Pitcher, Houston
Colt .45s
Age: 32 (Aug. 24)
3rd season
with Colt .45s
Bats – Right,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’3” Weight: 200
Prior to 1964:
A native of
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Woodeshick moved to that state’s Beaver County at a
young age. He became a high school pitching star in the town of Monaca, where
he once pitched a perfect game. Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies at age 17,
he appeared in one game with Carbondale of the Class D North Atlantic League in
1950 before being sent to a New York Giants affiliate, the Kingsport Cherokees
of the Appalachian League in 1952, where he posted a 13-6 record and 4.54 ERA
along with 169 strikeouts and 140 walks over 216 innings. Woodeshick spent the
next two years in the Army before moving on to the Danville Leafs of the Class
B Carolina League in 1955 where he went 14-8 with a 3.55 ERA and 140 strikeouts
with 103 walks over 180 innings. Drafted by the Detroit Tigers he next played
for Charleston of the Class AAA American Association in 1956 where, despite an
elbow injury that cost him a month of action, he produced a 12-5 tally and 2.75
ERA with 72 strikeouts over 157 innings. Called up to the Tigers in September,
which forced him to postpone his wedding, his performance was unimpressive
after a strikeout of star catcher Yogi Berra in an initial outing against the
Yankees. A winter pitching in Cuba failed to adequately improve his curveball
and he appeared to be overweight when he arrived for spring training in 1957.
Returning to Charleston, he had a disappointing season, posting a 5-9 record
and 4.89 ERA with 65 strikeouts and 61 walks over 116 innings. Along the way he
was accused of throwing spitballs. Demoted all the way to Class A, Woodeshick
was traded to the Cleveland Indians in the offseason. Assigned to San Diego of
the Class AAA Pacific Coast League to start the 1958 season, he had a 10-2
tally and 2.54 ERA when he was called up to the Indians by new manager Joe
Gordon, who had replaced the fired Bobby Bragan. Woodeshick got off to a strong
start with Cleveland, hurling three complete game wins in four starts. His
performance dropped off thereafter and he was relegated to the bullpen, where
he finished the season strongly. For the season with Cleveland he went 6-6 with
a 3.64 ERA and 27 strikeouts over 71.2 innings. With the Indians hoping he
could be their best lefthanded option out of the bullpen in 1959, Woodeshick
struggled during the spring with his weight and performance and was sent down
to Toronto of the Class AAA International League where he performed acceptably
as a starter before being dealt to the Washington Senators in late May.
Utilized almost exclusively as a reliever by the Senators, the chronic worrier
experienced difficulties in the early going but went on to make 31 appearances
and produce a 2-4 record and 3.69 ERA with 30 strikeouts over 61 innings. 11
pitchers started games for the Senators in 1960 and Woodeshick started 14 times
among his 41 appearances, compiling a 4-5 tally and 4.70 ERA along with 4 saves
and 46 strikeouts over 115 innings. With the move of the Senators to Minnesota
for 1961, Woodeshick was taken in the expansion draft by the replacement
Washington Senators franchise. Moving into the starting rotation for the new
club, he had a 3-2 mark and 4.02 ERA when he was traded back to the Detroit
Tigers in June. He performed poorly as a reliever for the contending Tigers,
resulting in a demotion to Class AAA Charleston of the International League
which allowed him to be close to home in West Virginia during his wife’s
pregnancy and to help with relief efforts following devastating flooding. In
the offseason he was sold to the expansion Colt .45s. Inserted into the
starting rotation he put together a 5-16 record that included picking up the
win in the first shutout victory in franchise history (with RHP Dick Farrell
picking up a save). His ERA was 4.39 and he struck out 82 batters over a
career-high 139.1 innings. He would never again start a game after the 1962 season.
Previously reliant on his fastball, he finally gained command of his curve and
added a slider which would help him come into his own as a reliever in 1963. The
result was an 11-9 tally and 10 saves in 55 appearances. His ERA was 1.97 and
he finished 39 games while striking out 94 batters over 114 innings. He was
Houston’s lone All-Star representative. Heading into 1964, Woodeshick, whose
career had been nondescript until 1963, was sought after by contending teams.
