M E E T   T H E   R O O K I E S  ·  1 9 6 4

Sam McDowell · SP, #1 overall, Louisville Colonels
McDowell seemed capable of becoming the greatest strikeout pitcher the game had ever known, but by 1976 he was out of baseball, a victim of alcoholism.

A lanky 6'5" lefthander with a ferocious fastball, a good changeup, and just enough wildness to keep hitters nervous, McDowell was overwhelming from 1965 to 1970, winning five strikeout titles and twice fanning over 300 batters by the age of 28 (only Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan, Walter Johnson, and J.R. Richard have struck out 300 batters as many times). McDowell started one game for the Indians as a 19-year-old in 1961, and found little success in Cleveland in 1962-63, walking almost seven batters per nine innings. By 1964 he was beginning to harness his tremendous talent, and in 1965 he dominated AL hitters. McDowell led the AL with a 2.18 ERA, despite walking a league-high 132 batters, and allowed only 178 hits in 273 innings while striking out 325, at the time the fourth-best total in modern ML history. He struck out 15 Tigers in 10 innings June 5, and his 10.71 strikeouts per nine innings set a ML record broken by Dwight Gooden in 1984.

Sudden Sam continued to terrorize AL hitters in 1966, leading the league in strikeouts and shutouts and pitching back-to-back one-hitters. After losing the strikeout title to Jim Lonborg in 1967, he regained it in 1968, with 283, and recorded a 1.81 ERA (second-best in the AL). He also walked a league-high 110. He struck out 279 in 1969, and in 1970 McDowell was TSN Pitcher of the Year with 20 wins and 304 strikeouts. He fanned 16 Angels on May 1, 1968, and 15 batters three more times.

His biggest problem was not batters. "I was the biggest, most hopeless, and most violent drunk in baseball," McDowell would admit later. He won only 13 games in 1971, walking a career-high 153, as his drinking began to affect his on-field performance. He was traded to the Giants for 1972, winning 10 games for the last time. He finished in the Pirates' bullpen in 1975.

McDowell struck out 2,453 batters in his career. His total of 74 games with 10 or more strikeouts is fourth behind Ryan, Koufax, and Steve Carlton, and his career average of 8.86 strikeouts per nine innings trails only Ryan and Koufax. He led the league in walks five times and wild pitches three times, but averaged only seven hits allowed per nine innings for his career. McDowell has been employed by the Texas Rangers as a counselor to drug- and alcohol-addicted players. (FK)
 

Dick Allen · 1B, #2 overall, Detroit Griffins
Talented, controversial, charming, and abusive, Allen put in 15 major league seasons, hitting prodigious homers and paying prodigious fines. Called "Richie" at first, in mid-career he became, adamantly, "Dick." He was praised as a money player and condemned as a loafer. He made 41 errors at third base (which he had not played in the minors) for the Phillies in 1964, but his 29 home runs, 91 RBI, 201 hits, and .318 BA earned him Rookie of the Year honors. A deep cut on his right hand, which he reported having suffered while pushing a stalled car, affected his throwing and the Phillies made him a first baseman/outfielder in 1967. He hit 40 home runs in 1966 and 177 through 1969, but off-the-field behavior brought him a 28-day suspension, a $500-a-day fine, and a trade to the Cardinals at the end of '69. The swap proved doubly controversial when Curt Flood refused to report to the Phillies and challenged the reserve clause in court, forcing St. Louis to substitute Willie Montanez.

The Cardinals passed Allen on to the Dodgers after one year, and they traded him to the White Sox a year later. Each trade added to Allen's reputation as an unmanageable loner. In 1972, with easygoing Chuck Tanner as his White Sox manager, he led the AL in homers (37), RBI (113), walks (99), and slugging percentage (.603) and was named MVP. In 1974, he was on his way to a similar year when he "retired" with a month left to play, giving no reason. Despite his vacation, he led the AL with 32 home runs. The Sox traded him to Atlanta for cash and a player to be named later in December 1974, but before he could play for the Braves they sent him to the Phillies in May 1975 for Barry Bonnell, Jim Essian, and cash. When Essian was turned over to Chicago as Atlanta's player to be named later, he'd been swapped for Allen twice in less than half a year. After two sub-par years in Philadelphia and one in Oakland, Allen retired for good, still an enigma. His brothers Ron and Hank played in the majors. (BC)

Fred Newman · SP, #3 overall, San Francisco Spiders
Newman used good control to go 13-10, 2.75 (1964) and 14-16, 2.93 (1965) in his two best seasons. (JFC)

 

Denny McLain · SP, #4 overall, Louisville Colonels
He was brash. He was flamboyant. He had a lounge act in Las Vegas. He performed on TV shows, including Ed Sullivan's. He paraded about in a white mink coat. He was Hall of Fame shortstop Lou Boudreau's son-in-law. He was also convicted of racketeering and smuggling cocaine and spent time in jail. And, for a while, Denny McLain was one of the finest pitchers in baseball.

