John Curtis (baseball)
John Curtis | |||||||||||||||
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Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
Born: Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. | March 9, 1948|||||||||||||||
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |||||||||||||||
MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
August 13, 1970, for the Boston Red Sox | |||||||||||||||
Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
September 28, 1984, for the California Angels | |||||||||||||||
MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
Win–loss record | 89–97 | ||||||||||||||
Earned run average | 3.96 | ||||||||||||||
Strikeouts | 825 | ||||||||||||||
Teams | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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John Duffield Curtis (born March 9, 1948) is an American former professional baseball
Early life
Curtis attended
Career
Boston Red Sox
After two seasons at Clemson, he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1968 Major League Baseball draft, and signed with the club.
Curtis was called to the majors during his third minor league season, and made his major league debut as a
When he returned to the BoSox in September
Curtis began the 1972 season with the triple A Louisville Colonels, but he was back with the Red Sox by the end of May. He was traded after the 1973 season with Mike Garman and Lynn McGlothen to the St. Louis Cardinals for Reggie Cleveland, Terry Hughes and Diego Seguí.
With the new designated hitter rule to go into effect the following season, Curtis became the last pitcher to ever bat at Fenway Park on September 28, 1972, in the bottom of the seventh inning in a 3-1 Red Sox win against the Kansas City Royals.[8]
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cards were battling the Pittsburgh Pirates for first place in the National League East all season when the Bucs came to Busch Stadium for a three-game set September 23–25, 1974. The Pirates took two of the three with Curtis taking the loss in the second game.[9] Curtis spent three seasons in St. Louis, going 24–34 with a 3.88 earned run average and 208 strikeouts, mostly as a starter.
San Francisco Giants
After the
. Curtis became predominantly a reliever for the first time in his career while with the Giants. He went 17–15 with a 4.45 ERA over three seasons with the Giants, appearing in 116 games.Curtis played for the San Francisco Giants from 1977 to 1979. In his first start for the Giants on May 8, 1977, Curtis pitched a two-hit 10–0 shutout versus the Mets and hit for two singles and a triple. While playing for the Giants, Curtis lived in Foster City, California.
San Diego Padres
He was converted back to a starter when he signed with the San Diego Padres as a free agent for the 1980 season,[10] and emerged as the ace of the staff by the end of the season, going 10–8 with a 3.51 ERA for the last-place team. He began the strike-shortened 1981 season as a starter, but after going 0–2 with a 6.30 ERA in that role, he was converted to a reliever, and pitched exclusively in that role during the second half of the season when play resumed.
California Angels
Curtis' contract was purchased by the
Personal life
Curtis lives in
Curtis was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame on Long Island in the Baseball Category with the Class of 1992.
Career statistics
W
|
L | PCT | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BF | H | ER | R | HR | BB | K | WP | HBP |
89 | 97 | .478 | 3.96 | 438 | 199 | 42 | 14 | 11 | 1641 | 7099 | 1695 | 722 | 810 | 140 | 669 | 825 | 74 | 13 |
References
- ^ Schneider, Russell (June 28, 1972). "Schneider Around". The Plain Dealer. p. 2F.
- ^ "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ "Kansas City Royals 11, Boston Red Sox 3". Baseball-Reference.com. 1970-08-13.
- ^ "New York Yankees 3, Boston Red Sox 0". Baseball-Reference.com. 1971-09-06.
- ^ "Detroit Tigers 3, Boston Red Sox 2". Baseball-Reference.com. 1971-09-12.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox 10, Cleveland Indians 7". Baseball-Reference.com. 1971-09-16.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox 6, Washington Senators 3". Baseball-Reference.com. 1971-09-25.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox 3, Kansas City Royals 1". Baseball-Reference.com. 1972-09-28.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates 7, St. Louis Cardinals 3". Baseball-Reference.com. 1974-09-24.
- ^ Ron Fimrite (1980-05-12). "Has Typewriter, Will Pitch". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "Where Are They Now: John Curtis". Baseball Savvy.com.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- John Curtis at Baseball Almanac