American baseball player (1933?2004)
Baseball player
Ted Abernathy
|
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Abernathy with the Chicago Cubs in 1969
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Pitcher
|
Born:
March 6, 1933
Stanley, North Carolina
, U.S.
|
Died:
December 16, 2004
(2004-12-16)
(aged 71)
Gastonia, North Carolina
, U.S.
|
Batted:
Right
Threw:
Right
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|
April 13, 1955, for the Washington Senators
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September 30, 1972, for the Kansas City Royals
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Win?loss record
| 63?69
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Earned run average
| 3.46
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---|
Strikeouts
| 765
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Saves
| 149
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Ted Wade Abernathy
(March 6, 1933 ? December 16, 2004) was an American
professional baseball
player
and
right-handed
pitcher
. He appeared in 681
games
in
Major League Baseball
, 647 as a
relief pitcher
, for seven different clubs over all or parts of 14 seasons between
1955
and
1972
, amassed 148
saves
, and twice (
1965
,
1967
) led the
National League
in that category. He batted and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall, and weighed 215 pounds (98 kg).
Abernathy was a member of the
Washington Senators
(1955?57, 1960),
Cleveland Indians
(1963?64),
Chicago Cubs
(1965?66, 1969?70),
Atlanta Braves
(1966),
Cincinnati Reds
(1967?68),
St. Louis Cardinals
(1970) and
Kansas City Royals
(1970?72). He compiled a 63?69 record with 765
strikeouts
and a 3.46
ERA
in 1,147
2
⁄
3
innings pitched
. He gave up 1,010
hits
and permitted 592
bases on balls
.
[1]
A native of
Stanley, North Carolina
, Abernathy was born on March 6, 1933, to Wade and Genora (McGinnis) Abernathy. He graduated from Stanley High School and signed with the Senators in 1952. In 1953 he married Margie Clemmer.
[2]
The couple had two sons, Ted Jr. and Todd.
[2]
Pitching career
[
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]
Abernathy changed his pitching motion from an overhead delivery to a three-quarter delivery after tearing two muscles in his shoulder making a throw from the outfield during his freshman year of high school. After shoulder surgery in 1959 left his career in doubt, he switched from the three-quarter delivery and become an effective sidearmer who developed a
submarine
pitch.
[3]
Abernathy spent two years in the minor leagues before being called up by the Senators in April 1955. Throughout most of the 1950s, he split time between the Senators' major league squad and their farm system.
During the
Korean War
, Abernathy was drafted into the
U.S. Army
, serving with medics, driving an ambulance and repairing vehicles. He served at
Fort McPherson
, Georgia. Abernathy was discharged as a corporal in time to join the Senators for 1955 spring training.
[3]
He made his Major League debut for the Senators at age 22 on April 13, 1955, in 19?1 loss to the
New York Yankees
at
Yankee Stadium
. In the fourth inning, Abernathy relieved
Mickey McDermott
and struck out
Andy Carey
before giving up a home run to
Mickey Mantle
followed by a groundout by
Yogi Berra
.
[4]
Every one of his 34 MLB
starting pitcher
assignments came with the 1955?57 Senators, a struggling,
second-division
team in the
American League
. Abernathy threw seven
complete games
and two
shutouts
as a starter, but won only eight of 30
decisions
during that three-year period.
Apart from two games with Washington in
1960
, Abernathy spent five years (1958?62) toiling in
minor league baseball
before returning to the majors as a
bullpen
ace for the
1963 Indians
. Sold to the Cubs in April 1965, Abernathy recorded a league-leading 31 saves (again for a second-division team), along with 104 strikeouts and a 2.57 ERA. He had 28 saves, 88 strikeouts, and a 1.27 ERA two seasons later with Cincinnati. In both 1965 and 1967, he led the league in saves, and won the
TSN
Reliever of the Year Award
. In
1968
, Abernathy won 10 games with 13 saves, and had 10 wins and 14 saves in
1970
. He led the National League in
games pitched
three times: 1965 (with 84, a major-league record at the time), 1967 and 1968.
After baseball
[
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]
After retiring from the game, Abernathy worked at Summey Building Systems in
Dallas, North Carolina
, and later worked with his son at his landscaping business, Todd Abernathy Landscaping, and was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Dallas. He enjoyed playing softball and tinkering with old cars and was active in several organizations including the
Masonic Lodge
, the
Shriners
and Major League Baseball's alumni society.
During his later years, Abernathy suffered from
Alzheimer's
disease and lived at the Belaire Health Care Center in
Gastonia, North Carolina
. Ted Abernathy died at age 71 on December 16, 2004, in Gastonia.
[1]
[3]
He is interred at the Garden of Four Seasons in Gaston Memorial Park,
Gastonia, North Carolina
.
[5]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
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]