American baseball player
Baseball player
Tom Underwood
|
---|
Underwood with the Philadelphia Phillies
|
Pitcher
|
Born:
(
1953-12-22
)
December 22, 1953
Kokomo, Indiana
, U.S.
|
Died:
November 22, 2010
(2010-11-22)
(aged 56)
West Palm Beach, Florida
, U.S.
|
Batted:
Right
Threw:
Left
|
|
August 19, 1974, for the Philadelphia Phillies
|
|
September 23, 1984, for the Baltimore Orioles
|
|
Win?loss record
| 86?87
|
---|
Earned run average
| 3.89
|
---|
Strikeouts
| 948
|
---|
|
---|
|
|
Thomas Gerald Underwood
(December 22, 1953 ? November 22, 2010) was an American
Major League Baseball
pitcher
. His younger brother,
Pat
was also a pitcher, and made his major league debut against Tom. It was the first time in major league history this had occurred.
[1]
Kokomo High School
[
edit
]
Underwood was also
quarterback
for
Kokomo High School
's
football
team on top of playing
baseball
. In baseball, his junior and senior years, he went 17-3 with a 0.40
earned run average
. Simultaneously, he compiled a 25-1 record playing
American Legion Baseball
, helping Post 6 win the
1972
Indiana
state championship.
He signed a letter of intent to play
college baseball
at
Western Michigan University
before being selected in the second round pick of the
1972 Major League Baseball draft
by the
Philadelphia Phillies
.
[2]
Philadelphia Phillies
[
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]
Topps All-Star Rookie
[
edit
]
In his first season of
professional baseball
with the
Spartanburg Phillies
, Underwood went 13-6 record with a
Western Carolinas League
leading 2.10 ERA and 187
strikeouts
. He went 14-5 with a 2.51 in
1974
for the double A
Toledo Mud Hens
to earn a call up to the majors at just twenty years old.
Underwood faced the "
Big Red Machine
" in his major league debut. After striking out the first batter he faced (
Dan Driessen
),
Cesar Geronimo
followed with a
single
and
Dave Concepcion
followed with a
double
. He intentionally walked
George Foster
to load the bases for opposing pitcher
Don Gullett
. Gullett singled, scoring two.
Pete Rose
walked
, reloading the bases.
Joe Morgan
unloaded them with a
grand slam home run
. He exited the game at that point with a 162.00 ERA.
[3]
In 12.2
innings pitched
after that, Underwood allowed one
earned run
. He earned his first major league win on September 25 against the
New York Mets
.
[4]
Phillies
manager
Danny Ozark
added Underwood to the
starting rotation
for the
1975
season. Making his first
start
against the
St. Louis Cardinals
, Underwood escaped a
bases loaded
, one
out
jam in the fifth, highlighted by a force out at home on a ground ball back to the mound by opposing pitcher
Bob Forsch
. From there, Underwood allowed just two base runners in recording his first career
shutout
.
[5]
On May 13, facing the
Cincinnati Reds
for the first time since his major league debut, Underwood pitched his second career shutout.
[6]
For the season, Underwood went 14-13 with a 4.14 ERA and 123 strikeouts to be named the left-handed pitcher on the
Topps All-Star Rookie Team
.
[7]
First postseason since 1950
[
edit
]
Underwood split the beginning of the
1976
season between starts and
relief
appearances. On May 19, he earned a
save
against the Mets.
[8]
He was 5-1 with a 3.41 ERA at the All-Star break to secure himself a spot in the starting rotation for the rest of the year.
The 1976 Phillies
made it to the post season. The Reds beat the Phillies in the first two games,
[9]
but the Phillies were holding onto a 6-4 lead when the Reds came to bat in the bottom of the ninth. Foster and
Johnny Bench
led off the
inning
with back-to-back home runs to tie the game. Concepcion singled, bringing Underwood into the game. Underwood walked the first batter he faced, Geronimo;
Ed Armbrister
successfully
bunted
the runners over. Underwood intentionally walked Rose to face
Ken Griffey
with the bases loaded. He singled to send the Reds to the
1976 World Series
.
[10]
For the
1977
season, Underwood and
Wayne Twitchell
switched roles, with Underwood heading to the
bullpen
and Twitchell starting. He was 3-2 with a save and a 5.13 ERA when the Phillies traded him and
outfielders
Rick Bosetti
and
Dane Iorg
to the Cardinals for
All-Star
outfielder
Bake McBride
and minor league pitcher
Steve Waterbury
.
