Pitcher, Milwaukee
Brewers
Age: 29
2nd season
with Brewers
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’4” Weight: 220
Prior to 1982:
A native of
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Vuckovich played football and basketball as well as
baseball at Conemaugh Valley High School. He turned down football scholarship
offers from major colleges to attend Clarion State College where he pitched and
played second base. Selected by the Chicago White Sox in the third round of the
1974 amateur draft he played for teams at the Class A and AA levels in ’74 and in
18 games put together a combined record of 3-5 with a 3.48 ERA. He moved up to
the Denver Bears of the Class AAA American Association in 1975 and was 11-4
with a 4.34 ERA and developed his array of pitches that included a fastball, slider,
curve, and change-up. In August he had a trial with the White Sox that
consisted of 10.1 innings over four appearances that resulted in an 0-1 record
and 13.06 ERA. Vuckovich spent time pitching in Puerto Rico over the ensuing
winter and was utilized by the White Sox primarily as a reliever in 1976,
producing a 7-4 record with a 4.65 ERA while pitching 110.1 innings. In the
offseason Vuckovich was traded to the expansion Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched
in 53 games for the first-year club, all but 8 of them from out of the bullpen.
His record was 7-7 with a 3.47 ERA, 123 strikeouts, and 8 saves. Vuckovich was
dealt again during the offseason, this time to the St. Louis Cardinals. Of his
45 appearances in 1978, 23 were starts and, experiencing plenty of hard luck
with a club that posted its worst record in 54 years, he came away with a 12-12
record and 2.54 ERA while striking out 149 batters. Fast-working, fiercely
competitive, and an intimidating presence on the mound, Vuckovich followed up
with a 15-10 tally for the much-improved Redbirds in 1979, with a 3.59 ERA and
145 strikeouts while starting 32 games and pitching 233 innings. He had another
respectable season in 1980, going 12-9 with a 3.40 ERA and 132 strikeouts. In
the offseason he was part of a blockbuster trade with the Brewers, in which he
was sent to Milwaukee along with catcher Ted Simmons and newly-acquired RHP
Rollie Fingers for four players, two of them pitchers. Vuckovich proceeded to
have an outstanding year for his new team in the strike-interrupted 1981 season,
leading the AL with a .778 winning percentage thanks to his 14-4 record. He
also posted a 3.55 ERA as the heavy-hitting Brewers made it to the postseason
for the first time in franchise history.
1982 Season Summary
Appeared in 30 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 30
Games Started –
30
Complete Games
– 9 [17, tied with Milt Wilcox]
Wins – 18 [2,
tied with Geoff Zahn & Larry Gura]
Losses – 6
PCT - .750 [1,
tied with Jim Palmer]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 1 [20,
tied with many others]
Innings Pitched
– 223.2 [20]
Hits – 234 [14]
Runs – 96
Earned Runs – 83
Home Runs – 14
Bases on Balls
– 102 [2]
Strikeouts – 105
ERA – 3.34 [6,
tied with Jim Beattie]
Hit Batters – 5
[17, tied with six others]
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 6
[18, tied with eleven others]
Midseason
Snapshot: 10-4, ERA - 3.09, SO – 58 in 110.2 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 8 (in 9 IP) vs. Minnesota 7/8
10+ strikeout
games – 0
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 9 IP) at Texas 4/24, (in 9 IP) vs. Boston 7/3
Fielding
Chances – 56
Put Outs – 13
Assists – 39
Errors – 4
DP – 1
Pct. - .929
Postseason
Pitching:
G – 4 (ALCS vs.
California – 2 G; World Series vs. St. Louis – 2 G)
GS – 4, CG – 1,
Record – 0-2, PCT – .000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 28.1, H – 31, R – 16, ER – 14, HR
– 3, BB – 12, SO – 12, ERA – 4.45, HB – 1, BLK – 0, WP – 0
Awards & Honors:
AL Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
18th
in AL MVP voting (11 points, 3% share)
AL Cy Young
voting (Top 5):
Pete Vuckovich,
Mil.: 87 pts. – 14 of 28 first place votes, 62% share
Jim Palmer,
Balt.: 59 pts. – 4 first place votes, 42% share
Dan
Quisenberry, KC: 40 pts. – 4 first place votes, 29% share
Dave Stieb,
Tor.: 36 pts. – 5 first place votes, 26%
share
Rick Sutcliffe,
Clev.: 14 pts. – 1 first place vote, 10% share
---
Brewers went 95-67
to finish first in the AL Eastern Division by 1 game over the Baltimore
Orioles. The pitching staff led the league in saves (47). Won the ALCS over the
California Angels, 3 games to 2. Lost the World Series to the St. Louis
Cardinals, 4 games to 3. The struggling Brewers came to life after manager Buck
Rodgers was replaced by Harvey Kuenn in June. “Harvey’s Wallbangers” were
primarily heralded for their hitting and went 72-43 the rest of the way,
surviving the loss of bullpen ace Rollie Fingers in the final month and a surge
by the Orioles, who they defeated in the season’s last game to clinch the
division title.
Aftermath of ‘82:
A torn rotator
cuff sidelined Vuckovich until August in 1983 when he was able to start three
games until a pulled hamstring ended his season for good. Surgery to remove a
bone spur and repair muscle damage completely wiped out his 1984 season.
Vuckovich was ineffective during an injury-plagued 1985 season and went 6-10 with
a 5.51 ERA. After further surgery his attempt to come back in 1986 resulted in
his announced retirement at the end of spring training. After working as a
scout and minor league instructor during the season he joined Vancouver of the
Class AAA Pacific Coast League in August and performed well, posting a 2-1
record with a 1.26 ERA. Activated by the Brewers in September he started six
games and went 2-4 with a 3.06 ERA. Vuckovich retired for good the following
April. His overall major league record was 93-69 with a 3.66 ERA and 882
strikeouts over 1455.1 innings pitched. He was 40-26 with a 3.88 ERA and 266
strikeouts in 533 innings pitched with the Brewers. Following his retirement as
a player Vuckovich worked as a television announcer for Brewers games, appeared
in the movie Major League, and then
was with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization for many years.
--
Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of
the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to
present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its
inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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