American baseball player (1931-2013)
Baseball player
Red Witt
|
---|
|
Pitcher
|
Born:
(
1931-11-09
)
November 9, 1931
Long Beach, California
, U.S.
|
Died:
January 30, 2013
(2013-01-30)
(aged 81)
Laguna Beach, California
, U.S.
|
Batted:
Right
Threw:
Right
|
|
September 21, 1957, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
|
|
June 10, 1962, for the Houston Colt .45s
|
|
Win?loss record
| 11?16
|
---|
Earned run average
| 4.32
|
---|
Strikeouts
| 156
|
---|
|
---|
|
|
|
|
George Adrian "Red" Witt
(November 9, 1931 ? January 30, 2013),
[1]
was an American
professional baseball
player
, a
right-handed
pitcher
who played all or part of six seasons in
Major League Baseball
(1957?62) with the
Pittsburgh Pirates
,
Los Angeles Angels
and
Houston Colt .45s
.
[2]
The native of
Long Beach, California
, stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg) during his playing career. He graduated from
California State University, Long Beach
.
Witt began his baseball career in 1950 as a member of the
Brooklyn Dodgers
' organization and was drafted by the Pirates from Brooklyn following the 1954 season. In 1957, he won 18 games (losing seven) for the top-level
Hollywood Stars
of the
Pacific Coast League
, then had notable back-to-back seasons for the Pirates in 1958?59. In
1958
, he helped pitch Pittsburgh to a
first division
finish and the club's first winning season in a decade with a 9?2
record
and a sparkling 1.61
earned run average
in 18
games pitched
and 15
starting
assignments. He threw five
complete games
and three
shutouts
. But in
1959
, hampered by a sore elbow,
[3]
he worked in only 15 games and lost all of his seven
decisions
. He spent part of
1960
back in
minor league baseball
.
But he also appeared in ten games (with six starts) for the
1960
National League
and
World Series
champion Pirates.
[2]
He made three
relief
appearances in the World Series, which was marked by three lopsided
New York Yankees
victories and four close Pittsburgh triumphs. Witt appeared in the Yankee routs, Games 2, 3 and 6, and although he was not charged with allowing any
runs
in 2
2
⁄
3
innings pitched
, he permitted four inherited baserunners to score.
[4]
Witt played three more seasons, splitting
1961
and
1962
between minor league service and big-league trials with the Pirates, Angels and Colt .45s.
For his MLB career he compiled an 11?16 record with a 4.32
earned run average
and 156
strikeouts
in 66 appearances and 229 total innings pitched; he allowed 225
hits
and 127
bases on balls
, and recorded no shutouts or complete games after 1958.
[5]
[6]
Witt was a high school physical education instructor, a science teacher, and a baseball and tennis coach at
Tustin High School
in
Tustin, California
, as well as a former Foreign Study League group leader, where he led high school students through a number of European foreign capitals comparing different governmental systems.
[
citation needed
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Hayes, John (Feb 7, 2013).
"Obituary George Witt / Relief pitcher was part of Pirates '60 title run"
.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. Retrieved
February 12,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Cook, Ron (May 11, 1987).
"To Witt, baseball was unhappy time"
.
The Pittsburgh Press
. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. Retrieved
February 5,
2013
.
- ^
Peter Bauck,
George Witt.
Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project
- ^
Retrosheet: 1960 World Series pitching log for Red Witt
- ^
"Red Witt Statistics and History"
.
baseball-reference.com
. Retrieved
April 14,
2016
.
- ^
"George Witt Baseball Stats"
.
Baseball Almanac
. Retrieved
April 14,
2016
.
External links
[
edit
]