Pitcher, Baltimore
Orioles
Age: 27
8th season
with Orioles
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’3” Weight: 190
Prior to 1973:
A native of New
York City, Palmer was adopted and originally named James Alvin Wiesen. Upon his
father’s death the family moved to California and he was adopted by his
mother’s second husband, whose last name was Palmer. Now Jim Palmer, he played
Little League, Pony League, and Babe Ruth League baseball as a youth. The
family relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona where Palmer attended high school and
played football and basketball as well as baseball, where he pitched and also appeared
in center field. While playing summer ball in South Dakota following his high
school graduation, Palmer drew the interest of the Orioles, who signed him to a
$50,000 contract. He had already suffered a knee injury in a car accident that
required surgery. Assigned to Aberdeen of the Class A Northern League in 1964,
Palmer started 19 games and posted an 11-3 record with a 2.51 ERA and 107
strikeouts, although he had problems with his control, as he issued 130 walks
over 129 innings. But still he pitched a no-hitter and, after a winter stint in
the Florida Instructional League, Palmer advanced to the Orioles in 1965. Utilized
as a reliever and spot starter, he appeared in 27 games (6 of them starts) and
went 5-4 with a 3.72 ERA and 75 strikeouts over 92 innings, while walking 56
batters. Palmer moved into the starting rotation in 1966 and contributed a
15-10 record to Baltimore’s pennant-winning season, along with a 3.46 ERA and
147 strikeouts. He also acquired the nickname “Cakes” as the result of his
habit of eating pancakes on the mornings of his starts. The Orioles swept the
Dodgers in the World Series and the 20-year old out-dueled LA’s star LHP Sandy
Koufax in Game 2 for a complete game shutout. Palmer started the 1967 season
well at 2-1, including a one-hit shutout of the Yankees, until arm trouble reduced
his effectiveness and resulted in his being sent down to the minors for most of
the season, returning to the Orioles in September. He finished with a 3-1 major
league tally and a 2.94 ERA over 49 innings. With continued arm soreness,
Palmer spent all of 1968 in the minors, appearing with three different teams
with poor results. The Orioles expected him to pitch through the pain and
during a winter stint in Puerto Rico the soreness disappeared. He regained his
spot in the Baltimore rotation in 1969 and was 16-4, despite missing time due
to a back injury, with a 2.34 ERA and a no-hitter against Oakland. In the first
year of divisional play in major league baseball, the Orioles topped the new AL
East and Palmer beat the Minnesota Twins in the third, and final, game of the
ALCS. In the World Series he lost his only start against the New York Mets, who
upset Baltimore in five games. The Orioles had three 20-game winners in 1970,
with Palmer (20-10) joining lefthanders Mike Cuellar (24-8) and Dave McNally
(24-9) as Baltimore again finished first in the AL East. Palmer also led the AL
with 305 innings pitched. He and the team had better luck in the postseason,
again sweeping the Twins as Palmer again won the deciding contest, and this
time the Orioles won the World Series against Cincinnati, and Palmer won the
opener and was pulled from Game 4 with a lead that reliever Eddie Watt couldn’t
hold, which led to the only win for the Reds. The Orioles had an unprecedented
four 20-game winners in 1971 on the way to a third straight AL pennant. Newly-acquired
RHP Pat Dobson (20-8) joined Palmer (20-9), Cuellar (20-9), and McNally (21-5).
Palmer battled shoulder stiffness along the way to 20 complete games and 282
innings pitched with a 2.68 ERA and 184 strikeouts. He was 2-0 in the
postseason that resulted in a World Series loss to Pittsburgh. The Orioles
dropped to third place in 1972, but Palmer had a third consecutive All-Star
season on his way to a 21-10 record with a 2.07 ERA and 184 strikeouts. With an
outstanding high fastball as his best pitch, Palmer also had command of a slow
curve and slider. He also had an occasionally tempestuous relationship with
manager Earl Weaver, who appreciated his righthanded ace’s talent if not always
his baseball opinions.
