Highlighted Year: Johnny Podres, 1958

Pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers

Age:  26 (Sept. 30)

5^th season with Dodgers

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 5’11” Weight: 170 

Prior to 1958:

A native of Witherbee, New York, a village in the Adirondack Mountains, Podres grew up listening to Brooklyn Dodgers games on the radio. After pitching for Mineville High School, he joined the Burlington Cardinals in Vermont, who were part of the Summer Collegiate Northern League. In 1951 Podres entered the minor league system of the Brooklyn Dodgers with Newport News of the Class D Piedmont League where he stayed briefly before moving on to the Hazard Bombers of the Mountain States League where he excelled with a 21-9 record, 1.67 ERA, and 228 strikeouts over 200 innings pitched. Having developed a curve to go along with his fastball, Podres was assigned to the Montreal Royals of the Class AAA International League in 1952 where he posted a 5-5 tally and 3.27 ERA with 47 strikeouts over 88 innings. With the Dodgers in need of lefthanded pitching, Podres moved up to Brooklyn in 1953, and starting and relieving for the pennant-winning club, the 20-year-old rookie went 9-4 with a 4.23 ERA and 82 strikeouts over the course of 115 innings. He took a loss in his only World Series start against the Yankees. In 1954 a midseason bout with appendicitis limited Podres to 29 appearances (21 of them starts) and an 11-7 record with a 4.27 ERA, 6 complete games, 2 shutouts, and 79 strikeouts over 151.2 innings. The Dodgers regained the NL pennant in 1955, although Podres had an ordinary won-lost record of 9-10 with a 3.95 ERA, 5 complete games, 2 shutouts, and 114 strikeouts over 159.1 innings. In the World Series against the Yankees, Podres was at his best, with his good changeup effective in combination with his other pitches. With the Dodgers down 2-games-to-0, he went the distance in winning Game 3. With the Series going to seven games, Podres drew the start in the crucial Game 7 and again pitched a complete game in the 2-0 win which clinched the first World Series title in franchise history (and their only one in Brooklyn). An outstanding catch by LF Sandy Amoros of a well hit ball by Yogi Berra in the sixth inning helped to preserve the win and the shutout. Podres was named the MVP of the World Series and received a raise to $15,000 for 1956 although he was drafted into the Navy and missed the season. Returning to the Dodgers in 1957, Podres won the NL ERA title with a 2.66 mark, fueled by 6 shutouts as part of his 12-9 tally along with 109 strikeouts over 196 innings pitched. With the move of the franchise to Los Angeles in 1958, he and other Dodger pitchers had to adjust to playing in the huge LA Memorial Coliseum, the club’s temporary home.

1958 Season Summary

Appeared in 42 games

P – 39, PR – 3

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 39

Games Started – 31 [9, tied with Dick Drott]

Complete Games – 10 [11]

Wins – 13 [9, tied with Ray Semproch, Ron Kline & Larry Jackson]

Losses – 15 [2]

PCT - .464 [18]

Saves – 1

Shutouts – 2 [6, tied with ten others]

Innings Pitched – 210.1 [10]

Hits – 208 [13]

Runs – 96 [16, tied with Ron Kline]

Earned Runs – 87 [16, tied with Don Newcombe]

Home Runs – 27 [6]

Bases on Balls – 78 [11]

Strikeouts – 143 [3, tied with Johnny Antonelli]

ERA – 3.72 [14]

Hit Batters – 2

Balks – 3 [1, tied with Taylor Phillips]

Wild Pitches – 4 [20, tied with five others]

Midseason Snapshot: 8-7, ERA - 3.83, SO - 74 in 108 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 11 (in 9 IP) at San Francisco 4/16

10+ strikeout games – 1

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 9 IP) vs. Cincinnati 6/4

Batting

PA – 79, AB – 71, R – 5, H – 9, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 4, BB – 2, SO – 17, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .127, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 4, SF – 2

Fielding

Chances – 34

Put Outs – 7

Assists – 25

Errors – 2

DP – 3

Pct. - .941

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

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The relocated Dodgers went 71-83 to finish seventh in the NL, 21 games behind the pennant-winning Milwaukee Braves. The pitching staff led the league in strikeouts, highest ERA (4.47), and most home runs surrendered (173). The Dodgers were in the NL basement by May 12 following a 9-16 start, rose as high as fourth during a 17-14 August but dropped in September to finish out of the first division for the first time since 1944. They still drew 1,845,556 fans to their ill-suited temporary home at the LA Memorial Coliseum, some 800,000 more than their last year in Brooklyn.

