McCovey fouled to the catcher and Alou flied to center, but Cepeda loaded the bases when Menke made an error. Spahn died of natural causes, at his home in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Anyway, it was encouraging to me that I had such a good fastball. Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball. As the game progressed, Spahn was drinking very littlewater, because it gave him a stomachache. [1] 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. During the 14th-inning visit, Marichal told Dark, "Do you see that man pitching for the other side? BL-2870.70 (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library), Warren Spahn, right, pitched 20 of his 21 big league seasons with the Braves. 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. Swelling now, Spahn threw another scroogie to Mays. Only six balls were hit to the outfield. In addition to Spahn and Marichal, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda of the Giants and Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews of the Braves were bound for induction. There was not just stamina at work but incentive. Braves' lefty led Milwaukee to World Series title. The poem was inspired by the performance of Spahn and Sain during the Braves' 1948 pennant drive. Well, yes and no. The San Francisco Chronicle carried a front-page headline JUAN BEATS SPAHN. A batter has less than half a second to make a decision of whether he will swing at a pitch, and when he does, he has to generate a motion that will meet the ball within a very small window of time. Hank Aaron led off the fourth by flying out deep to left field, the wind holding up his drive. The screwball hung, Mays swung. In his last major league game, he passed Bob Feller in career strikeouts. Spahn tied Feller's mark on June 14, 1952. I kept going to the mound the last three or four innings asking Juan, Are you all right? And he always said he was.. [3] Spahn still holds the major league record for most career wins by a left-handed pitcher. 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. He lost this distinction for a single day: September 25, 1965, when 58-year-old Satchel Paige pitched three innings. Spahns post-7/2/63 life was more complicated. The fans missed him, but he was added by a special Committee to the all-century team. Coming into the top of the ninth inning, in a game that was barely two hours old, Spahn had only allowed two base runners - both of whom reached on walks. Apartment living is better with your best friend. Spahn had little trouble the rest of the way. "The fastball was hopping out there," he told reporters. Then Id run from the mound to rest longer., The Braves appreciated Marichals hurry-up style, which was never intended to show up his plodding opponent. And suddenly it was all over. In competition, he toed the inside of the rubber closest to first base to improve the angle for pitching away from left-handed hitters and to give his slider more room to break away from right handers. Warren Spahn pitched for half a season with the Mets in 1965 after he was sold to New York by the Milwaukee Braves in Nov. 1964. He just kept busting them in on the hands of our guys and kept getting them out. Hubbell added, He ought to will his body to medical science., Of Marichal, who retired 16 straight late in the game, Dark said, He didnt throw many breaking pitches, thus tiring his arm, but just kept slipping across the fastball with a loose and fluid motion. Spahn also threw two no-hitters (in 1960 and 1961, at ages 39 and 40), won 3ERA titles (1947, 1953, and 1961), and four strikeout crowns (19491952). But fellow Hall of Famer Stan Musial had his doubts as to whether Spahn, a major league pitcher until his mid-40s, would ever be honored in Cooperstown, once half-jokingly stating, I dont think Spahn will ever get into the Hall of Fame. Spahn played for Casey Stengel in his rookie year with the Boston Braves (4 games) in 1942 and in his the first half of his final season in 1965. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. When McCovey launched one of his patented moon shots, the ball flew somewhere over the right-field foul pole. Spahn would strike out 11 in his next start four days later, setting a record for two-game strikeout totals with 29 one more than Fellers American League mark set in 1938. Then he hit a ball that I think is still going. [Ed. Spahn, 42, personified an aging Tyrannosaurus rex defending his grip on the animal kingdom with wits, tenacity, and memory. 9,245th in major league history) His baseball career was interrupted by his military service in the United States Army during World War II.