MVP Profile: Jim Konstanty, 1950

Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies

Age:  33

3^rd season with Phillies (2^nd complete)

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 202

Prior to 1950:

A native of the Buffalo, New York area, Konstanty played basketball as well as baseball at Arcade High School. Moving on to Syracuse University, he lettered in four sports (basketball, boxing, and soccer in addition to baseball). A slow runner, he played at third and first base collegiately while occasionally pitching. After graduation Konstanty became a high school gym teacher who played semipro baseball on the side. After making the conversion to pitching full time, he signed with the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League who farmed him out to Springfield of the Class A Eastern League in 1941 where he posted a 4-19 record and 4.55 ERA with a last place team. Playing for Syracuse in 1942, Konstanty was used sparingly, appearing in just five games. Due to his teaching he did not join Syracuse in 1943 until July 1 but pitched a one-hitter in his first start. With a mediocre fastball that caused him to rely on off-speed and breaking pitches, Konstanty appeared in 29 games and went 8-12 with a 3.42 ERA. In 1944 he compiled an 8-6 tally with a 3.21 ERA before he was called up to the Cincinnati Reds where he was 6-4 with a 2.80 ERA in 20 appearances. Joining the Navy in 1945 he was discharged the following year and went to spring training with the Reds. Shortly after the start of the 1946 season Konstanty was traded to the Boston Braves, encountering difficulties while appearing in ten games, mostly in relief. After going 0-1 with a 5.28 ERA he was sent to Toronto of the International League where he went 4-9 the rest of the way with a 3.88 ERA. In the offseason, with the help of a neighbor who became his personal pitching coach, he developed a palm ball which became his best pitch along with a slider. Still with Toronto in 1947, Konstanty started 26 of his 33 games and was 13-13 with a 3.47 ERA. Back again with Toronto in 1948, manager Eddie Sawyer utilized the 31-year old Konstanty mostly in relief and he was 10-10 with a 4.06 ERA. With Sawyer taking over as manager of the Phillies in July, he had the Phils purchase Konstanty’s contract and he performed well in six late-season appearances. Exclusively a reliever in 1949, he appeared in 53 games and posted a 9-5 tally with a 3.25 ERA for the up-and-coming Phillies.

1950 Season Summary

Appeared in 74 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 74 [1]

Games Started – 0

Complete Games – 0

Wins – 16 [11]

Losses – 7

PCT - .696 [2]

Saves – 22 [1]

Shutouts – 0

Innings Pitched – 152

Hits – 108

Runs – 51

Earned Runs – 45

Home Runs – 11

Bases on Balls – 50

Strikeouts – 56

ERA – 2.66 [Non-qualifying]

Hit Batters – 0

Balks – 3 [4, tied with six others]

Wild Pitches – 1

League-leading games pitched were +23 ahead of runner-up Murry Dickson

League-leading saves were +14 ahead of runner-up Bill Werle

Midseason Snapshot: 7-3, ERA - 3.21, G – 36, SV – 11, SO - 33 in 67.1 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 3 on six occasions

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 5 (in 9 IP) at Pittsburgh 8/25 – pitched last 9 innings of 15-inning game

Batting

PA – 39, AB – 37, R – 0, H – 4, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 3, BB – 0, SO – 13, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .108, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 2, SF – N/A

Fielding

Chances - 36

Put Outs – 12

Assists – 22

Errors – 2

DP – 3

Pct. - .944

Postseason Pitching: (World Series vs. NY Yankees)

G – 3, GS – 1, CG – 0, Record – 0-1, PCT – .000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 15, H – 9, R – 4, ER – 4, HR – 1, BB – 4, SO – 3, ERA – 5.54, HB – 1, BLK – 0, WP – 0

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP:BBWAA

NL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Jim Konstanty, PhilaP.: 286 pts. – 18 of 24 first place votes, 85% share

Stan Musial, StLC.: 158 pts. – 1 first place vote, 47% share

Eddie Stanky, NYG: 144 pts. – 2 first place votes, 43% share

Del Ennis, PhilaP.: 104 pts. – 31% share

Ralph Kiner, Pitt.: 91 pts. – 1 first place vote, 27% share

(2 first place votes for Granny Hamner, PhilaP., who ranked sixth)

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Phillies went 91-63 to win NL pennant by 2 games over the Brooklyn Dodgers. The pitching staff led the league in ERA (3.50), saves (27), fewest runs allowed (624), fewest earned runs allowed (546), and fewest walks (530). “The Whiz Kids”, benefiting from the fine pitching of RHP Robin Roberts and LHP Curt Simmons, in addition to Konstanty in relief, as well as capable hitting, survived a late-season slump following the induction of Simmons into the military, which brought the surging Dodgers to within a game of the Phillies, who won the season finale at Brooklyn to secure their first pennant in 35 years. Lost World Series to the New York Yankees, 4 games to 0. Konstanty drew the Game One start and gave up only one run, but Yankee RHP Vic Raschi hurled a shutout for the win, setting the stage for the sweep.

Aftermath of ‘50:

Konstanty and the Phillies both slumped in 1951, with the team dropping to fifth place and the pitcher appearing in 58 games and producing a 4-11 record with 9 saves and a 4.05 ERA. He pitched in 42 games in 1952 and went 5-3 with 6 saves and a 3.94 ERA. Konstanty started 19 of his 48 games pitched in 1953 and ended up with a 14-10 tally with five saves and seven complete games. Back to being almost exclusively a reliever in 1954 he was 2-3 with three saves and a 3.75 ERA before being waived in August. Picked up by the Yankees, he performed well down the stretch going 1-1 with two saves and a 0.98 ERA in nine appearances. Konstanty had a solid year for the Yankees in 1955, pitching in 45 games and compiling a 7-2 record with 12 saves and a 2.32 ERA. At age 39 in 1956, he struggled early in the season and was released in May, to be picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals. For the year he was 1-1 with 8 saves and a 4.65 ERA. Let go by the Cardinals in the offseason, Konstanty signed with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1957, where he pitched in four games before being released, and he retired. For his major league career, Konstanty produced a 66-48 record with a 3.46 ERA, 76 saves, and 268 strikeouts over 945.2 innings pitched. With the Phillies he pitched in 314 games and went 51-39 with 54 saves, a 3.64 ERA, and 205 strikeouts over 675.1 innings. The 1950 World Series marked his only postseason action. A stickler for physical conditioning, Konstanty, who looked professorial in his trademark glasses, endured a long road to his MVP season, which proved to be the highlight of his career. He ran a sporting goods store in retirement and also served as a minor league pitching coach. He died of cancer in 1976 at age 59. Konstanty’s modern (since 1900) major league record of 74 games pitched in 1950 lasted until 1964.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.