St. Louis Cardinals
[
edit
]
In his first start as a Cardinal against the
Los Angeles Dodgers
, he was trailing 2-1 when he exited the game in the fourth with the bases loaded.
Clay Carroll
allowed all three inherited runners to score, giving Underwood five earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched.
[11]
He ended his time in St. Louis at 6-9 with a 4.95 ERA. After the season, he and minor league pitcher
Victor Cruz
were traded to the
Toronto Blue Jays
for pitcher
Pete Vuckovich
and a
player to be named later
.
Toronto Blue Jays
[
edit
]
Underwood experienced some
deja vu
in his first start with his new franchise. After being saved by a
double play
in the first inning, he was unable to record an out in the second. He exited with the bases loaded, and two
runs
already across. Once again, the reliever allowed all three inherited runners to score.
[12]
He pitched well after that, but suffered from a lack of run support. On May 2, he pitched a
complete game
, but lost 2-1 to the
Oakland Athletics
.
[13]
In his next start, he earned his first
American League
win by shutting out the A's.
[14]
For the season, he pitched seven complete games, winning only the shutout.
The 1978 Jays
went 59-102. Only one pitcher,
Jim Clancy
, had double digit wins (10). Underwood went 6-14 with a 4.10 ERA and led the staff with 139 strikeouts. Manager
Roy Hartsfield
made the unusual decision to move the staff's de facto ace,
Jesse Jefferson
, into the bullpen for
1979
. By default, Underwood became the "ace," and was given the opening day assignment against the reigning
American League West
champion
Kansas City Royals
.
1979 Opening day starter
[
edit
]
After a 1-2-3 first inning, things fell apart for Underwood and the Jays as a whole in the second inning. After walking clean-up hitter
Al Cowens
, Underwood induced a double play ball from the next batter
Hal McRae
. Instead,
third baseman
Roy Howell
committed an
error
, and both runners were safe. Underwood then walked the bases loaded for
John Wathan
. Wathan hit a bases clearing
triple
. He recorded his first out of the inning against future
Hall of Famer
George Brett
, but also walked two batters and allowed a
base hit
to bring the score to 4-0 with
Amos Otis
coming to the plate. For the second time in the inning, Underwood induced a double play ball, and for the second time in the inning, the
infielder
committed an error (
second baseman
Dave McKay
). Cowens came to bat for the second time in the inning, and flew out to center. McRae followed with a double that scored the seventh run of the inning, and ending Underwood's day. Two more runs would score before the inning came to a merciful end.
[15]
Underwood got off to an 0-3 start, but was in line to win his first game against the
Milwaukee Brewers
on May 3. Over eight innings, Underwood had walked three and allowed five hits as he stepped to the mound in the ninth with the Jays holding onto a 4-3 lead. After retiring the first batter, he gave up back-to-back singles to the next two. He hit the next batter with a pitch to load the bases.
Though Underwood was clearly gassed, Hartsfield stuck with him.
Paul Molitor
hit a ground ball back to Underwood, who threw it home for the force out at the plate. With two outs and the bases loaded, Underwood walked the next two batters for the loss.
[16]
Big league brothers
[
edit
]
On May 31, 1979, Underwood made a start against the
Detroit Tigers
. The opposing pitcher was his brother, Pat, making his major league debut.
[17]
Tom found the whole thing stupid,
[18]
but the brothers brought their best. Pat did not give up a hit until the fifth inning. Tom allowed four hits and struck out four in keeping the Tigers scoreless through seven. Then, Tigers
center fielder
Jerry Morales
led off the eighth with a home run. Pat pitched into the ninth before handing the game over to the bullpen to close it out. For Tom, it was another complete game loss.
[19]
0-9, 4.98 ERA
[
edit
]
Underwood lost his next start, bringing him to 0-8 on the season, and 1-10 in complete games since joining the Jays.
[20]
He would fall to 0-9 before finally winning his first game on June 15 by shutting out the A's.
[21]
In his nine losses, the Jays scored fifteen runs.
His next start was another complete game loss, in which the Jays were only able to score one run,
[22]
however, he managed to turn his season around from there. Over the remainder of the season, Underwood went 8-6 with a 3.22 ERA. Overall, he led his team with nine wins, a 3.69 ERA, 127 strikeouts and 227 innings pitched. He had eleven losses in which the Jays score two runs or fewer.
