- Don Drysdale
-
Don Drysdale Pitcher Born: July 23, 1936
Van Nuys, CaliforniaDied: July 3, 1993 (aged 56)
Montreal, QuebecBatted: Right Threw: Right MLB debut April 17, 1956 for the Brooklyn Dodgers Last MLB appearance August 5, 1969 for the Los Angeles Dodgers Career statistics Win–Loss record 209–166 Earned run average 2.95 Strikeouts 2,486 Teams Career highlights and awards - 9× All-Star selection (1959, 1959², 1961², 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968)
- 3× World Series champion (1959, 1963, 1965)
- 1962 Cy Young Award
- 1962 NL TSN Pitcher of the Year
- Los Angeles Dodgers #53 retired
Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction 1984 Vote 78.41% Donald Scott "Don" Drysdale (July 23, 1936 – July 3, 1993) was a Major League Baseball player and Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was one of the dominant starting pitchers of the 1960s, and became a radio and television broadcaster following his playing career. The Disney character Herbie has the number 53 since that was Drysdale's number.[1]
Contents
Biography
Early life
Drysdale was born in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California and attended Van Nuys High School, where one of his classmates was actor Robert Redford.[2] While there have been assertions that Redford also played on the high school baseball team with Drysdale, and Drysdale covered for Redford by backing these up, classmates recall that Redford never actually played baseball.
Playing career
Donald Drysdale's number 53 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1984. Pitching for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, he teamed with Sandy Koufax during the late 1950s and early-middle 1960s to form one of the most dominating pitching duos in history. The hurler (nicknamed "Big D" by fans) used brushback pitches and a sidearm fastball to intimidate batters, similar to his fierce fellow Hall of Famer Bob Gibson. His 154 hit batsmen remains a modern National League record.
Drysdale was also considered a good hitter for a pitcher. In a total of 14 seasons, he had 218 hits, including 29 home runs, and was occasionally used as a pinch-hitter.
In 1962, Drysdale won 25 games and the Cy Young Award. In 1968, he set Major League records with six consecutive shutouts and 58 consecutive scoreless innings; the latter record was broken by fellow Dodger Orel Hershiser 20 years later. In 1963, he struck out 251 batters and won World Series Game 3 at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium over the Yankees, 1–0. In 1965, he was the Dodgers' only .300 hitter and tied his own National League record for pitchers with seven home runs. That year he won 23 games and helped the Dodgers to their third World Championship in Los Angeles. He ended his career with 209 wins, 2,486 strikeouts, 167 complete games and 49 shutouts. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984, and had his number 53 officially retired at Dodger Stadium on July 1, 1984. (He was the last player on the Dodgers who had played for Brooklyn.)
Drysdale took part in a famous salary holdout in the spring of 1966 along with Koufax, with both finally signing contracts just before the season opened. This holdout was the beginning of what would eventually become collective bargaining.
Broadcasting career
Don Drysdale retired in midseason in 1969 due to an ailing shoulder and became a broadcaster for not just the Dodgers (from 1988 up until his death in 1993), but also the Montreal Expos (1970–1971), Texas Rangers (1972), California Angels (1973–1979, 1981), Chicago White Sox (1982–1987), and ABC (1978–1986). He also teamed with Angels partner Dick Enberg on Los Angeles Rams football broadcasts from 1973–1976.
While at ABC Sports, Drysdale not only did baseball telecasts, but also Superstars and Wide World of Sports. In 1979, Drysdale covered the World Series Trophy presentation ceremonies for ABC. On October 11, 1980, Keith Jackson called an Oklahoma-Texas college football game for ABC in the afternoon, then flew to Houston to call Game 4 of the NLCS between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies. In the meantime, Drysdale filled-in for Jackson on play-by-play for the early innings.
In 1984, Drysdale did play-by-play (alongside Reggie Jackson and Earl Weaver) for the National League Championship Series between the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs. On October 6, 1984 at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium, Game 4 of the NLCS ended when Padres first baseman Steve Garvey hit a two run home run off Lee Smith. Drysdale on the call:
“ Deep right field, way back. Cotto going back to the wall...it's gone! Home run Garvey! And there will be a tomorrow! ” The Padres, who rallied from a 2–0 deficit in the best-of-five series against the Cubs won the decisive Game 5 the next day (thus, winning their first ever National League pennant).
In his last ever ABC assignment, Drysdale interviewed the winners in the Boston Red Sox' clubhouse following Game 7 of the 1986 American League Championship Series against the California Angels.
