79-485: Thomas John Norton (born April 26, 1950) is a former professional baseball relief pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB) in its 1972 season . This biographical article relating to an American baseball pitcher born in the 1950s is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Relief pitcher In baseball and softball , a relief pitcher or reliever
158-407: A closer who generally pitches the ninth inning, a setup pitcher who generally pitches the eighth, and a left-handed specialist whose job is to retire left-handed batters. The rest of the bullpen then consists of middle relievers who are used in the remaining situations, and perhaps additional left-handed or right-handed specialists. The closer is usually the best relief pitcher, followed by
237-456: A "super bullpen", nonetheless this is no guarantee of success since the performance of relief pitchers has been shown to fluctuate much more wildly than starting pitchers. For instance the 2016 and 2017 Cleveland Indians had the strongest bullpen in the league, however their bullpen in 2018 struggled and the Indians won their division thanks to the strength of their starting rotation. Similarly
316-576: 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. On September 21, 1970, Wilhelm was selected off waivers by the Chicago Cubs , for whom he appeared in three games. He was traded back to the Braves for Hal Breeden on November 30, 1970. As the Cubs had acquired Wilhelm late in
395-506: A 2.10 ERA. 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. 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. The 1954 World Series represented Wilhelm's only career postseason play. He pitched 2 + 1 ⁄ 3 innings over two games, earning
474-547: A 2.66 ERA . Mike Marshall in 1974 was the first reliever to win the Cy Young Award after a record 106 games, 15–12 record, 21 saves, and 208 innings pitched . In 1992, Eckersley was the first modern closer (first player to be used almost exclusively in ninth inning situations) to win the Cy Young, and since then only one other relief pitcher has won the Cy Young, Éric Gagné in 2003 (also
553-633: A Class D minor league team and having the manager tell him to forget about the knuckleball, but he persisted with it. The Boston Braves purchased Wilhelm from Mooresville in 1947, and on November 20, 1947, he was drafted by the New York Giants from the Braves in the 1947 minor league draft. Wilhelm's first assignment in the Giants organization was in Class B with the 1948 Knoxville Smokies , for whom he registered 13 wins and 9 losses. He also spent
632-626: A World Series, being named to an All-Star team, and throwing a no-hitter. 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. 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. [Hoyt] had
711-592: A closer). Three relief pitchers have won both the MVP and Cy Young Awards in a single season; Fingers in 1981, Willie Hernández in 1984, and Eckersley in 1992. Hoyt Wilhelm James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed " Old Sarge ", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants , St. Louis Cardinals , Cleveland Indians , Baltimore Orioles , Chicago White Sox , California Angels , Atlanta Braves , Chicago Cubs , and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1952 and 1972. Wilhelm
790-567: A few games that season with the Class A Jacksonville Tars of the South Atlantic League , and returned to Jacksonville in 1949, earning a 17–12 win–loss record and a 2.66 earned run average (ERA). Wilhelm was promoted to the Class AAA Minneapolis Millers in 1950, where he was the starting pitcher in 25 of the 35 games he pitched in, registering a 15–11 record with a 4.95 ERA. His role in 1951 with
869-527: A few innings at a time. He assigned Wilhelm to the team's bullpen. 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. On April 23, 1952, in his third game with the New York Giants, Wilhelm batted for the first time in the majors. Facing rookie Dick Hoover of the Boston Braves, Wilhelm hit a home run over
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#1732801134679948-472: A modern single-season baseball record for the category. Wilhelm's career-low ERA (1.31) came in 1967, when he earned an 8–3 record for the White Sox with 12 saves. 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,
1027-435: A pitcher who is normally a reliever that starts the game for an inning or two before yielding to someone who would normally be a starter. Sometimes the manager replaces an opener with a series of other relievers who would only pitch one or two innings in a game, usually due to injury or fatigue affecting the team's starters or other strategical reasons; this approach became known as a bullpen game . One advantage of this approach
1106-695: A player, Wilhelm managed two minor league teams in the Atlanta Braves system for single seasons. He led the 1973 Greenwood Braves of the Western Carolinas League to a 61–66 record, then had a 33–33 record with the 1975 Kingsport Braves of the Appalachian League . He also worked as a minor league pitching coach for the New York Yankees for 22 years. As a coach, Wilhelm said that he did not teach pitchers