New York Yankees
[
edit
]
On November 1, 1979, the
New York Yankees
traded post season hero
Chris Chambliss
and young prospects
Damaso Garcia
and
Paul Mirabella
to the Jays for Underwood,
catcher
Rick Cerone
and minor league outfielder
Ted Wilborn
.
[23]
[24]
Underwood was happy to join a contender, and signed a four year deal with his new club upon arrival.
He began his Yankee career in the bullpen, going 1-2 with a save and a 3.10 ERA before becoming one of four left handers in the starting rotation. His pattern of bad first starts in which he can't escape the second inning continued against the
Baltimore Orioles
on April 30,
[25]
however, he followed that up with six victories in a row. He lost four of his next five, including the worst start of his career against the
Texas Rangers
(5 batters faced, no outs recorded, 5 earned runs).
[26]
The 1980 Yankees
went 103-59 to return to the post season after a one year hiatus. Underwood went 13-9 with a 3.66 ERA, two saves and two shutouts. He returned to the bullpen for the post season.
In game one of the
1980 American League Championship Series
against the Royals, Underwood pitched what should have been a 1-2-3 eighth inning. Instead, Yankees
first baseman
Bob Watson
made a two out error. This opened the door to the Royals scoring two more runs in their 7-2 game one victory.
[27]
Underwood pitched again in game three; the Yankees were down 2-0 in the series, and 4-2 in game three when Underwood was handed the ball. Underwood pitched two scoreless innings, but so did Royals
closer
Dan Quisenberry
, to complete the three game sweep.
[28]
Oakland A's
[
edit
]
Underwood had a 1–4 record with a 4.41 ERA when he was traded along with
Jim Spencer
from the
Yankees
to the
Oakland Athletics
for
Dave Revering
,
Mike Patterson
and minor-league left-handed pitcher Chuck Dougherty on May 20,
1981
.
[29]
He made three starts upon joining his new team (no decisions) before the
players strike
interrupted the season. When play resumed, manager
Billy Martin
moved Underwood into the bullpen. He went 2-2 with a 3.48 ERA and a save. He also made two starts down the stretch. One of which was a four hit 5-1 victory over the Blue Jays in which he struck out a career high ten, including the last four batters he faced.
[30]
The A's won the first half of the split season format instituted for the 1981 season. Underwood faced just one batter in the
1981 American League Division Series
with the Royals, striking out
Willie Aikens
.
[31]
The A's swept the Royals in the ALDS to face Underwood's former team, the Yankees, in the
1981 American League Championship Series
. The Yankees swept the series, with Underwood pitching in games one and three.
Underwood preferred starting,
[32]
but was far more successful as a reliever in Oakland. He split the next two seasons pretty evenly between starting and relieving. In
1982
, he was 5-3 with a 4.06 ERA in 64.1 innings pitched as a starter. As a reliever, his record was also 5-3, but with a 2.74 ERA and a career best seven saves (second on the A's to
Dave Beard
) in 88.2 innings pitched.
In
1982
he had a 5.54 ERA in 76.1 innings as a starter, almost double the 2.37 ERA he had as a reliever. The 68.1 innings he pitched out of the bullpen was tied for second on the team, and he had four of the bullpen's 33 saves.
Baltimore Orioles
[
edit
]
A
free agent
after going 9–7 with four saves in
1983
, Underwood signed a one-year contract with the
Baltimore Orioles
on February 6, 1984. He had also received a three-year offer from the
Cleveland Indians
but sacrificed security for an opportunity to play with the
defending World Series champions
.
[33]
He made one start (May 12, 3 innings against the A's),
[34]
but was otherwise exclusively a long reliever. He was 1-0 with one save and a 3.52 ERA on the season. The Orioles elected not to renew the option year on his contract on September 28, 1984.
[35]
He returned to the Yankees in
1985
, and went 1-3 with a 5.17 ERA in 28 minor league games before retiring.
Career stats
[
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]
Underwood reached the post season three times in his career. All three times, his team was swept in the championship series, and all three times he was his team’s final pitcher, but he was never the losing pitcher. In
1999
, the
Kokomo Tribune
named Underwood
Howard County, Indiana
’s "Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century."
[2]
He was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in
1997
.
