Pitcher, Oakland Athletics
Age: 28 (April 8)
10th
season with Athletics
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’0” Weight: 190
Prior to 1974:
A native of rural Hertford, North Carolina, Hunter excelled in football and track as well as baseball at Perquimans County High School. He posted an 8-5 pitching record as a sophomore, followed by 13-1 on his way to a Class AA state championship as a junior. Hunter also pitched two no-hitters playing American Legion ball. He was accidentally shot in the right foot while hunting on Thanksgiving Day of his senior year in 1963, suffering broken bones while multiple pellets remained lodged in the foot. While there were doubts as to his athletic future, he returned to the baseball team in the spring where he shut out his first eight opponents, including a perfect game. He put together another 13-1 record and signed with the Kansas City Athletics for a $75,000 bonus. In an effort to promote his new signee, A’s owner Charlie Finley concocted the nickname “Catfish” (and an accompanying origin story), although his friends and family called him Jim or Jimmy. Finley arranged to send him to the Mayo Clinic to have more pellets and bone fragments removed from his foot. Bypassing the minors, the 19-year-old Hunter, with a fine fastball and curve supplemented by his competitive drive, showed off his potential in 1965 by going 8-8 with a 4.26 ERA in 32 appearances (20 of them starts). Lacking an overpowering fastball, he developed a slider and relied on control to challenge hitters. In 1966, he was an All-Star for the first time on his way to a 9-11 tally with a 4.02 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 176.2 innings pitched. Hunter continued his development in 1967 by turning in a 13-17 mark with a 2.81 ERA and 196 strikeouts. The club moved to Oakland in 1968 and Hunter continued to develop along with the rest of the young players on the club. His record was 13-13, which included a perfect game against Minnesota in which he also drove in three runs in his own cause. His ERA was 3.35 and he struck out 172 batters. The A’s created some excitement in 1969 before tailing off and finishing second in the new AL West and Hunter produced a 12-15 tally with a 3.35 ERA and 150 strikeouts. His record improved to 18-14 in 1970 with a 3.81 ERA and 178 strikeouts. The A’s topped the AL West in 1971 and Hunter contributed a 21-11 record and a 2.96 ERA with 181 strikeouts. His first taste of postseason action ended in defeat against the Orioles, who swept the ALCS. Oakland again won the division in 1972 and Hunter provided a 21-7 mark along with five shutouts, a 2.04 ERA, and 191 strikeouts. He placed fourth in AL Cy Young voting. In the World Series against Cincinnati, he won two games, including the decisive seventh thanks to 2.2 innings of relief. The success continued in 1973 as Hunter posted a 21-5 record with a 3.34 ERA and 124 strikeouts as the A’s again topped the AL West. He was excellent in the postseason as well, with two wins that included a shutout against Baltimore in the ALCS and a win in the World Series triumph over the Mets. Hunter signed a two-year contract extension with the A’s in the offseason which stipulated that half of his $100,000 per year should be placed in insurance annuities, a point that would come into contention with significant results.