Aftermath of 1958:

The Dodgers bounced back to win the NL pennant in 1959 and Podres, bothered by chronic back pain, contributed a 14-9 record (10-4 on the road), 4.11 ERA, 6 complete games, 2 shutouts, and 145 strikeouts over 195 innings. He also picked up a win in the World Series against the Chicago White Sox. The Dodgers dropped to fourth place in 1960 but Podres posted a 14-12 tally with a 3.08 ERA and 159 strikeouts over 227.2 innings. Along the way he was an All-Star for the second time. He produced an impressive 18-5 record for the second-place Dodgers in 1961 along with a 3.74 ERA and 124 strikeouts over 182.2 innings. Rewarded with a pay increase to $28,500 in 1962, Podres started the season-opening game at the new Dodger Stadium, which he lost. LA ended up tied with the rival Giants atop the NL and lost a season-extending playoff to finish second. Although again hindered by back trouble, Podres had a less gaudy 15-13 tally along with a 3.81 ERA and 178 strikeouts over 255 innings and was once more an All-Star. The Dodgers won the 1963 NL pennant and Podres, the club’s stalwart #3 starter behind LHP Sandy Koufax and RHP Don Drysdale, put together a 14-12 record and 3.54 ERA with 10 complete games, 5 shutouts, and 134 strikeouts over 198.1 innings. He further contributed to LA’s World Series sweep of the Yankees by winning Game 2, allowing one run in 8.1 innings before yielding to bullpen ace Ron Perranoski. In a down year for the Dodgers in 1964, an elbow injury that eventually required surgery limited Podres to two starts, both of which were losses. Back in action in 1965 and with LHP Claude Osteen having taken his spot in the rotation, Podres was used as a spot starter and went 7-6 with a 3.43 ERA and 63 strikeouts over 134 innings pitched. The Dodgers won the pennant but Podres did not appear in the seven-game World Series win over Minnesota. Newly married in 1966 to an Ice Follies skater, Podres also added a slider to his repertoire. Following only one pitching appearance, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers where he was utilized out of the bullpen and occasionally started. His record was 4-5 with a 3.43 ERA, two complete games, and 53 strikeouts over 107.2 innings. He spent one more season with the Tigers in 1967 and was 3-1 with a 3.84 ERA in 21 appearances (8 of them starts). Released in the offseason, he sat out 1968 and attempted a comeback in 1969 at age 36 with the expansion San Diego Padres. He posted a 5-6 tally and 4.31 ERA in his final major league season. For his major league career, Podres produced a 148-116 record with a 3.68 ERA, 77 complete games, 24 shutouts, and 1435 strikeouts over 2265 innings pitched. With the Dodgers he went 136-104 with a 3.66 ERA, 74 complete games, 23 shutouts, and 1331 strikeouts over 2029.1 innings. In six World Series starts, his record was 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA, 2 complete games, 1 shutout, and 18 strikeouts over 38.1 innings. A four-time All-Star, he was honored by Moriah High School, which had absorbed the high school he attended and named its athletic field Johnny Podres Field. He was also named to the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame. Following his playing career he became a pitching coach for several major league teams. Podres died in 2008 at age 75. A pitcher who was consistent and occasionally spectacular, he won some very significant games for the Dodgers in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles. Statues of Podres throwing to a crouched catcher Roy Campanella were placed 60’6” apart outside the Baseball Hall of Fame to commemorate Brooklyn’s 1955 World Series title.  

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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.