1973 Season Summary
Appeared in 38
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 38
Games Started –
37 [16, tied with Vida Blue & Steve Busby]
Complete Games
– 19 [7, tied with Bill Singer & Mel Stottlemyre]
Wins – 22 [3]
Losses – 9
PCT - .710 [2]
Saves – 1
Shutouts – 6
[3]
Innings Pitched
– 296.1 [9]
Hits – 225
Runs – 86
Earned Runs – 79
Home Runs – 16
Bases on Balls
– 113 [5]
Strikeouts – 158
[10, tied with Vida Blue]
ERA – 2.40 [1]
Hit Batters – 3
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 7
League-leading ERA
was -0.12 lower than runner-up Bert Blyleven
Midseason
Snapshot: 11-6, ERA - 2.86, SO - 91 in 169.2 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 11 (in 9 IP) vs. Boston 8/4
10+ strikeout
games – 1
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) vs. Cleveland 7/27
Fielding
Chances – 61
Put Outs – 24
Assists – 35
Errors – 2
DP – 3
Pct. - .967
Postseason
Pitching: (ALCS vs. Oakland)
G – 3, GS – 2, CG
– 1, Record – 1-0, PCT – 1.000, SV – 0, ShO – 1, IP – 14.2, H – 11, R – 3, ER –
3, HR – 0, BB – 8, SO – 15, ERA – 1.84, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0
Awards & Honors:
AL Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
AL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
2nd in
AL MVP voting (172 points, 51% share)
AL Cy Young
voting (Top 5):
Jim Palmer,
Balt.: 88 pts. – 14 of 24 first place votes, 73% share
Nolan Ryan,
Cal.: 62 pts. – 9 first place votes, 52% share
Jim Hunter, Oak.:
52 pts. – 1 first place vote, 43% share
John Hiller,
Det.: 6 pts. – 5% share
Wilbur Wood,
ChiWS.: 3 pts. – 3% share
---
Orioles went
97-65 to finish first in the AL Eastern Division by 8 games over the Boston Red
Sox for their fourth division title in five years. The pitching staff led the
league in ERA (3.07), fewest hits allowed (1297), and fewest earned runs
allowed (498). The Orioles pulled away from the pack in the AL East thanks to a
14-game winning streak in August. Lost ALCS to the Oakland Athletics, 3 games
to 2.
Aftermath of ‘73:
Following four
consecutive 20-win seasons and a Cy Young Award-winning effort in 1973, Palmer
had an off-year in 1974 while hindered by arm soreness. His record dropped to
7-12 although his ERA was still respectable at 3.27. He returned to form in
1975 by posting a 23-11 mark with a league-leading 2.09 ERA and 10 shutouts
among his 25 complete games. He received his second AL Cy Young Award as a
result. Palmer won his third Cy Young Award in 1976 following a 22-13 effort
with a 2.51 ERA and league-leading 315 innings pitched. He was the Cy Young
runner-up in 1977 when he went 20-11 with a 2.91 ERA and 22 complete games and
319 innings pitched, which were both AL-leading figures. Palmer topped the
American League in innings pitched for the third straight year with 296 in
1978, on his way to a 21-12 record with a 2.46 ERA. Twice on the disabled list
with a sore arm in 1979, he finished at 10-6 with a 3.30 ERA as the Orioles
topped the AL East for the first time since 1974. He was 0-1 in the postseason
which ended in a World Series loss to Pittsburgh. Palmer had a solid 1980
season, compiling a 16-10 record with a 3.98 ERA. He dipped to 7-8 with a 7-8
tally in strike-interrupted 1981. Following a slow start in 1982, Palmer was
briefly exiled to the bullpen but recovered to end up at 15-5 with a 3.13 ERA. He
went 5-4 in an injury-plagued 1983 season which concluded with a World Series
win in a relief appearance which gave him World Series wins in three different
decades. Still, the end was near as Palmer was released by the Orioles during
the 1984 season following an 0-3 start. For his major league career, spent
entirely with the Orioles, Palmer produced a 268-152 record that included eight
20-win seasons and two ERA titles. His ERA was 2.86 and he compiled 211 complete
games that included 53 shutouts. He also struck out 2212 batters over the
course of 3948 innings. In addition to three Cy Young Awards he was a six-time
All-Star who received four Gold Gloves for his fielding prowess as well. Pitching
in 17 postseason games, he was 8-3 with a 2.61 ERA and 90 strikeouts. Palmer
attempted a comeback with Baltimore in 1991 that ended during spring training.
Following his playing career, the intelligent and articulate Palmer went into
broadcasting, which he had first involved himself with while still a player, as
well as being a model in underwear ads. The Orioles retired his #22 and he was
inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.
--
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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