System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Warren Spahn, Baseball Hall of Famer
April 23, 1921 - November 24, 2003
Warren Spahn, the winningest left-handed pitcher of all time, and possibly the best as well, died at his home in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, on Monday, November 24, 2003. He was 82.
Spahn was a complete player who helped himself at bat and in the field. Spahn won 20 games a ML record-tying 13 times, pitched two no-hitters, and led the NL in strikeouts four consecutive years. He had a deceptive pickoff move to first base and baffled batters with his high leg kick.
Warren Edward Spahn was born April 23, 1921, in Buffalo, New York. He started his baseball career in his hometown, playing first base while his father played third for the Buffalo Lake City Athletic Club. He wanted to play first in high school, but his team already had an all-city player at that position, so Spahn switched to pitcher.
He signed with the Braves in 1940 for $80 a month and injured his arm twice in his first season of D-level ball. But he won 19 games the next season and was invited to spring training with the Braves. He started the 1942 season with the Braves but was sent down by manager Casey Stengel, who was angry because the left-hander refused to brush back Pee Wee Reese in an exhibition game. Spahn went 17-12 with a 1.96 ERA average at Hartford that season while the Braves finished in seventh place. Stengel called farming Spahn out the worst mistake he ever made. In 1943, Spahn went into the Army. He served in Europe, where he was wounded, decorated for bravery with a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and was awarded a battlefield commission. Spahn returned to baseball in 1946, and had an 8-5 record for the Braves. The next season, he emerged as one of baseball's best pitchers with a 21-10 record and led the NL with a 2.33 ERA.
From 1949 to 1963, Spahn was clearly baseball's most successful lefthander. He won 20 games 12 times in 15 seasons, led the NL in wins eight times, and never had an ERA above 3.50. He won consistently pitching for Braves clubs that ranged from seventh place to World Champions. He was aided by the addition of two new pitches: a wicked screwball that became more important as his fastball lost its pop, and a slider that gave him four quality pitches. Spahn went with the Braves when they moved to Milwaukee in 1953. He led the NL in ERA that year and failed to win 20 games only once between 1953 and 1961, as he began to master changing speeds and location to keep hitters off balance. In 1957, at the age of 36, Spahn led the Braves to the pennant with a 21-11, 2.69 record, and began a string of five consecutive seasons leading the NL in wins. In the WS, he won Game Four in relief as the Braves beat the Yankees in seven games. He also won the Cy Young Award. Spahn improved to 22-11 in 1958, and won two more games in the WS rematch with the Yankees, in which New York prevailed. The Braves lost a playoff against the Dodgers in 1959, and would never again reach the World Series during Spahn's tenure, but several personal milestones remained.
On September 16, 1960, Spahn pitched the first no-hitter of his career against the Phillies, and the 4-0 win was his 20th of the season. The following year he no-hit the Giants 1-0 on April 28, five days after his 40th birthday. Then, on August 11, he beat the Cubs in a packed Milwaukee County Stadium for his 300th victory. Despite slumping to 18-14 in 1962, Spahn still led the NL in complete games and had a 3.04 ERA, and in 1963, at the age of 42, he tied his career-best record with a 23-7 mark. It was his last hurrah. Spahn had been overtaken by Sandy Koufax as the NL's premier lefthander, and his ERA ballooned to 5.29 in 1964 when he spent much of the summer in the bullpen. A further indignity occurred in the off-season, when he was sold to the fledgling New York Mets. He started 4-12 for the Mets in 1965 and was released in July, then added three more wins for the Giants before being released again.
After leaving the majors, Spahn pitched in Mexico and the minors before finally retiring in 1967 at 46. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973, his first year of eligibility, receiving 315 votes of 380 votes, nearly 83 percent. He holds the NL record for career home runs by a pitcher with 35. In August of 2003, the Braves unveiled a statue honouring Spahn in the plaza outside Turner Field in Atlanta. The 9-foot-high bronze monument, built in Oklahoma, captures the left-hander's famous high leg kick. Spahn, in a wheelchair, traveled from Broken Arrow to attend the dedication.
He is survived by a son, Greg, and two granddaughters.