1185-521: A position role to the pitcher's box in this way were often called "change" pitchers. This strategy of switching players between the mound and the outfield is still occasionally employed in modern baseball, sometimes in long extra inning games where a team is running out of players. In 1889, the first bullpen appearance occurred after rules were changed to allow a player substitution at any time. Early relief pitchers were normally starting pitchers pitching one or two innings in between starts. In 1903, during
1264-514: A save in the third game. The team won the World Series in a four-game sweep. 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. 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
1343-421: A season without starting a game was Scott Proctor in 2006. From the mid-2010s onward, MLB teams have given relievers an increasing number of innings at the expense of starters, due to the baseball game moving towards higher variance, and a flexible bullpen does give the manager more options of defending against high risk offensive strategies. In response, some teams have allocated funds and made trades to create
1422-414: A series clincher"). However, the 2018 Boston Red Sox under Alex Cora managed their pitching rotation such that a starter was readily available in the bullpen every playoff game. Regarded as an "almost universal truth in baseball", "almost every starting pitcher would be better in relief". However, a starter may not necessarily be best used as a "fireman" (to stop a rally) since "the conventional wisdom
1501-634: A set-up man, Ted Power , in order to keep the Cincinnati Reds from employing their successful platoon (Power pitched 2 + 1 ⁄ 3 innings prior to giving way to lefty starter Zane Smith in the third inning) and the strategy worked in holding the Reds to only two runs; to deceive his opponents Leyland had announced the Game 6 starter at a press conference so that the Reds would set their batting order around Smith. Between their scheduled starts in
1580-457: A single game that they must rest several days before pitching in another, relief pitchers are expected to be more flexible and typically pitch in more games with a shorter time period between pitching appearances but with fewer innings pitched per appearance. A team's staff of relievers is normally referred to metonymically as a team's bullpen , which refers to the area where the relievers sit during games, and where they warm-up prior to entering
1659-856: A tennis ball, hoping it was his best shot at Big League success. Wilhelm made his professional debut with the Mooresville Moors of the Class-D North Carolina State League in 1942. He served in the United States Army in the European Theater during World War II and participated in the Battle of the Bulge , where he was wounded, earning the Purple Heart for his actions. He rose to
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#17328011346791738-536: Is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue , injury, ineffectiveness, ejection , high pitch count, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather delays or pinch hitter substitutions. Relief pitchers are further divided informally into various roles, such as closers , setup men , middle relief pitchers , left/right-handed specialists , and long relievers . Whereas starting pitchers usually throw so many pitches in
1817-853: Is also the increased risk of injury, such as Jose Canseco who suffered a season-ending arm injury after pitching two innings in a 1993 game. For these reasons, managers will typically only use a position player as a pitcher in a blowout loss, or in order to avoid a forfeit once they have run out of available pitchers. Typically, the position player also pitched at the high school or collegiate level, as smaller roster sizes at amateur levels forced some position players to pitch, with some were recruited in college also as pitchers, as starters or relievers. Mitch Moreland ( Mississippi State ), Ryan Rua ( Lake Erie College ), and J. D. Davis , ( Cal State Fullerton ) all played as both position players and pitchers in their collegiate careers, with Rua and Davis both being closers for their college teams. Cliff Pennington became
1896-521: 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. Wilhelm
1975-546: Is that it’s unwise to bring a starter in for a relief appearance with men already on base; starting pitchers take longer to warm up than relievers and tend to be most comfortable when coming in at the start of an inning with the bases empty". A good example of starters in relief was in the deciding Game 6 of the 2010 NLCS , where the San Francisco Giants bullpen utilized two starters as well as three regular relievers to get seven scoreless innings. In Game 6 of
2054-468: Is that the opener, who is often a hard-throwing specialist, can be called in to face the most dangerous hitters, who are usually near the top of the batting order, the first time they come to bat. Although the opener has only been formally regarded as a relief role in 2018, managers have sporadically used a reliever before a starter. A good example is Game 6 of the 1990 National League Championship Series when Pittsburgh Pirates manager Jim Leyland started