Private life
[
edit
]
After retiring, Underwood became a financial adviser. He met Christine Morra, an
LPGA
pro, at a golf tournament. They married, and had two children, a daughter Dani and a son John. Underwood died from
pancreatic cancer
on November 22,
2010
.
[36]
His son, known as J.D., was drafted by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the
2013 Major League Baseball draft
.
[37]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Tigers Top Blue Jays As Brothers Duel, 1?0"
.
The New York Times
. June 1, 1979.
- ^
a
b
"Cancer Claims Kokomo Great Tom Underwood"
.
Kokomo Tribune
. November 23, 2010.
- ^
"Cincinnati Reds 15, Philadelphia Phillies 2"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. August 19, 1974.
- ^
"Philadelphia Phillies 6, New York Mets 3"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. September 25, 1974.
- ^
"Philadelphia Phillies 2, St. Louis Cardinals 0"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. April 13, 1975.
- ^
"Philadelphia Phillies 4, Cincinnati Reds 0"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. May 13, 1975.
- ^
Markusen, Bruce.
"#CardCorner: 1981 Topps Tom Underwood"
. National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum.
- ^
"Philadelphia Phillies 2, New York Mets 1"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. May 19, 1976.
- ^
"1976 National League Championship Series"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. October 9?12, 1976.
- ^
"1976 National League Championship Series, Game 3"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. October 12, 1976.
- ^
"Los Angeles Dodgers 12, St. Louis Cardinals 1"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. June 22, 1977.
- ^
"Detroit Tigers 8, Toronto Blue Jays 4"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. April 9, 1978.
- ^
"Oakland A's 2, Toronto Blue Jays 1"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. May 2, 1978.
- ^
"Toronto Blue Jays 4, Oakland A's 0"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. May 9, 1978.
- ^
"Kansas City Royals 11, Toronto Blue Jays 2"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. April 5, 1979.
- ^
"Milwaukee Brewers 5, Toronto Blue Jays 4"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. May 3, 1979.
- ^
Lowitt, Bruce (June 2, 1979).
"Mom Underwood Sees Pat Beat Tom"
.
The Virgin Islands Daily News
.
- ^
Delnagro, Mike (June 11, 1979).
"The Week (May 27-June 2)"
.
Sports Illustrated
.
- ^
"Detroit Tigers 1, Toronto Blue Jays 0"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. May 31, 1979.
- ^
"California Angels 3. Toronto Blue Jays 0"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. June 5, 1979.
- ^
"Toronto Blue Jays 6, Oakland A's 0"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. June 15, 1979.
- ^
"New York Yankees 2, Toronto Blue Jays 1"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. June 20, 1979.
- ^
Jim Kaplan
(November 12, 1979).
"A Roundup of the Week (Oct 29-Nov 4)"
.
Sports Illustrated
.
- ^
Durso, Joseph (November 2, 1979).
"Yanks Trade Chambliss, Beattie; 12 Players Exchanged In 2 Deals"
.
New York Times
. p. A-21.
- ^
"Baltimore Orioles 7, New York Yankees 4"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. April 30, 1980.
- ^
"Texas Rangers 10, New York Yankees 8"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. July 11, 1980.
- ^
"1980 American League Championship Series, Game 1"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. October 8, 1980.
- ^
"1980 American League Championship Series, Game 3"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. October 10, 1980.
- ^
"The New York Yankees Wednesday acquired left-handed hitting first...,"
United Press International
(UPI), Wednesday, May 20, 1981.
Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^
"Oakland A's 5, Toronto Blue Jays 1"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. September 29, 1981.
- ^
"1981 American League Division Series, Game 3"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. October 9, 1981.
- ^
"Tom Underwood understands his place on the Oakland A's"
.
United Press International
. April 21, 1982.
- ^
Boswell, Thomas. "Orioles' Brass Is Polished,"
The Washington Post
, Wednesday, February 8, 1984.
Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^
"Oakland A's 12, Baltimore Orioles 2"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. May 12, 1984.
- ^
"Sports People: Orioles Clean House,"
The New York Times
, Saturday, September 29, 1984.
Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^
Tom Underwood Former Phillies pitcher Tom Underwood dies at 56
- ^
Bernreuter, Hugh (May 1, 2015).
"Dodgers Prospect J.D. Underwood Keeps Father Close Through Tattoo, Memories"
.
Booth Newspapers
.
External links
[
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]