too fruitful". The Lexington Dispatch. December 5, 1970. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ a b "Hoyt Wilhelm Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ "Hall of Famers". Southern League. Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ^ "Knuckleball master rescues Niekro". Wilmington Morning Star. Associated Press. April 23, 1987. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ "Lolich 'knuckling' down, eyes Padres' starting job". Ludington Daily News. Associated Press. February 28, 1979. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ Hochman, Stan (January 10, 1985). "Hoyt's knuckler not always in demand". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ Smizik, Bob (January 5, 1985). "Hall of Fame's loss". The Pittsburgh Press. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ "WWII HOF Players – Act of Valor Award". Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-4391-0693-8. Archivedfrom the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
- ^ Waldstein, David (June 21, 2012). "Wilhelm, Grandfather of Dickey's Knuckleball, Once No-Hit Yankees". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Hoyt Wilhelm at the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Hoyt Wilhelm at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
- Hoyt Wilhelm at Find a Grave