While broadcasting for the White Sox, Drysdale generated some controversy while covering a heated argument between an umpire and Sox manager Tony LaRussa. LaRussa pulled up the third base bag and hurled it into the outfield, to the approval of the Comiskey Park crowd, and ensuring his ejection. Drysdale remarked, "Go get 'em, Dago!"
For the Sox, Drysdale broadcast the 300th victory of Tom Seaver, against the host New York Yankees in 1985. His post-game interview with Seaver was carried live by both the Sox' network and the Yankees' longtime flagship television station WPIX.
1987
Drysdale hosted a nationally syndicated radio show called Radio Baseball Cards. 162 episodes were produced with stories and anecdotes told by current and former Major League Baseball players. The highlight of the series were numerous episodes dedicated to the memory and impact of Jackie Robinson as told by teammates, opponents and admirers. Radio Baseball Cards aired on 38 stations, including WNBC New York, KSFO San Francisco and WEEI Boston, as a pre-game show. A collector's edition of the program was re-released in 2007 as a podcast.[3]
1988
Drysdale conducted all of the National League player interviews for the Baseball Talk series in 1988 (Joe Torre did the same for the American League).
On September 28, 1988, fellow Dodger Orel Hershiser surpassed Drysdale when Hershiser finished the season with a record 59 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. In his final start of the year, Hershiser needed to pitch 10 shutout innings to set the mark – meaning not only that he would have to prevent the San Diego Padres from scoring, but that his own team would also need to fail to score in order to ensure extra innings. The Dodgers' anemic offense was obliging, however, and Hershiser pitched the first 10 innings of a scoreless tie, with the Padres eventually prevailing 2–1 in 16 innings. Hershiser almost did not pitch in the 10th inning, in deference to Drysdale, but was convinced to take the mound and try to break the record. When Hershiser broke Drysdale's record, Drysdale went to hug him, and said, "Oh, I'll tell ya, congratulations... And at least you kept it in the family."[citation needed]
Drysdale also called Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series for the Dodgers Radio Network:
“ Well, the crowd is on its feet and if there was ever a preface to Casey at the Bat it would have to be the ninth inning. Two out. The tying run aboard, the winning run at the plate, and Kirk Gibson, standing at the plate. Eckersley working out of the stretch, here's the three-two pitch...and a drive hit to right field (losing voice) WAY BACK! IT'S GONE! IT'S GONE! (After 2 minutes of crowd noise) This crowd will not stop! They can't believe the ending! And this time, Mighty Casey did NOT strike out!!!! ” Personal
Drysdale married Ginger Dubberly in 1958, with whom he had a daughter, Kelly. They divorced in 1982. On November 1, 1986, he married basketball player Ann Meyers, who took the name Ann Meyers-Drysdale and survived him in death. It was the first time that a married couple were members of their respective sports' Halls of Fame.[citation needed] Drysdale and Meyers had three children together: Don Junior ("DJ") (son), Darren (son), and Drew (daughter). In 1990, Drysdale published his autobiography, Once a Bum, Always a Dodger.
Death
Drysdale died of a heart attack in his hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, on July 3, 1993. Radio station employees were sent to look for him when he failed to make the bus for Olympic Stadium. where the Dodgers were to play the Expos. Hotel staff went in and found him face down, near his bed. The coroner estimated that he had been dead for 18 hours. Soon afterwards, Drysdale's broadcasting colleague Vin Scully, who was instructed not to say anything on the air until Drysdale's family was notified, announced the news of his death by saying "Never have I been asked to make an announcement that hurts me as much as this one. And I say it to you as best I can with a broken heart." Fellow broadcaster Ross Porter told his radio audience, "I just don't believe it, folks." Drysdale was replaced by Rick Monday in the broadcast booth.