In 1968 McLain was the league MVP and a unanimous Cy Young Award winner, going 31-6 with a 1.96 ERA, 28 complete games, and 280 strikeouts. He was the first 30-game winner since Dizzy Dean in 1934, and helped the Tigers to their first World Championship since 1945.

McLain first came up in 1963 and he showed early flashes of brilliance, winning 16 games in 1965, 20 in 1966, and 17 in 1967. He might have won 20 in 1967, if not for an unexplained accident at home where he hurt his toe and missed his last six starts. His teammates, manager, and Tiger fans thought he was dogging it, and he was blamed for the Tigers' close second-place finish in a wild, four-team scramble for the AL pennant.

Starting 1968, he could do nothing to erase the fans' memory of the previous season. He was booed at home after commenting that Detroit's fans were "the world's worst." But soon the victories started to pile up. He won nine straight starts from mid-June to mid-July to stretch his record to 18-2. On September 1, he converted a Boog Powell line drive into a triple play to preserve his 27th victory. He was in the dugout when he won his 30th, a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Oakland. In his 31st victory, he had a 6-1 lead over the Yankees, so he grooved a pitch to Mickey Mantle in Mantle's last game in Tiger Stadium. Mantle crashed what would be his next-to-last career homer, passing Jimmie Foxx on the all-time home run list. McLain would have won 33 games if not for two consecutive 2-1 losses.

In the 1968 World Series, McLain lost both starts in which he opposed the Cardinals' Bob Gibson, who had won 22 games and set a major league record with a 1.12 ERA. But McLain won Game Six on two days' rest, setting up teammate Mickey Lolich to beat Gibson in the seventh game.

Many thought that his nonstop off-season partying would adversely affect McLain, but his lifestyle didn't stop Tiger management from awarding their cocky ace the team's first $100,000 contract. McLain responded by winning a second Cy Young Award (he shared it with the Orioles' Mike Cuellar) with a 24-9 mark and a team-record nine shutouts. But things started to unravel midway through the 1969 season. He angered manager Mayo Smith by not showing up until the fourth inning of the All-Star Game, which Smith wanted him to start. Then Sky King left before the game was over, flying out in his private Cessna.

In 1970 things fell apart. On April 1, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended McLain for three months for a 1967 bookmaking incident. In August McLain filed for bankruptcy, then dumped ice water on a couple of Detroit writers. On September 9, Kuhn suspended him for the rest of the season for gun possession. Finally, on October 9, after a dismal 3-5, 4.65 season, he was traded to the Senators. Amid constant run-ins with no-nonsense Washington manager Ted Williams, McLain lost 22 games in 1971. He spent the 1972 season in Oakland and Atlanta. At the age of 28, his fastball and money were gone and his career was over. He put on weight. He tried several businesses, all of which failed. In the early 1980s, he spent over two years in jail before being granted a new trial and being released early in 1989. As he began to reassemble his life, he played the organ in a Michigan bar where Leon Spinks was the bartender, while listening to offers from promoters looking to get him back in the spotlight. (SEW)

Rico Carty · LF, #5 overall, Manhattan Gray Sox
High on any list of the great natural hitters, the powerful Dominican called himself "the Big Boy." In 1960, as a naive youngster, he signed ten pro contracts. When the mess was straightened out, he became the property of the Milwaukee Braves, who converted the slow-footed catcher into a poor outfielder. As a rookie in 1964 he hit .330, losing both the batting crown race (to Roberto Clemente) and the Rookie of the Year award (to Richie Allen). Tuberculosis sidelined him for the entire 1968 season; he spent five months in a sanitarium. Incredibly, he returned to hit .342 in 1969, despite seven shoulder dislocations. His .366 in 1970 (highest ML average since Ted Williams hit .388 in 1957) led the NL, and he started on the All-Star team as a write-in candidate. He broke his knee in a winter ball collision, costing him the 1971 season, and nearly his career. He was with three teams in 1973 and was playing in Mexico when the Indians signed him as a DH for 1974. His 31 home runs in 1978, with Toronto and Oakland, were a career high. (JCA)

Gaylord Perry · SP, #6 overall, Dallas Texans
Perry was the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues. Over 22 seasons, he won 314 games by frustrating batters and umpires with his (allegedly) illegal pitches.