2133-467: The 2010 ALCS , manager Joe Girardi was criticized for "managing by formula" in not calling upon ace CC Sabathia and instead going to reliever David Robertson who surrendered several runs that put the game out of reach for the New York Yankees . Starter Madison Bumgarner recorded the longest save in World Series history, pitching five scoreless innings of relief in a Game 7 3–2 victory of
2212-467: The 2014 edition . In the 2018 World Series , starter Nathan Eovaldi , originally slated to pitch Game 4, was inserted in relief during Game 3 which turned into an 18-inning marathon. In making World Series history, he became the first reliever to throw at least six innings after Rick Rhoden did so in 1977, while Eovaldi's 97 pitches set the record for the most by a reliever (and also 36 more pitches than Rick Porcello who had started that game). In
2291-695: 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. 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. 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. At
2370-412: The 1960 season, Orioles manager Paul Richards devised a larger mitt so his catchers could handle the knuckleball. 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. 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
2449-479: The 1968 season, MLB expanded and an expansion draft was conducted in which the new teams could select certain players from the established teams. The White Sox left Wilhelm unprotected, possibly because they did not believe that teams would have interest in a much older pitcher. On October 15, 1968, Wilhelm was chosen in the expansion draft by the Kansas City Royals as the 49th pick. That offseason, he
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2528-429: The 2019 Washington Nationals won the 2019 World Series in spite of their relief pitching staff having the worst ERA (5.66) that season. Pitching staffs on MLB teams have grown from 9 or 10 to as many as 12 or 13 pitchers, due to the increased importance of relief pitching. The staff generally consists of five starting pitchers, with the remaining pitchers assigned as relievers. A team's relief staff usually contains
2607-447: The 9th; but it gave Sale the opportunity to get the final outs of the series (Sale also got the first outs of the series when he started the opener). In games where a blowout is occurring, position players (non-pitchers) may be substituted in to pitch to save the bullpen for the next game. However, this is a rare occurrence as position players are not truly trained as pitchers, and tend to throw with less velocity and/or accuracy. There
2686-673: The Cardinals that season, he earned 11 saves but finished with a 1–4 record and his highest ERA to that point in his career (4.25). The Cardinals placed him on waivers in September and he was claimed by the Cleveland Indians , who used him in two games that year. In 1958, Cleveland manager Bobby Bragan used Wilhelm occasionally as a starter. Although he had a 2.49 ERA, none of the Indians' catchers could handle Wilhelm's knuckleball. General manager Frank Lane , alarmed at
2765-553: The Millers was the same as the year before, primarily as a starter, but also making eleven relief appearances. His ERA came down to 3.94 in 1951, but his record fell to 11–14. 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
2844-619: The Phillies in 1950, and Ellis Kinder had finished seventh in the AL voting in 1951, so it was a time when relief pitchers were starting to receive appreciation from the sportswriters. Wilhelm finished second in the Rookie of the Year Award voting to Joe Black. Wilhelm made 69 relief appearances in 1953, his win–loss record decreased to 7–8 and he issued 77 walks against 71 strikeouts . Wilhelm
2923-416: 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. 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. Wilhelm
3002-420: The Year Award and The Sporting News Reliever of the Year Award are annually voted on and presented to relievers, with the former being split by league into the " Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award" and the " Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award". The now defunct Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award was determined by a statistical formula. Compared to starting pitchers, most relievers (with
3081-461: The all-time record with 106 games pitched in 1974, he threw 208.1 innings . Currently, although some relievers still do appear in a large number of games per season, the workload for each individual pitcher has been much reduced. Since 2008, Pedro Feliciano has three of the top four seasons in games pitched, with 92, 88 and 86. However, Feliciano only averaged 58 innings pitched during those seasons. The last pitcher to throw 100 or more innings in
3160-473: 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. – Brooks Robinson 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