1974 Season Summary
Appeared in 41 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 41
Games Started – 41 [2, tied with five others]
Complete Games – 23 [6]
Wins – 25 [1, tied with Ferguson Jenkins]
Losses – 12
PCT - .676 [3, tied with Ferguson Jenkins]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 6 [2, tied with Ferguson Jenkins]
Innings Pitched – 318.1 [5]
Hits – 268 [11]
Runs – 97
Earned Runs – 88
Home Runs – 25 [8, tied with four others]
Bases on Balls – 46
Strikeouts – 143 [17]
ERA – 2.49 [1]
Hit Batters – 4
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 1
League-leading ERA was +0.02 lower than of runner-up Gaylord Perry
Midseason Snapshot: 14-8, ERA - 2.62, SO - 73 in 185.1 IP
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Most strikeouts, game – 8 (in 8 IP) vs. Texas 4/14, (in 8.1 IP) at Milwaukee 8/28
10+ strikeout games – 0
Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 9 IP) vs. Cleveland 7/9, (in 9 IP) vs. Milwaukee 8/20, (in 8 IP) at Cleveland 4/23
Fielding
Chances – 55
Put Outs – 25
Assists – 27
Errors – 3
DP – 1
Pct. - .945
Postseason Pitching: G – 4 (ALCS vs. Baltimore – 2G; World Series vs. LA Dodgers – 2 G)
GS – 3, CG – 0, Record – 2-1, PCT – .667, SV – 1, ShO – 0, IP – 19.1, H – 16, R – 7, ER – 7, HR – 4, BB – 4, SO – 11, ERA – 3.26, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0
Awards & Honors:
AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA
AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
6th in AL MVP voting (107 points, 1 first place vote, 32% share)
AL Cy Young voting (Top 5):
Jim Hunter, Oak.:
90 pts. – 12 of 24 first place votes, 75% share
Ferguson
Jenkins, Tex.: 75 pts. – 10 first place votes, 63% share
Nolan Ryan,
Cal.: 28 pts. – 1 first place vote, 23% share
Gaylord Perry,
Clev.: 8 pts. – 1 first place vote, 7% share
Luis Tiant, Bos.: 8 pts. – 7% share
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A’s went 90-72 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 5 games over the Texas Rangers. The pitching staff led the league in ERA (2.95), fewest hits allowed (1322), fewest earned runs allowed (472), and fewest walks allowed (430). With Alvin Dark taking over as manager, the tempestuous and talented A’s relied on pitching and power hitting to lead the AL West from May 20 to the end of the season for their fourth straight division title. Won ALCS over the Baltimore Orioles, 3 games to 1 and World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 1, to become the second team to win the World Series three years in succession.
Aftermath of ‘74:
During the ’74 season, Hunter’s attorney sent letters to A’s owner Charlie Finley requesting that he comply with the deferred compensation arrangement in the contract he signed prior to the season. Failing to receive a satisfactory response, the attorney turned to the Major League Players Association which took the position that Finley had violated the terms of the contract and that it should be terminated following the 1974 season. An arbitration panel agreed, and Hunter was declared to be a free agent. An unprecedented free-for-all erupted among the major league teams bidding for his services, which was won by the New York Yankees, who signed him for five years and $3.2 million. In 1975, Hunter continued his winning ways with a 23-14 record and 2.58 ERA with 177 strikeouts and a league-leading 30 complete games and 328 innings pitched. He finished second in AL Cy Young voting. The Yankees won the AL East in 1976 although Hunter failed to extend his string of five 20-win seasons, posting a 17-15 tally with a 3.53 ERA and 173 strikeouts while pitching 298.2 innings and 21 complete games. He won a game against the Royals in the ALCS but lost his only World Series start as the Yanks were swept by Cincinnati. While New York won back-to-back World Series titles in 1977 and ’78, Hunter appeared in a total of only 43 games with records of 9-9 and a 4.71 ERA in ’77 and 12-6 with a 3.58 ERA in 1978, due to shoulder fatigue and the effects of diabetes. He still showed flashes of his old form with a strong 6-0 stretch with a 1.64 ERA in August of ’78 and a World Series-clinching win against the Dodgers. He played one more season in 1979 and retired, as planned, to his 1000-acre farm in North Carolina. For his major league career, Hunter posted a 224-166 record with a 3.26 ERA, 181 complete games, 42 shutouts, and 2012 strikeouts over 3449.1 innings. Appearing in 22 postseason games, he produced a 9-6 tally with a 3.26 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 132.1 innings. His record with the Athletics was 161-113 with a 3.13 ERA, 116 complete games, 31 shutouts, and 1520 strikeouts in 2456.1 innings. An eight-time All-Star as well as five-time 20-game winner, Hunter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. The A’s retired his #27. An avid outdoorsman, he was also known for his humility and down-to-earth nature. Hunter died of ALS at the age of 53 in 1999.
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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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