1964 Season Summary
Appeared in 61
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 61 [7,
tied with Bob Shaw]
Games Started –
0
Games Finished
– 48 [4]
Complete Games
– 0
Wins – 2
Losses – 9
PCT - .182
Saves – 23 [1]
Shutouts – 0
Innings Pitched
– 78.1
Hits – 73
Runs – 32
Earned Runs – 24
Home Runs – 3
Bases on Balls
– 32
Strikeouts – 58
ERA – 2.76 [Non-qualifying]
Hit Batters – 7
[7, tied with Bob Purkey, Ken Johnson & Bob Sadowski]
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 7
[16, tied with four others]
League-leading
saves were +2 ahead of runners-up Al McBean & Jack Baldschun
Midseason Snapshot: 1-5, ERA - 2.61, G – 29, SV – 16, SO - 33 in 38 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 4 (in 2.1 IP) at St. Louis 4/24, (in 3 IP) at St. Louis 6/24,
(in 2.2 IP) vs. San Francisco 7/12
10+ strikeout
games – 0
Batting
PA – 13, AB – 10,
R – 0, H – 0, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 2, SO – 5, SB – 0, CS – 0,
AVG - .000, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – 0
Fielding
Chances – 33
Put Outs – 5
Assists – 23
Errors – 5
DP – 0
Pct. - .848
---
The Colt .45s went 66-96 to finish ninth in the NL, 27 games behind the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals. The pitching staff led the league in fewest complete games (30), fewest shutouts (9), and fewest walks (353). The Colt .45s stayed just a few games under .500 until midseason and were at 32-34 on June 21 following a four-game sweep of the Braves at Milwaukee, but the club floundered the rest of the way to settle into ninth place once again and finishing 13 games ahead of the NL’s other third-year team, the Mets. While desired by contenders, Woodeshick remained with Houston and, despite a midseason slump, topped the NL in saves (not yet an official statistic).
Aftermath of 1964:
The Colt .45s were renamed the Astros and moved into their new domed stadium, the Astrodome in 1965, but Woodeshick would not remain with the club for very long. In June he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, who were desperate to shore up their bullpen, as part of a four-player deal. Woodeshick performed ably for the Cardinals and finished with a combined record of 6-6 with 18 saves in 78 appearances, a 2.25 ERA, and 59 strikeouts over 92 innings pitched. A shoulder injury suffered during 1966 spring training dropped Woodeshick’s workload to 59 games, although he remained effective and produced a 1.92 ERA and 2-1 tally with 4 saves and 30 strikeouts over 70.1 innings. He further proved to be a valuable mentor to the club’s rising cadre of young pitchers. The Cardinals won the NL pennant in 1967 and Woodeshick was part of a remarkably well-balanced and capable bullpen that included lefthanders Joe Hoerner (the closer) and Al Jackson and righties Ron Willis and Jack Lamabe. He appeared in one game during the World Series against the Boston Red Sox and finished the Game 6 loss by inducing Boston slugger Carl Yastrzemski to ground out. The Cardinals won Game 7 and Woodeshick earned a World Series championship ring. Released in the offseason, he chose to retire at age 35 even though several clubs expressed interest in him. For his major league career Woodeshick pitched in 427 games, 62 of them starts, and produced a 44-62 record and 3.56 ERA with 61 saves, 7 complete games, and 484 strikeouts over 847.1 innings. With Houston he appeared in 174 games, 62 of them starts, with a 3.16 ERA, 36 saves, 2 complete games, and 256 strikeouts over 364 innings. A poor fielder, he had particular difficulty with throwing to first base. Following his playing career, Woodeshick moved to Houston and coached and tutored in youth baseball. Back where he had first demonstrated his baseball talent, he was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 1979. He died in 2009 at age 76. His younger cousin, Tom Woodeshick, was an NFL running back, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles, from 1963-72.
---
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment