Pitcher, Milwaukee Braves
Age: 36 (Apr. 23)
12th
season with Braves
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’0” Weight: 172
Prior to 1957:
A native of
Buffalo, New York, Spahn, who was named after President Warren G. Harding, was
trained to pitch by his father, a semipro ballplayer. The young southpaw
developed a fluid pitching motion while utilizing a high leg kick. Spahn participated
in midget baseball and with an American Legion team where he played first base.
At South Park High School, he was blocked at first base by an all-scholastic
player and devoted himself to pitching full-time. The school won two city
championships his last two seasons and Spahn threw a no-hitter as a senior.
Failing to draw much interest from major league teams due to his thin frame, his
control impressed a scout for the Boston Braves, and he signed in 1940 for $80
per month. Initially assigned to Bradford of the Class D PONY League, he went
5-4 with a 2.73 ERA until tearing tendons in his left shoulder. Having shown
promise during his brief time with Bradford, he went to spring training with
the Braves and suffered a broken nose that not only resulted in permanent
disfigurement, but also to unfortunate nicknames like “Hooks” and “The Great
Profile”. Assigned to Evansville of the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or Three
I) League, Spahn topped the league in wins with his 19-6 record, shutouts (7),
and ERA (1.83). Initially catching on with the Braves in 1942, he was quickly
sent down to Hartford of the Class A Eastern League, where he posted a 17-12
tally with a 1.96 ERA. He received a late-season call-up to the Braves and had
no decisions in his four appearances. Following the season he enlisted in the
Army for World War II military service, and saw significant action in Europe,
earning a Bronze Star. Having missed all of three seasons, Spahn returned to
the Braves in June of 1946, at which point he was in the major leagues to stay.
He went 8-5 in ’46 with a 2.94 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 125.2 innings pitched.
Primarily throwing a fastball with a curve and changeup, he was an All-Star for
the first time in 1947 as he produced a 21-10 record while leading the
league-in ERA (2.33), shutouts (7), and innings pitched (289.2) while striking
out 123 batters. The Braves won the NL pennant in 1948 fueled by the pitching
of Spahn and 24-win RHP Johnny Sain (which led to the popular rhyme of “Spahn
and Sain and pray for rain”). Dealing with an erratic fastball at times,
Spahn’s record was only 15-12 for the year with a 3.71 ERA and 114 strikeouts.
Down the stretch from September 6, he and Sain started 11 of 16 games with
Spahn going 4-1 and Sain 5-1. In a 14-inning win against Brooklyn, Spahn went
the distance and twice picked off basestealing threat Jackie Robinson. In the
World Series against Cleveland, won by the Indians in six games, Spahn lost his
only start and picked up a win in relief in Game 5. The Braves went into
decline in 1949, although Spahn was 21-14 with a 3.07 ERA and led the league in
complete games (25), innings pitched (302.1), and strikeouts (151). Respected
for his poise, as well as his pitching skill, he posted a 21-17 tally for the
fourth-place Braves in 1950 along with a 3.16 ERA while again topping the
circuit in strikeouts with 191. “Spahnie” remained consistent in 1951 by going
22-14 with a 2.98 ERA, again leading the NL with 164 strikeouts in addition to
26 complete games and 7 shutouts. For the seventh-place Braves in 1952, Spahn’s
tally dropped to 14-19, but his ERA was again 2.98 and he pitched 5 shutouts
while again leading the league in strikeouts with 183. The move to Milwaukee in
1953 rejuvenated the club and Spahn, playing with a knee injury that required
offseason surgery, returned to winning form with a 23-7 record and
league-leading 2.10 ERA while hurling another 5 shutouts and striking out 148
batters over the course of 265.2 innings. He continued his consistent pitching
excellence in 1954 with a 21-12 mark and 3.14 ERA with 23 complete games and
136 strikeouts. Spahn overcame a slow start in 1955 to finish at 17-14 with a
3.26 ERA and 110 strikeouts. The Braves narrowly missed winning the pennant in
1956. Spahn was strong down the stretch but suffered a crucial loss when going
the distance in a 12-inning game against the Cardinals in his last start of the
season in which he gave up just five hits and two runs. He finished at 20-11
with a 2.78 ERA and 128 strikeouts. By 1957 he was well established as one of
the National League’s premier pitchers with eight All-Star selections and three
finishes in the top 10 in league MVP voting.