3239-417: The clinching Games of the 2018 NLCS and 2018 World Series , respectively, aces Clayton Kershaw (for Kenley Jansen ) and Chris Sale (for Craig Kimbrel , indeed the other pitcher warming up besides Sale was another starter, Nathan Eovaldi ) pitched the ninth-inning in lieu of their team's regular closer. Neither relief entrance was a high pressure situation as their teams were already leading 5-1 entering
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3318-478: The end of any close game. Wilhelm was the first relief pitcher elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is also remembered as one of the most successful and "probably the most famous 'old' player in history." 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
3397-578: The except of closers with large save totals) receive few awards and honors. Historically, setup men were rarely selected to MLB All-Star Games , with the relievers selected usually being closers. A setup man has never won the Cy Young Award or the Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award ; the highest placements in these respective awards have been achieved by Rivera, who finished third in
3476-575: The first position player in Major League Baseball history to pitch in a postseason game, which was during Game 4 of the 2015 American League Championship Series . The second position player to pitch in the playoffs was Austin Romine during Game 3 of the 2018 American League Division Series . Starting in 2023 , MLB position players are allowed to pitch in a game under the following conditions: The Major League Baseball Reliever of
3555-620: The following year, but he was an All-Star, registered 18 saves and had a 2.30 ERA. 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 . Early in that season, White Sox manager Al López said that Wilhelm had improved his pitching staff by 40 percent. He said that Wilhelm
3634-719: The game accompanied by Metallica 's " Enter Sandman " booming over Yankee Stadium's sound system. When Jonathan Papelbon was with the Red Sox , his entry song was the Dropkick Murphys ' " I'm Shipping Up to Boston ", and Hoffman entered to the tune of AC/DC 's " Hells Bells ". Eight pitchers are currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame chiefly for their accomplishments as relief pitchers: Goose Gossage , Hoyt Wilhelm , Rollie Fingers , Bruce Sutter , Dennis Eckersley , Lee Smith , Hoffman, and Rivera. Eckersley, who
3713-469: The game as "the roughest day I ever put in during my life." 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." Triandos once said, "Heaven is a place where no one throws a knuckleball." Despite the passed balls, Wilhelm won the American League ERA title with a 2.19 ERA. During
3792-419: The game. In the early days of Major League Baseball (MLB), substituting a player was not allowed except for sickness or injury. An ineffective pitcher would switch positions with another player on the field. The first relief appearance in the major leagues was in 1876 with Boston Red Caps outfielder Jack Manning switching positions with pitcher Joe Borden . In this early era, relief pitchers changing from
3871-670: The increase in offense. Relievers became more respected in the 1970s, and their pay increased due to free agency . All teams began having a closer . The 1980s were the first time in MLB that the number of saves outnumbered complete games . In 1995, there were nearly four saves for every complete game. It is unclear whether the specialization and reliance on relief pitchers led to pitch counts and fewer complete games, or whether pitch counts led to greater use of relievers. As closers were reduced to one-inning specialists, setup men and middle relievers became more prominent. In past decades,
3950-491: The knuckleball, believing that people had to be born with a knack for throwing it. He sometimes worked individually with major league players who wanted to improve their knuckleballs, including Joe Niekro . The Yankees gave Wilhelm permission to work with Mickey Lolich in 1979 even though Lolich pitched for the San Diego Padres . Wilhelm was on the ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame for eight years before he
4029-570: The large number of passed balls , allowed the Baltimore Orioles to select Wilhelm off waivers on August 23, 1958. In Baltimore, Wilhelm lived near the home of third baseman Brooks Robinson and their families became close friends. On September 20 of that year, Wilhelm no-hit the eventual World Champion New York Yankees 1–0 at Memorial Stadium , in only his ninth career start. He allowed two baserunners on walks and struck out eight. The no-hitter had been threatened at one point in
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#17328011346794108-426: The lessened exposure of their abilities became an advantage many would learn to capitalize on. Because these pitchers only faced some batters once a season, the opposing side would have greater difficulty preparing to face relief pitchers. Recently, being a relief pitcher has become more of a career, rather than a reduced position. Many of today's top prospects are considered mainly for their relief pitching skills. In
