Warren Spahn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Warren Spahn |
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Spahn in 1952
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| Pitcher | |||
| Born: April 23, 1921 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
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| Died: November 24, 2003 (aged 82) Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| April 19, 1942, for the Boston Braves | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| October 1, 1965, for the San Francisco Giants | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 363–245 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.09 | ||
| Strikeouts | 2,583 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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 Baseball Hall of Fame |
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| Induction | 1973 | ||
| Vote | 82.89% (first ballot) | ||
Warren Edward Spahn (born April 23, 1921 – died November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played for 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Spahn was a left-handed pitcher. He played from 1942 and then from 1946 to 1965. Most of his career was with the Boston Braves, who later became the Milwaukee Braves. His baseball career was paused when he served in the United States Army during World War II.
Warren Spahn was born and grew up in Buffalo, New York. He went to South Park High School. With 363 career wins, he holds the record for the most wins by a left-handed pitcher in MLB history. He also has the most wins for any pitcher who played their entire career after 1920, in the "live-ball era."
Spahn was chosen for the All-Star team 17 times. He won 20 or more games in 13 different seasons. One amazing season was when he was 42 years old, and he had a 23–7 win–loss record. He won the Cy Young Award in 1957. This award goes to the best pitcher in baseball. When he retired in 1965, Spahn held the MLB record for career strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher.
He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, his first year of eligibility. The Warren Spahn Award, given every year to the best left-handed pitcher in the major leagues, is named after him. Spahn was known as a "thinking man's" pitcher. He liked to outsmart batters. He once said about pitching, "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing."
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Warren Spahn's Baseball Career
Warren Spahn's major league career began in 1942 with the Braves. He played almost his entire career with this team, first in Boston and then in Milwaukee. He finished his career in 1965, playing for the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants.
With 363 wins, Spahn is the sixth most winning pitcher in baseball history. Only a few legendary pitchers like Cy Young (511) and Walter Johnson (417) have more wins. Spahn led the National League in wins eight times. He won at least 20 games in 13 different seasons.
Spahn also threw two no-hitters, which means he pitched an entire game without any opposing batter getting a hit. He did this in 1960 and 1961, when he was 39 and 40 years old! He also led the league in ERA (a measure of how few runs a pitcher allows) three times and in strikeouts four times. He played in 14 All-Star Games, more than any other pitcher in the 20th century.
Spahn was sometimes called "Hooks" because of the shape of his nose. It was broken once when he was hit by a ball. In his last season, he pitched a game where Yogi Berra, another famous player, was his catcher. Yogi joked, "I don't think we're the oldest battery (pitcher and catcher), but we're certainly the ugliest."
Spahn was known for his very high leg kick when he pitched. This high kick helped him watch runners on first base. It also made it hard for runners to tell if he was throwing to the batter or to first base. As he got older, his fastball wasn't as fast. So, he learned to rely more on placing his pitches exactly where he wanted them, changing speeds, and throwing a good screwball. He continued to be one of the best pitchers even when he was in his late 30s and early 40s.
Spahn was also a good hitter for a pitcher. He hit at least one home run in 17 straight seasons. He ended his career with 35 home runs, which is a record for pitchers in the National League. He also had a .194 batting average and drove in 189 runs.
Early Career and Military Service
Warren Spahn first signed with the Boston Braves. After high school, he played for their minor league team, the Bradford Bees. He made his professional debut on July 6, 1940. In 1941, he had a great season, winning 19 games.
Spahn reached the major leagues in 1942 when he was 20. He had a disagreement with the Braves manager, Casey Stengel. Stengel sent him to the minor leagues because Spahn refused to intentionally throw a pitch close to a batter to scare him. Spahn had only pitched in 4 games for the Braves.
Stengel later said that sending Spahn away was his biggest mistake as a manager. He said, "I said 'no guts' to a kid who went on to become a war hero and one of the greatest lefthanded pitchers you ever saw." Spahn later joked about playing for Stengel again with the New York Mets, saying he was "probably the only guy who played for Casey before and after he was a genius."
World War II Service
Like many other major league players, Spahn joined the United States Army after the 1942 minor league season. He served bravely and was given a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. He fought in important battles like the Battle of the Bulge. He was a combat engineer and was promoted to an officer during the war.