1957 Season Summary
Appeared in 39
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 39
Games Started –
35 [3]
Complete Games
– 18 [1]
Wins – 21 [1]
Losses – 11 [13,
tied with six others]
PCT - .656 [3]
Saves – 3 [20,
tied with four others]
Shutouts – 4 [2,
tied with Don Drysdale & Don Newcombe]
Innings Pitched
– 271 [2]
Hits – 241 [4]
Runs – 94 [13,
tied with Jack Sanford]
Earned Runs – 81
[14, tied with Jack Sanford, Curt Simmons & Larry Jackson]
Home Runs – 23
[11]
Bases on Balls
– 78 [5]
Strikeouts – 111
[13]
ERA – 2.69 [2,
tied with Don Drysdale]
Hit Batters – 2
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 2
League-leading
complete games were +1 ahead of runner-up Bob Friend
League-leading
wins were +2 ahead of runner-up Jack Sanford
Midseason
Snapshot: 8-7, ERA - 3.30, SO - 54 in 125.1 IP
Most
strikeouts, game – 6 (in 9 IP) vs. Pittsburgh 6/28, (in 9 IP) vs. Chi. Cubs
9/7, (in 9 IP) vs. St. Louis 9/24, (in 8.1 IP) at Pittsburgh 7/12
10+ strikeout
games – 0
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 9 IP) at Philadelphia 6/14, (in 7 IP) at NY
Giants 7/21
Batting
PA – 103, AB – 94,
R – 3, H – 13, 2B – 2, 3B – 1, HR – 2, RBI – 8, BB – 4, SO – 25, SB – 0, CS –
0, AVG - .138, GDP – 3, HBP – 0, SH – 3, SF – 2
Fielding
Chances – 65
Put Outs – 18
Assists – 47
Errors – 0
DP – 4
Pct. - 1.000
Postseason
Pitching: G – 2(World Series vs. NY Yankees)
GS – 2, CG – 1,
Record – 1-1, PCT – .500, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 15.1, H – 18, R – 8, ER – 8, HR
– 1, BB – 2, SO – 2, ERA – 4.70, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0
Awards & Honors:
MLB Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
NL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
5th in
NL MVP voting (131 points, 1 first place vote, 39% share)
MLB Cy Young
voting:
Warren Spahn,
Mil.: 15 of 16 votes, 94% share
Dick Donovan,
ChiWS.: 1 vote, 6% share
Braves went 95-59
to win the NL pennant by 8 games over the St. Louis Cardinals after finishing
second the previous two years. The pitching staff led the league in complete
games (60). In the midst of a tight NL pennant race, the Braves swung a
midseason trade with the Giants for veteran second baseman Red Schoendienst
that resolved a weakness in the lineup and added leadership as well. The club
surged during a 10-game August winning streak and wrapped up the pennant in
September. Won World Series over New York Yankees, 4 games to 3, as RHP Lew
Burdette went 3-0 and Spahn won Game 4.
Aftermath of ‘57:
The Braves
repeated as National League pennant winners in 1958 and Spahn contributed a
22-11 record and 3.07 ERA along with league-leading totals in complete games
(23) and innings pitched (290). His strikeout total was 150 as he added a
slider and screwball to his repertoire to augment his diminishing fastball. In
the World Series rematch with the Yankees, Spahn was 2-1 with a 2.20 ERA as
Milwaukee fell to the Bronx Bombers in seven games. The Braves failed to make
it three straight pennants in 1959, losing a playoff to the Dodgers. Spahn
posted a 21-15 tally with a 2.96 ERA and again topped the circuit with 292
innings pitched while striking out 143 batters. For the second place Braves in
1960, Spahn pitched his first no-hitter (after two near misses in 1951 and ’53)
at age 39 on his way to a 21-10 mark with a 3.50 ERA, 18 complete games, and
154 strikeouts. He threw another no-hitter in 1961, at 40, on his way to a
21-13 record, that included his 300th career win, with a
league-leading 3.02 ERA, 21 complete games, and 115 strikeouts. He dipped in
1962 to 18-14 with a 3.04 ERA and 118 strikeouts, although he still had the
league high in complete games with 22. In 1963 Spahn posted a 23-7 tally at age
42 along with a 2.60 ERA, again topping the NL with 22 complete games despite
dealing with a sore elbow. In a July matchup against 25-year-old RHP Juan
Marichal of the Giants, both pitchers went the distance until San Francisco won
on a Willie Mays home run in the bottom of the 16th. In 1964, the
43-year old southpaw’s knees gave out and his record dropped to 6-13 with a
5.29 ERA. It marked the end of his tenure with the Braves who sold him to the
New York Mets in the offseason, thus reuniting him with his first major league
manager from 1942, Casey Stengel. Spahn didn’t last the season with the woeful
Mets, being released at midseason with a 4-12 tally and 4.36 ERA. Signed by the
Giants, he went 3-4 the rest of the way to finish off his last major league
season at age 44. For his major league career, Spahn compiled a 363-245 record,
making him the winningest major league lefthander, along with a 3.09 ERA, 382
complete games, 63 shutouts, and 2583 strikeouts in 5243.2 innings pitched. He
led the NL in wins eight times, in ERA three times, in innings pitched on four
occasions, and in strikeouts four times. With the Braves he was 356-229 with a
3.05 ERA, 374 complete games, all 63 shutouts, and 2493 strikeouts over 5046
innings. Later a vocal critic of the Designated Hitter rule, he also hit 35 home
runs over the course of his career. Appearing in eight World Series games, he
posted a 4-3 tally with three complete games and a shutout, while striking out
32 batters over 56 innings. A 17-time All-Star, Spahn was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973. The Braves retired his #21 and erected a statue
of him that stands outside Sun Trust Park. Before retiring to his ranch in
Oklahoma for good, he coached (and pitched for briefly) a team in the Mexican
League, coached in Japan, and managed and coached with minor league teams. Spahn
died in 2003 at the age of 82.
---
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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