4187-406: The line may be journeymen as their individual performances may vary greatly (often specialised to pitch against certain types of batters, such as to right-handed batters only or left-handed batters only), even though their team's relief pitching staff as a whole is overall effective. The rising importance placed on relief pitchers is evident in the rising star power of the closer. It has gotten to
4266-509: The nickname "Old Folks" while he still had more than a decade left in his playing career. He was the oldest player in Major League Baseball for each of his final seven seasons. 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." Baseball executive Roland Hemond agreed, saying, "Wilhelm's knuckleball did more than anyone else's ... There
4345-547: The ninth inning when Hank Bauer bunted along the baseline, but Robinson allowed the ball to roll and it veered foul. The no-hitter was the first in the franchise's Baltimore history; the Orioles had moved from St. Louis after the 1953 season. Orioles catchers had difficulty catching the Wilhelm knuckleball again in 1959 and they set an MLB record with 49 passed balls. During one April game, catcher Gus Triandos had four passed balls while catching for Wilhelm and he described
4424-472: The point where closers are among the biggest stars in the game, with status and salaries on par with starting pitchers. When closers play at home, and when they are called into the game to preserve a lead for the crucial last inning or those last couple of outs, many of them trot in from the bullpen to the pitchers mound accompanied by a theme song of their choice. For many years with the Yankees , Rivera entered
4503-479: The quest for a managerial edge, managers as time goes on have carried more pitchers in the bullpen, and used them in more specialized situations. Acknowledgment of the platoon edge has prompted managers to ensure that opposing lefty hitters face as many lefty pitchers as possible, and that the same occur with respect to righty hitters and pitchers. Tony La Russa was particularly well known for making frequent pitching changes on this basis. When Mike Marshall set
4582-535: The rank of staff sergeant while in the Army, and played his entire career with a piece of shrapnel lodged in his back as a result of the wounds he received in battle. Wilhem carried the nickname "Old Sarge" because of his service in the military. 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. He later recalled being dropped from
4661-463: The relief pitcher was merely an ex-starter who came into a game upon the injury, ineffectiveness, or fatigue of the starting pitcher. The bullpen was for old starters who had lost the ability to throw effectively. Many of these pitchers would be able to flourish in this diminished role. Those such as Dennis Eckersley , as with many others, actually prolonged their tapering careers and often sparked them to new life. The added rest to their arms as well as
4740-463: The rotation, a starting pitcher can be used on short rest for the bullpen. They are sometimes used as relievers when the stakes are higher, such as a game that could decide the division title or an elimination (winner-take all) playoff game. Currently, starters are typically used in relief situations either early in the postseason prior to their scheduled rotation start, or late in the postseason after their last scheduled start (often with "the ultimatum of
4819-507: The season to bolster their playoff contention, the trade back to the Braves was a source of controversy. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn investigated the transaction, 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. Wilhelm was released by the Braves on June 29, 1971, having pitched in three games for that year's Braves. He signed with
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#17328011346794898-431: The second game of the inaugural World Series , Pittsburgh 's Bucky Veil became the first relief pitcher in World Series history. Firpo Marberry is credited with being the first prominent reliever. From 1923 to 1935, he pitched in 551 games , 364 of which were in relief. Baseball historian Bill James wrote that Marberry was "a modern reliever—a hard throwing young kid who worked strictly in relief, worked often, and
4977-405: The setup man. Players typically get promoted into later-inning roles as they succeed. Relievers were previously more multipurpose before becoming one-inning specialists. The setup man and closer will normally only be used to preserve a lead, although they may enter to maintain a close game (where the score is tied or if their team is trailing by only a few runs) particularly in the playoffs. If
5056-621: 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. 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 Most Valuable Player Award voting that season, behind rookie reliever Joe Black of the Dodgers. Jim Konstanty had won it for