Perry signed a $90,000 contract with the Giants and won a regular spot on the ML staff in 1963 after four years in the farm system. Pitching in the shadow of the Giants' great righthander, Juan Marichal, Perry didn't become a recognized star in his own right until 1966. By August of that year he had an incredible 20-2 record, but he slipped in September to finish 21-8. Three good seasons followed. On September 17, 1968, he pitched a no-hitter to beat Bob Gibson and the Cardinals 1-0. In 1970 he led the NL in victories with a 23-13 mark. Perry won 134 games for the Giants before he was traded to Cleveland in 1972.

Perry led the AL in wins in 1972, going 24-16 with a 1.92 ERA for the fifth-place Indians. He was voted the AL Cy Young Award for 1972. He won 19 in 1973 and 21 in 1974 when he was joined by his brother Jim, a longtime AL star, who won 17. Traded to Texas in June 1975, he won 42 for the Rangers in two and a half seasons before he was traded back to the NL. With San Diego in 1978, he went 21-6, led in winning percentage, and again received the NL Cy Young.

Perry was constantly accused of throwing a spitball, a charge he felt gave him an edge against batters. He titled his autobiography Me and the Spitter. He fidgeted constantly on the mound, touching his face, glove, uniform, and the bill of his cap before delivering the ball. Umpires nearly undressed him looking for jelly, grease, or Vaseline, and he inspired new rules in 1973 about throwing the spitter. He remained effective after several teams gave up on him, and won his 300th career game for Seattle in 1982. (ArB/ArB/FS)