Spahn returned to baseball in 1946 when he was 25. He had missed three full seasons because of the war. If he hadn't served, he might have had even more wins in his career.
Boston Braves Highlights
In 1947, Spahn was a top pitcher. He led the National League in ERA (2.33), shutouts (7), and innings pitched. He had a 21–10 record that year. This was the first of his thirteen seasons where he won 20 or more games.
In 1951, Spahn gave up the first career hit to Willie Mays, who became another Hall of Famer. It was a home run! Mays had not gotten any hits in his first 12 tries. Spahn later joked, "I'll never forgive myself. We might have gotten rid of Willie forever if I'd only struck him out."
"Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain"
In 1948, Spahn and his teammate Johnny Sain were the main pitchers for the Braves. A sports writer wrote a famous poem about them:
First we'll use Spahn
then we'll use Sain
Then an off day
followed by rain
Back will come Spahn
followed by Sain
And followed
we hope
by two days of rain.
This poem became famous as "Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain." It showed how important these two pitchers were to the Braves. They pitched many games and helped the team win the pennant (the league championship) in 1948. For example, they won eight games in 12 days during a key part of the season.
Milwaukee Braves Success
In 1957, Spahn was the star pitcher for the Milwaukee Braves. They won the World Series that year! Spahn also helped the Braves win pennants in 1948 and 1958. He led the National League in strikeouts for four years in a row, from 1949 to 1952.
Spahn believed that "A pitcher needs two pitches — one they're looking for, and one to cross 'em up." This means he liked to trick batters. This helped him stay one of the best pitchers for a very long time.
A famous game he pitched was on July 2, 1963. The 42-year-old Spahn faced 25-year-old Juan Marichal in a long, exciting pitching duel. The score was 0–0 for many innings. Finally, in the 16th inning, Willie Mays hit a home run off Spahn, and the Giants won 1–0. Marichal's manager wanted to take him out of the game, but Marichal refused, saying, "Do you see that man pitching for the other side? Do you know that man is 42 years old? I'm only 25. If that man is on the mound, nobody is going to take me out of here." Spahn threw 201 pitches in that game!
Spahn threw his first no-hitter in 1960 when he was 39. He threw his second no-hitter the next year, in 1961, against the Giants. Towards the end of his career, Spahn was the oldest active player in baseball.
Stan Musial, another famous player, once joked about Spahn's long career: "[Spahn] will never get into the Hall of Fame. He won't stop pitching."
Final Season and Retirement
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| Warren Spahn's number 21 was retired by the Milwaukee Braves in 1965. |
After the 1964 season, the Braves sold Spahn to the New York Mets. He played for the Mets and then the San Francisco Giants in 1965. He won seven games that season. His last major league game was on October 1, 1965, when he was 44 years old. The Braves later retired his number 21, meaning no other player on the team can wear that number.
In his 22-season career, Spahn had 363 wins and 2,583 strikeouts. His 363 wins rank sixth all-time in major league history. It's also the most wins by a left-handed pitcher. He also had 63 shutouts, which is the most in the "live-ball era."
Life After Baseball
After retiring from playing, Spahn managed the Tulsa Oilers for five seasons. He also coached for other teams, including the Cleveland Indians and teams in Mexico and Japan.
For many years, he owned and ran a large ranch in Oklahoma. Later, he retired to live near a golf course.
Legacy and Honors
Warren Spahn died in 2003 at his home in Oklahoma. He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery. After his death, a street in his hometown of Buffalo, New York was named after him.
A few months before he passed away, a statue of Spahn was unveiled outside Atlanta's Turner Field, where the Braves played. When the Braves moved to their new stadium, Truist Park, the statue was moved there. It shows Spahn in the middle of his famous high leg kick.
Spahn was chosen for the all-time All-Star baseball team by Sports Illustrated magazine in 1991. He was also inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973 and the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.
In 1999, Spahn was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame. Also in 1999, The Sporting News ranked Warren Spahn 21st on their list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players."
In 2009, the baseball fields in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where Spahn lived for a long time, were named in his honor.
Spahn even had a small acting role as a German soldier in a 1963 TV show called Combat! In 2013, he was honored with the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award for his service in the United States Army during World War II.
See also
In Spanish: Warren Spahn para niños
- 300 win club
- List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders
- List of Major League Baseball all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers
- Major League Baseball titles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