[2]. On Aug. 11, 1961, Warren Spahn recorded his 300th career win, as the Braves defeated the Cubs 2-1 at County Stadium. (Age 20-361d, His teammates were silently waiting for him in the clubhouse. Warren Spahn won more games from 1950-1959 than any other pitcher in the major leagues. "A pitcher needs two pitches - one they're looking for and one to cross them up," Spahn was fond of saying. After his no-hitter, Marichal had gone to a Spanish language movie house and watched a lousy western. "[9], Spahn finished the 1942 season with a 1712 record for the Hartford Bees of the Class-A Eastern League, Along with many other major leaguers, Spahn chose to enlist in the United States Army, after finishing the 1942 season in the minors. In 1970, when Hoyt Wilhelm was 47, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for first baseman Hal Breeden. He would finish the season 21-10. But ironically, those two walks were what cost him the game, as Hal Jeffcoats triple drove in Roy Smalley and Eddie Miksis, giving the Cubs the 3-1 win. He consistently was the league lead in Wins, ERA, Strikeouts and Complete Games. "Hitting is timing. I had a good curve tonight, too, and Im pretty proud of that. By 5:14 p.m. that night, the number had changed to two. April 23, 1921 He was selected for the All-Star in 14 seasons. 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,[27] and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1991. [2] The Warren Spahn Award, given annually to the major leagues' best left-handed pitcher, is named in his honor. For years he said that if he had one pitch hed like to take back, that was it.. After outliving his wife LoRene by 25 years, Spahn died on November 24, 2003. Part of the Baseball Almanac Family, Last-Modified: January 1, 2023 8:53 AM EST, Winningest Pitchers: Baseball's 300-game Winners. Good luck again prevailed in the ninth. He went to second on a passed ball by Ed Bailey, and scored on Hank Aaron's sharp liner to right. Spahn's record was 19-9. In his next outing, the ageless wonder pitched a two-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving up a misjudged fly ball for a hit in the third and a two-out single in the ninth. Spahn reached the major leagues in 1942 at the age of 20. A pitcher needs two pitches one theyre looking for and one to cross them up, Spahn was fond of saying. . Qualifying Rental Criteria. morris wins* degrom losses* 15. In 1957, Spahn was the ace of the champion Milwaukee Braves. Born: As the keepers of the Games history, the Hall of Fame helps you relive your memories and celebrate baseball history. During the 14th-inning visit, Marichal told Dark, "Do you see that man pitching for the other side? And followed Just 8,518 showed up for the Friday April 28 game to watch the old master face Sam Jones and the first place Giants with their ball-crushing lineup led by future Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda and Felipe Alou. In the Giants 13th, Bowman singled, then wandered too far off first. Moreover, he was facing precisely the same eight position players he had no-hit in April 1961. Warren Spahn made his major league debut in 1942 at 21 years old. The ball bounced off the pitcher's glove and skipped toward shortstop where Johnny Logan raced across the grass, swept up the ball and fired to first. Hed throw five fastballs, five screwballs, five curves, five changeups, Greg continues, and see what was working If he had trouble, it wasusually in the first or second inning. [1] It was the first of his thirteen 20-win seasons. blue = warren spahn. thor usernames; premium tax credit repayment exceptions. In 1999, he ranked Number 21 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. As of this writing, only one player in the last quarter century Seattles Jamie (The Ancient Mariner) Moyer in 2003 has had a 20-win season past the age of 40. I was giving them good pitches with good stuff which is unusual. It was arguably the greatest pitching duel in baseball history. [14], Spahn's teammate Johnny Sain was the ace of the pennant-winning 1948 Braves staff, with a winloss record of 2415. As a left-hander, Spahn was able not only to watch any runner on first base, but also to avoid telegraphing whether he was delivering to the plate or to first base, thereby forcing the runner to stay close to the bag. Spahn returned to the major leagues in 1946 at the age of 25, having missed three full seasons. He fanned Herrera and Gonzalez in the seventh and pinch-hitters Tony Taylor and Lee Walls after one was out in the eighth. Warren Spahn tossed a no-hitter at the age of 39 against the Philadelphia Phillies. following an 80 mph off-speed pitch, vs. a 90 . The statue was created by Shan Gray, who has sculpted numerous other statues of athletes which stand in Oklahoma, including two others of Spahn. He gave up a harmless single in the 13th, a walk in the 14th, nothing in the 15th. He saw action in the Battle of the Bulge and at the Ludendorff Bridge (the famous bridge at Remagen) as a combat engineer, and was the only one of major league baseball's military who earned a battlefield commission. The same situation occurred in the fifth inning when Spahn walked leadoff batter McCovey with four straight balls. Maybe I wouldn't have been able to do that otherwise. New York Mets (1965) (In 1962, another Hall of Famer hit his first career home run off Spahn: Sandy Koufax, who only hit one other. It was the best game I ever saw.. And he didnt let up for the rest of the decade: In a career lasting from 1960 to 1975, Marichal was one of eight right-handers since 1900 to win at least 100 more than he lost. But it did not change his effectiveness. [1], 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. 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