Guardians’ ‘Sudden’ 6-time All-Star dies at 84
He was not on the list.
“Sudden” Sam McDowell — a six-time All-Star pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, now the Guardians, who finished his career with the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates — has died. He was 84.
Bob Pompeani of KDKA in Pittsburgh reported that McDowell died Monday, Oct. 5.
In a 15-year MLB career, McDowell struck out 2,453 batters — eighth on baseball’s career list when he retired, and No. 46 all-time today. He led the American League in strikeouts five times.
McDowell retired with a 141-134 record and a 3.17 ERA.
A Pittsburgh native, McDowell debuted at 18 in September 1961. Four years later, he led the AL in ERA (2.18), struck out a career-high 325 batters and made his first American League All-Star team.
McDowell helped athletes struggling with substance abuse.
However, his career was derailed by alcohol abuse, a vice he
chronicled in depth in his 2025 memoir, “The Saga of Sudden Sam: The Rise,
Fall, and Redemption of Sam McDowell.” He pitched his final game for the
Pirates as a 32-year-old in 1975.
After retiring as a player, McDowell counseled athletes who struggled with drug and alcohol abuse — not only in MLB but in the NFL and NHL as well.
“I remember when I got out of rehab, I must have called that man every day, at every hour of the night, for four straight months,” former big league pitcher Mike York told the Los Angeles Times. “I mean, I was calling him at 5 in the morning, midnight, it didn’t matter. He was always there when I needed him.”
McDowell was the Baseball Assistance Team’s addiction and recovery consultant from 1987-2016.
McDowell had two children, Debbie and Tim.
The character of Sam Malone, the alcoholic ex-Red Sox pitcher portrayed by Ted Danson in the television program Cheers, was based on the baseball life of McDowell. In a 2011 interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, McDowell joked "I would say I'm better with women than [Sam Malone] was.
During the 1960 season, as a high school graduate, McDowell signed with the Indians for a $75,000 bonus. McDowell made the signing announcement at the conclusion of his appearance in the third segment of To Tell the Truth aired on June 16, 1960. He spent the 1960 season with the Class D Lakeland Indians, where he had a 5–6 record, with a 3.35 earned run average (ERA). He struck out 100 batters in 1042⁄3 innings pitched, but also had 80 bases on balls. He picked off 43 base runners, modeling his technique on Hall of Fame left-handed pitcher Warren Spahn, who had given McDowell pickoff tips when he was in Pittsburgh.
In 1961, McDowell was promoted to the Triple-A Salt Lake
City Bees of the Pacific Coast League. He finished the year there with a record
of 13–10 and a 4.42 ERA. He had 156 strikeouts and 152 bases on balls in 175
innings pitched; averaging 8 strikeouts per nine innings (K/9), but also 7.8
bases on balls per nine innings (BB/9). This was enough to earn him a promotion
to the majors in September, and one week before his 19th birthday he made his
MLB debut for the Indians. Starting against the Minnesota Twins, McDowell
pitched 61⁄3 scoreless innings, giving up just three hits. He had to leave the
game because he broke two ribs throwing a pitch.
Teams
Cleveland Indians (1961–1971)
San Francisco Giants (1972–1973)
New York Yankees (1973–1974)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1975)
Career highlights and awards
6× All-Star (1965, 1966, 1968–1971)
AL ERA leader (1965)
5× AL strikeout leader (1965, 1966, 1968–1970)
Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame
No comments:
Post a Comment