Highlighted Year: Dick Donovan, 1961

Pitcher, Washington Senators

Age:  33

1^st season with Senators

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 190 

Prior to 1961:

A Massachusetts native, Donovan played shortstop and pitched at North Quincy High School in addition to pitching in the Catholic Youth Organization. Signed by the Boston Braves, he first spent 1944-47 in the Navy. In 1947 he was assigned to Fort Lauderdale of the Class C Florida International League where he produced an unimpressive 7-15 record and a 4.17 ERA with 80 strikeouts and 104 walks over 179 innings pitched. He moved on to Evansville of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or Three I) League in 1948 where his tally was 12-9 with a 3.08 ERA and displayed improved control with 50 walks and 140 strikeouts over 187 innings. Advancing to the Hartford Chiefs of the Class A Eastern League in 1949, Donovan again went 12-6 and with a 2.66 ERA, 15 complete games, and 116 strikeouts over 183 innings. Shuffling between the Braves and Milwaukee of the Class AAA American Association for the next three years, Donovan posted an 0-4 major league tally and went 14-17 for Milwaukee. With the move of the Braves from Boston to Milwaukee in 1953, the Braves sought to assign Donovan to their new Class AAA farm team, but he refused to report and demanded a trade. He instead joined former roommate Gene Mauch with the Atlanta Crackers of the Class AA Southern Association, where Mauch was the player/manager. Working with pitching coach Whitlow Wyatt, Donovan developed a slider to add to his fastball and curve. He produced an 11-8 mark in 1953 with a 3.71 ERA and 132 strikeouts. Sold by the Braves to the Detroit Tigers in the offseason, he was reassigned to Atlanta in 1954 and went 18-8 with a 2.69 ERA and 140 strikeouts over 194 innings. As a hitter he socked 12 home runs and compiled 32 RBIs. He was named team MVP. Sold to the Chicago White Sox after the season, he joined the starting rotation in 1955 where he broke out with a 15-9 record, despite dealing with appendicitis at the end of July. He was an All-Star selection and finished with a 3.32 ERA, 11 complete games, 5 shutouts, and 88 strikeouts over 187 innings. 1956 was a tougher year for Donovan with a 12-10 tally for the third-place White Sox and a 3.64 ERA with 14 complete games, 3 shutouts, and 120 strikeouts over 234.2 innings. He came back strong in 1957 with a 16-6 record, 2.77 ERA, league-leading 16 complete games, two shutouts, and 88 strikeouts over 220.2 innings. Along the way he pitched one-hitters against Boston and Cleveland and went 3-1 against the pennant-winning Yankees as the White Sox finished second in their first year under the guidance of manager Al Lopez. Donovan and ace LHP Billy Pierce combined for 36 wins. In 1958 he compiled a 15-14 tally and 3.01 ERA with 16 complete games, 4 shutouts, and 127 strikeouts over the course of 248 innings as the White Sox again placed second to the Yankees. The White Sox won their first pennant since 1919 in 1959 but the newly-married Donovan got off to a slow start and was later bothered by a sore shoulder on his way to an unimpressive 9-10 record with a 3.66 ERA and 71 strikeouts over 179.2 innings. His lone shutout came as part of a crucial late-August sweep of the second-place Indians. In the World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Donovan lost his only decision in a tough Game 3 start against RHP Don Drysdale. The White Sox dropped to third in 1960 and Donovan, limited to 78.2 innings by a sore arm, started in only 8 of his 33 appearances and went 6-1 although his ERA jumped to 5.38. Left unprotected in the AL expansion draft for the 1961 season, he was selected by the new Senators.  

1961 Season Summary

Appeared in 24 games

P – 23, PH – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 23

Games Started – 22

Complete Games – 11 [9, tied with six others]

Wins – 10

Losses – 10

PCT - .500 [20, tied with Bill Monbouquette, Ray Herbert & Norm Bass]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 2 [11, tied with twelve others]

Innings Pitched – 168.2

Hits – 138

Runs – 60

Earned Runs – 45

Home Runs – 10

Bases on Balls – 35

Strikeouts – 62

ERA – 2.40 [1]

Hit Batters – 3

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 0

League-leading ERA was -0.28 lower than runner-up Bill Stafford

Midseason Snapshot: 4-8, ERA - 2.80, SO – 33 in 93.1 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 7 (in 9 IP) vs. Baltimore 7/6

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) at Minnesota 9/24

Batting

PA – 63, AB – 56, R – 6, H – 10, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 7, BB – 6, SO – 23, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .179, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 45

Put Outs – 15

Assists – 26

Errors – 4

DP – 1

Pct. - .911

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

17^th in AL MVP voting, tied with Bubba Phillips, Clev. (5 points – 2% share)

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In their inaugural season, the expansion Senators went 61-100 to finish tied for ninth in the AL with the Kansas City Athletics, 47.5 games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees. The pitching staff led the league in fewest saves (21) and fewest strikeouts (666). The new version of the Senators got off to a surprising 30-30 start that put them in a tie for fourth place on June 15. A 10-game losing streak followed immediately thereafter that dropped them to eighth and they were unable to recover in the season’s second half, finishing in a tie for last place. They drew a league-worst 597,287 fans to Griffith Stadium, their temporary home while awaiting construction of a new stadium. Donovan, who missed considerable time due to injuries, was effective although he barely had enough innings to qualify for the ERA title and his .500 record was a result of inadequate run support (he lost each of his first five decisions by one run).  

Aftermath of 1961:

Immediately following their season, the Senators traded Donovan and two other players to the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Jim Piersall. He got off to an 8-0 start for the Indians in 1962 on his way to a 20-10 tally and a 3.59 ERA with 16 complete games, 5 shutouts, and 94 strikeouts over 250.2 innings. His performance earned him AL Pitcher of the Year recognition from The Sporting News. A slow start in 1963 doomed Donovan to an 11-13 record with a 4.24 ERA, 7 complete games, 3 shutouts, and 84 strikeouts over 206 innings pitched. 1964 was an even rougher season for Donovan as he finished at 7-9 with a 4.55 ERA. By 1965 the Indians had a solid group of young starting pitchers and Donovan started in only three of his 12 appearances before being released in June, thus ending his career. For his major league career, he posted a 122-99 record with a 3.67 ERA, 101 complete games, 25 shutouts, and 880 strikeouts over 2017.1 innings. A decent hitting pitcher with power, he slugged 15 home runs over the course of his career while batting .163. A five-time All-Star, he received MVP votes on four occasions. The 1959 World Series marked his only postseason action and in three appearances (including one start), he went 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA and 5 strikeouts in 8.1 innings pitched. Following his baseball career, he became a stockbroker and real estate appraiser. He died in 1997 at age 69.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.