Bob Veale SP, #7 overall, Washington Monuments One of the hardest throwers in the majors in an era dominated by fireballers, Veale led the NL in strikeouts in 1964 and finished second in 1965 and third in 1966. He struck out 16 Phillies in a 9-inning game (6/1/1965) and 16 Reds in 12 innings (9/30/1964). His lifetime ratio of 7.96 strikeouts per nine innings ranks fifth all-time (1,500-plus innings). But he also led four times in bases on balls, tying the modern record, and walked 90 or more every year he was in the rotation (1964-70). He won 67 games in his first four full seasons (1964-67), with seven shutouts in 1965. But three losing seasons followed and he was moved to the bullpen in 1971. He went 6-0 as Pittsburgh won the 1971 World Championship, but he posted a 7.04 ERA. Sold to Boston in September 1972, he was the number two man out of their bullpen in 1973, saving 11 games in his last good season. (SFS)	Tony Conigliaro RF, #8 overall, Louisville Colonels Tony Conigliaro hit .290 with 24 home runs in 1964, but broke his arm in August; Tony Oliva won the AL Rookie of the Year award. When the 20-year-old Conigliaro hit 32 HR in 1965, he became the youngest home run leader in AL history. The hometown hero was enjoying another standout year in 1967 when, on August 18, he was struck by a Jack Hamilton fastball that broke his cheekbone and so damaged his eyesight that he missed the entire 1968 season. He returned in 1969 to win Comeback of the Year honors, and in 1970 hit 36 HR. But his vision was still impaired, and he left the majors in July 1971, returning for a short comeback try in 1975. Further tragedy befell Conigliaro at age 37, when he suffered a heart attack (while riding in a car with brother Billy) that left him severely incapacitated. (TJ)	Billy McCool MR, #9 overall, Boston Federals McCool's 21 saves in 1965 and 18 in 1966 out of the Reds' bullpen tied him for the second-best NL total both years, although his eight relief losses in '65 led the league. In 1967 Ted Abernathy won the stopper role from him, and in 1968 McCool suffered a wrist injury. (SFS)
Luis Tiant SP, #10 overall, Louisville Colonels Tiant didn't join the Red Sox until mid-career, but he became one of the most popular players in club history. A balding, overweight starter whose age was often estimated at several years higher that its "official" listing, Tiant spoke with a thick Cuban accent and would smoke cigars anywhere, including the clubhouse whirlpool and shower. He was a renowned locker-room prankster, but was serious on the mound, winning 20 games three times for Boston. He baffled hitters with a rocking, twisting windup and an assortment of release points that ranged from over-the-top to nearly underhand. Or as announcer Curt Gowdy noted, "He comes everywhere except between his legs." Tiant's father, Luis Tiant, Sr., was one of Cuba's greatest pitchers; former All-Star Bobby Avila signed the younger Luis to his first contract, for the 1959 Mexican League season. He set a Pacific Coast League record with a .938 winning percentage (15-1) in 1964 before joining the Indians in mid-season, and broke in with a four-hit shutout against the Yankees in his first major league start. He went 10-4 with a 2.83 ERA as a rookie in 1964, and in 1966 he pitched four consecutive shutouts. Tiant really broke through in 1968 after he altered his delivery so that he turned away from the plate during his motion, in effect creating a hesitation pitch. He led the American League with a 1.60 ERA, 9 shutouts, and 5.3 hits per nine innings while striking out more than a batter an inning, and finished 21-9. That July 3 he struck out 19 Twins in a ten-inning game, setting an American League record for games of that length. In his previous start he'd fanned 13 Red Sox, giving him a major league record 32 strikeouts in consecutive starts. The Indians were overly protective of their newly hot property and ordered Tiant to skip his usual winter ball. The strategy backfired when he led the AL with 20 losses (while winning 9) and 129 walks in 1969. After the season Cleveland traded him with Stan Williams to the Twins for Graig Nettles, former Cy Young winner Dean Chance, Bob Miller, and Ted Uhlaender. Tiant started the 1970 season with six straight wins, but suffered a hairline fracture in his shoulder, missed June and July, and wasn't the same when he came back. Minnesota released him at the end of spring training in 1971, and he signed with the Braves minor league Richmond club. He was cut a month later and rejoined Boston's Louisville farm team. He made it back to the majors late that year, but went only 1-7. Tiant was the Comeback Player of the Year in 1972 for a contending Boston Red Sox team. He captured his second ERA title with a 1.91 mark and was 15-6. He followed his 20-13 mark in 1973 by going 22-13 in 1974, with an AL-leading seven shutouts. After helping the Red Sox to the AL pennant in 1975 with an 18-14 mark (4.02 ERA) he got real national attention for the first time during postseason play. He beat the three-time World Champion A's in the ALCS opener with a three-hitter, giving up only one unearned run, and followed with a five-hit shutout of the Reds to open the World Series. He also won Game Four, 5-4. Tiant got a hit in each game after batting once all season, and his adventuresome trips from base to base (he scored each time) while bundled in a warm-up jacket provided comic relief in an otherwise tense series. His accent ("Ees great to be weeth a weiner") and his eccentric cigar puffing made him an immediate media favorite. He was rocked in Game Six, but left long before Carlton Fisk's 12th-inning homer ended what has been called the greatest game ever played. Tiant won 20 for the last time in 1976 (21-12), but he was no longer the overpowering pitcher he once had been. For several years he had increasingly relied on deception, with masterful changes of speed to go with his wide variety of pitching motions. He pitched less, but he kept winning, going 12-8 and 13-8 in his last two years with the Red Sox. He signed with the Yankees as a free agent before the 1979 season and went 13-8, but was ineffective thereafter. (SH)
Mel Stottlemyre  SP, #11 overall, Chicago Colts Called up from Richmond in midsummer 1964 for the pennant race, the sinkerballer went 9-3 to help the Yankees win their fifth consecutive AL pennant. In the World Series against the Cardinals, he won Game Two with a complete-game 8-3 victory and pitched well in Game Five, surrendering two runs in seven innings for a no-decision. But, coming back on two days' rest (ace Whitey Ford had arm trouble), Stottlemyre lost the final game when he surrendered three runs in the fourth inning. Even as the Yankee dynasty collapsed around him in 1965, Stottlemyre went 20-9, leading the AL in innings and complete games. He led the league with 20 losses in 1966, and tied for the lead with 18 losses in 1972, his only losing seasons before his final campaign. Through the Yankees' fallow period he remained the classy, reliable staff ace and had two more 20-win seasons (1968-69), serving as one of the team's few ties to a more successful era. He pitched at least 250 innings in each of his nine full seasons. A torn rotator cuff forced his retirement in 1974, just before the Yankees began a new era. Stottlemyre is currently the Mets' pitching coach, and supervised the conversion of Dwight Gooden from a pure power pitcher to a wilier and hopefully more durable style. His son Todd pitches for the Blue Jays, and Mel Jr. played in the Mets' farm system. (TJG)		Jim Ray Hart 3B, #12 overall, Louisville Colonels Bob Gibson welcomed Jim Ray to the big leagues in 1963 by breaking his shoulder blade with a fastball in the back. A few days after Hart's return, he was beaned by Curt Simmons and missed the rest of the season. But in 1964, his first full year, the stocky strongman proved he wasn't gun-shy with a San Francisco rookie record 31 homers. Until a 1969 shoulder injury made him a part timer, he averaged 28 homers a season. On September 8, 1970 he hit for the cycle and tied a major-league record with six RBI in one inning. Although the former North Carolina cotton picker was so quiet it was said a soft chuckle was a whole conversation for him, he was vocal about his hatred of playing third base: it was "just too damn close to the hitters." (JCA)