Sam McDowell

Samuel Edward Thomas "Sam" McDowell (born September 21, 1942 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball, playing his first 11 seasons for the Cleveland Indians before a 1971 trade to the San Francisco Giants and subsequent stints with the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates. A tall (6 feet, 5 inches) and powerful left-hander whose blazing fastball led to his memorable nickname: "Sudden Sam". His strikeout prowess was sometimes nullified by periodic control problems. In 1960, McDowell signed with the Indians for a six-figure bonus. He appeared in his first big league game a year later, one week before his 19th birthday. After struggling over the next two seasons, McDowell became a starting pitcher in 1964 and became a workhorse over the next eight seasons. He tossed over 200 innings in seven of those years and ranked among the American League's leaders in strikeouts. He twice exceeded 300 strikeouts in a season. A six-time All-Star (1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971), McDowell was also the league leader in ERA and strikeouts in 1965, led in strikeouts and shutouts in 1966 and led the league in strikeouts again in 1968 and 1969. In 1970, he put together his best season, when he was named "Pitcher of the Year" by The Sporting News, once again leading in strikeouts while winning 20 games for the first and only time of his career. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants for star spitball-throwing pitcher Gaylord Perry and light-hitting shortstop Frank Duffy. The trade turned out to be a disaster for the Giants. In 1972, McDowell had his worst season as a starting pitcher, posting his highest earned run average in ten years. Meanwhile, Perry posted 24 wins with a 1.92 earned run average for Cleveland, winning his first Cy Young Award. At just 30 years old, McDowell was finished as a starting pitcher. San Francisco traded McDowell during the 1973 season to the New York Yankees. He pitched one more season for the Yankees in 1974. McDowell's final major league season came in 1975 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. McDowell finished with 2,453 career strikeouts and an average of 8.86 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. At the time of his retirement, his strikeout rate was bested by only two pitchers: Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
• List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
• Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time
• Major League Baseball titles leaders

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Baseball Historical Almanac
• Baseball Library
• 1965 Award
• 1970 Award
• Article about life after baseball
• Sudden Sam McDowell - Article detailing his career with the Indians