Rookie of the Year: Harry Byrd, 1952

Pitcher, Philadelphia Athletics

Age:  27

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 188

Prior to 1952:

A native of Darlington, South Carolina Byrd was a logger with his father in his youth and played baseball with distinction at St. John’s High School and on a Junior American Legion team. Following his high school graduation in 1943 he enlisted in the Army and served in Europe during the late stages of World War II. Upon returning home in 1946 Byrd signed with the Athletics. Initially assigned to Martinsville of the Class C Carolina League, he went 15-12 with a 4.77 ERA. In 1947 he advanced to Savannah of the Class A South Atlantic League where he struggled with his control and produced a 16-13 record with a 5.56 ERA. Byrd returned to Savannah in 1948 and had a marginally better performance with a 15-15 tally and 4.09 ERA. He was sold by Savannah to the Buffalo Bisons of the Class AAA International League in the offseason and he received enhanced pitching instruction from manager Paul Richards during spring training in 1949. He left the team without permission to help his family following his father’s heart attack and was suspended. After playing in the semipro Palmetto League he was reinstated by the Bisons and returned to Savannah, where he had a poor 2-8 record with a 4.67 ERA in 10 relief appearances that covered 54 innings. With a good spring performance in 1950 and injuries to three projected starters, Byrd found himself opening the season with the A’s. He appeared in six games with poor results and had a 16.88 ERA when he was sent down to Buffalo where he was 4-9 with a 6.75 ERA. Byrd was back with Savannah in 1951 and changed to a side-arm delivery which was more natural to him and allowed him to throw with more power. He had a productive season, pitching 248 innings and compiling an 18-14 record with a 3.59 ERA. He made it back to the A’s in 1952 where he started the season in the bullpen before being inserted into the rotation.

1952 Season Summary

Appeared in 37 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 37 [15, tied with Ray Scarborough]

Games Started – 28 [16, tied with Art Houtteman]

Complete Games – 15 [7, tied with Mel Parnell & Bob Porterfield]

Wins – 15 [7, tied with Billy Pierce]

Losses – 15 [4, tied with Bob Hooper]

PCT - .500 [17, tied with Mel Parnell & Hal Newhouser]

Saves – 2

Shutouts – 3 [8, tied with six others]

Innings Pitched – 228.1 [10]

Hits – 244 [2]

Runs – 100 [9, tied with Bob Hooper]

Earned Runs – 84 [11]

Home Runs – 12

Bases on Balls – 98 [5]

Strikeouts – 116 [12]

ERA – 3.31 [12]

Hit Batters – 7 [3, tied with five others]

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 4 [12, tied with ten others]

Midseason Snapshot: 5-7, ERA - 4.46, SO – 45 in 72.2 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 8 (in 9 IP) at Boston Red Sox 5/27

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min.7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) vs. NY Yankees 9/3

Batting

PA – 84, AB – 75, R – 4, H – 10, 2B – 2, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 3, SO – 21, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .133, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 6, SF – N/A

Fielding

Chances – 62

Put Outs – 26

Assists – 32

Errors – 4

DP – 5

Pct. - .935

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

AL ROY Voting:

Harry Byrd, Phila.: 9 of 24 votes, 38% share

Clint Courtney, StLB.: 8 votes, 33% share

Sammy White, BosRS: 7 votes, 29% share

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A’s went 79-75 to finish fourth in the AL, 16 games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees. It was the franchise’s last winning record while based in Philadelphia.

Aftermath of ‘52:

Byrd was a workhorse for the faltering A’s in 1953, leading the AL with 37 starts and producing an 11-20 record with a 5.51 ERA over 236.2 innings pitched. In the offseason he was part of a 13-player trade with the New York Yankees that most notably brought first baseman Vic Power to the A’s. Utilized as a spot starter, he was 9-7 with a 2.99 ERA for the Yankees in 1954 after which he was dealt once again, to the Baltimore Orioles in the trade that brought pitchers Bob Turley and Don Larsen to New York. Byrd got off to a 3-2 start in 14 appearances for the Orioles in 1955, 8 of them starts, before he was waived in June and picked up by the Chicago White Sox. His performance the rest of the year was mediocre and his overall record was 7-8 with a 4.61 ERA. Byrd started 1956 with the White Sox and was 0-1 with a 10.38 ERA at the point he was traded to Detroit in May. He spent the remainder of the season with Charleston of the Class AAA American Association where he started 21 games and compiled an 8-9 record with a 4.06 ERA. He was back with Charleston in 1957 until he was sent down to Birmingham of the Class AA Southern Association. He was 2-3 with a 4.62 ERA in six starts for Charleston and 5-2 with a 2.08 for Birmingham prior to being called up to the Tigers at midseason where he was used as a short reliever. Byrd appeared in 37 games for Detroit and was 4-3 with a 3.36 ERA and 5 saves. He pitched in Venezuela during the winter but failed to stick with the Tigers in the spring of 1958 and was sent down to Birmingham from where he was sold to Omaha of the American Association. Byrd never returned to the major leagues, pitching in the minors in 1959 and ’60. He retired following the 1961 Pacific Coast League season, having appeared with Portland and Hawaii.  Overall for his ultimately disappointing major league career, Byrd produced a 46-54 record with a 4.35 ERA and 381 strikeouts over 827.2 innings pitched. He was 26-35 with the A's with a 4.71 ERA and 240 strikeouts. Byrd, who died at age 60 in 1985, was player/manager of a semipro team in his home town of Darlington for a time following his retirement from organized baseball.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.