5135-528: The team is significantly behind going into the eighth or ninth inning and a relief pitcher is required, usually a middle reliever or two will be chosen to soak up innings, while the setup man and closer are saved for the next time they are needed to preserve a win. The proper use of the bullpen is to avoid using an effective reliever on a low-leverage situation, instead saving them as "fireman" for high-leverage situations (such as bases-loaded, no-outs). In 2018, some MLB teams began experimenting with an opener –
5214-545: The time of his retirement, Wilhelm had pitched in a then major league record 1,070 games. 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. After his retirement as
5293-531: The time. Gradually after World War II, full-time relievers became more acceptable and standard. The relievers were usually pitchers that were not good enough to be starters. Relievers in the 1950s started to develop oddball pitches to distinguish them from starters. For example, Hoyt Wilhelm threw a knuckleball , and Elroy Face threw a forkball . In 1969, the pitcher's mound was lowered and umpires were encouraged to call fewer strikes to give batters an advantage. Relief specialists were used to counter
5372-546: The voting for the American League (AL) Cy Young Award and twelfth for the AL MVP in 1996, and for the next season he was promoted to closer. Middle reliever Andrew Miller became the first relief pitcher other than a closer to win a League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award when he was voted the 2016 ALCS MVP. Setup pitchers typically make less than the MLB average salary. Relief pitchers further down
5451-450: Was "a game of inches, and for Hoyt, Wes had been that inch in the right direction." On February 26, 1957, Wilhelm was traded by the Giants to the St. Louis Cardinals for Whitey Lockman . At the time of the trade, St. Louis manager Fred Hutchinson described Wilhelm as the type of pitcher who "makes us a definite pennant threat ... He'll help us where we need help the most." In 40 games with
5530-494: 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 ." He registered 21 saves and a 2.64 ERA. 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
5609-528: Was born in 1922, long thought to have been 1923. He was one of eleven children born to poor tenant farmers John and Ethel (née Stanley) Wilhelm in Huntersville, North Carolina . He played baseball at Cornelius High School in Cornelius, North Carolina . Knowing he could not throw fast, he began experimenting with a knuckleball after reading about pitcher Dutch Leonard . He practiced honing it with
5688-557: Was considered the first modern closer pitching exclusively in ninth inning situations, also had a significant career as a starting pitcher and even threw a no-hitter in 1977. Another pitcher entering the Hall in 2015 , John Smoltz , was primarily a starter, but spent four seasons as a reliever. Jim Konstanty in 1950 was the first reliever to win the MLB MVP Award after a then-record 74 games, 16–7 record , 22 saves, and
5767-554: Was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 . 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
5846-465: Was elected. After Wilhelm failed to garner enough votes for induction in 1983 , sportswriter Jim Murray criticized the voters, saying that while Wilhelm never had the look of a baseball player, he was "the best player in history at what he does." He fell short by 13 votes in 1984. Wilhelm was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 . At his induction ceremony, he said that he had achieved all three of his initial major league goals: appearing in
5925-528: Was named to the NL All-Star team that year, but he did not play in the game because team manager Charlie Dressen did not think that any of the catchers could handle his knuckleball. The Giants renewed Wilhelm's contract in February 1954. In 1954, Wilhelm was a key piece of the pitching staff that led the 1954 Giants to a world championship. He pitched 111 innings, finishing with a 12–4 record and
6004-649: 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. After
6083-489: Was so much action on it." 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. The New York Times linked his knuckleball with that of modern pitcher R. A. Dickey , as Wilhelm taught pitcher Charlie Hough
6162-551: Was traded by the Royals to the California Angels for Ed Kirkpatrick and Dennis Paepke . 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
6241-569: Was used to nail down victories". Another reliever, Johnny Murphy , became known as "Fireman" for his effectiveness when inserted into difficult situations ("put out fires") in relief. Nonetheless, the full-time reliever who was entrusted with important situations was more the exception than the rule at this point. Often, a team's ace starting pitcher was used in between his starts to "close" games. Later research would reveal that Lefty Grove would have been in his league's top three in saves in four different seasons, had that stat been invented at
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