Mike Caldwell (baseball)
Mike Caldwell | |
---|---|
Pitcher | |
Born: Tarboro, North Carolina, U.S. | January 22, 1949|
Batted: Right Threw: Left | |
MLB debut | |
September 4, 1971, for the San Diego Padres | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 25, 1984, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 137–130 |
Earned run average | 3.81 |
Strikeouts | 939 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
Ralph Michael Caldwell (born January 22, 1949) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher.
Career
Caldwell was drafted in the 12th round of the
Caldwell was traded again in 1976, this time to the
Caldwell had his best season in 1978 when he went 22–9 with a 2.36 ERA and led the AL in complete games with 23. Caldwell was named the AL Comeback Player of the Year by The Sporting News and finished second in the Cy Young Award balloting to Ron Guidry. Caldwell finished in double figures in victories for six consecutive seasons for the Brewers (1978–1983) and won two games in the 1982 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in a losing effort, the first win being a complete game shutout in game 1. Caldwell was given his unconditional release by the Brewers organization in 1985. Caldwell, as of 2019, is still the Brewers' all-time leader in wins by a left-handed pitcher, with 102.
In 1978, he was one of the three left-handed pitchers named "Mike" (the others being Mike Flanagan and Mike Willis) to hand the New York Yankees' Ron Guidry a loss in his 25–3 season. He and the Brewers shut out the New York Yankees and Guidry 6–0 on July 7, 1978. During his prime years in Milwaukee, Caldwell was known as a "Yankee killer", and proved to be very successful against them. From 1977 to 1982, Caldwell was 12–5 with a 2.66 ERA against the Yankees.
Caldwell threw mainly a sinker and a regular fastball, relying on control and varying speeds of pitches to get outs. Indeed, in his entire MLB career, Caldwell struck out 100 or more batters in a full-season only twice.
References
- ^ "North Carolina State University Baseball Players Who Made it to the Major Leagues". Baseball-Almanac.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Padres Get McCovey," The New York Times, Friday, October 26, 1973. Retrieved November 28, 2020
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)