Among the personal belongings found in Drysdale's hotel room was a cassette tape of Robert F. Kennedy's victory speech after the 1968 California Democratic presidential primary, a speech given only moments before Senator Kennedy's assassination. In the speech, Kennedy had noted, to the cheers of the crowd, that Drysdale had pitched his sixth straight shutout that evening. Drysdale had apparently carried the tape with him wherever he went since Robert Kennedy's death.[4]
Drysdale's body was cremated at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Quotations
- “Batting against him [Don Drysdale] is the same as making a date with the dentist.” – Dick Groat[5]
- “Don Drysdale would consider an intentional walk a waste of three pitches. If he wants to put you on base, he can hit you with one pitch.” – Mike Shannon
- “The trick against Drysdale is to hit him before he hits you.” – Orlando Cepeda
- “I hated to bat against Drysdale. After he hit you he'd come around, look at the bruise on your arm and say, ‘Do you want me to sign it?’” – Mickey Mantle
- "For every Dodger they [the Giants' pitchers] knock down, I'll knock down two of theirs—and they won't be .220 hitters, either." – Drysdale, still on the subject of brushback pitches; quoted from the Los Angeles Times
- "I bet right now you wish I was Jewish, too," Drysdale said to his manager, Walter Alston, after Drysdale replaced Sandy Koufax on Yom Kippur in 1965 and lost 8-2, because Koufax would not pitch on the Jewish holy day. [6]
- "I hate all hitters. I start a game mad and I stay that way until it's over."
- "He talks very well for a guy who had two fingers in his mouth all of his life." - Gene Mauch
Television
Drysdale guest starred in:
- The Greatest American Hero episode "The Two Hundred Mile an Hour Fastball", which was first broadcast on November 4, 1981 as a broadcaster for the California Stars.[7]
- The Brady Bunch episode "The Dropout", which was first broadcast on September 25, 1970.
- The Donna Reed Show episodes "The Man in the Mask," first broadcast in 1962; "All Those Dreams," first broadcast in 1963; and "Play Ball" and "My Son the Catcher," both first broadcast in 1964. In all four episodes Drysdale played himself, and in "All Those Dreams" he appeared with first wife, Ginger, and daughter Kelly.
- Leave It to Beaver episode "Long Distance Call", which was first broadcast on June 16, 1962.[8]
- The Rifleman episode "Skull", which was first broadcast on January 1, 1962.
- The Millionaire episode "Millionaire Larry Maxwell", which was first broadcast on March 1, 1960.
- With his first wife, Ginger, on You Bet Your Life with host Groucho Marx at some point between the 1958 and 1959 baseball seasons. The episode was released on the 2006 DVD "Groucho Marx: You Bet Your Life – 14 Classic Episodes".
- In 1959, Drysdale appeared as a mystery challenger on the TV panel show To Tell the Truth.
See also
- All-Time leaders in Home runs for a Pitcher
- List of MLB individual streaks
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
- List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
- List of Major League Baseball wins champions
- MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List
- Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time
- MLB all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers
- Major League Baseball titles leaders
References
- ^ Herbie The Love Bug Clip from Disney docummentary Age of Believing Dean Jones Walt Disney on YouTube
- ^ Henson, Steve (July 12, 1993). "He Never Left Van Nuys High". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1993-07-12/sports/sp-12538_1_van-nuys-high. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
- ^ Smarter Podcasts – Home
- ^ Dodgers treated to screening of 'Bobby'
- ^ Baseball-Almanac: Quotes
- ^ http://espn.go.com/classic/s/merron_on_green.html
- ^ The Greatest American Hero: The Two-Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Fastball – TV.com
- ^ TV.com
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Don Drysdale at the Baseball Hall of Fame
- dondrysdale.com Official web site
- Don Drysdale at Find a Grave
- Branch Rickey's 1954 amateur scouting report on Drysdale, at the Library of Congress.
- Don Drysdale at the Internet Movie Database
Accomplishments Preceded by
Roy FaceMajor League Player of the Month
July 1959Succeeded by
Vern Law & Willie McCoveyPreceded by
Sam Jones
Sandy KoufaxNational League Strikeout Champion
1959–1960
1962Succeeded by
Sandy Koufax
Sandy KoufaxPreceded by
Lindy McDanielMajor League Player of the Month
July 1960Succeeded by
Warren SpahnPreceded by
Joey Jay & Warren SpahnNational League Wins Champion
1962Succeeded by
Sandy Koufax & Juan MarichalPreceded by
Whitey FordCy Young Award
1962Succeeded by
Sandy KoufaxPreceded by
Orlando CepedaMajor League Player of the Month
May 1968Succeeded by
Bob GibsonPreceded by
Don Newcombe
Johnny Podres
Sandy Koufax
Claude OsteenLos Angeles Dodgers Opening Day Starting pitcher
1958–1961
1963
1965
1969Succeeded by
Johnny Podres
Sandy Koufax
Claude Osteen
Claude OsteenMajor League Baseball Cy Young Award: 1956-1966 Los Angeles Dodgers 1959 World Series Champions 2 Don Demeter | 4 Duke Snider | 5 Norm Larker | 6 Carl Furillo | 8 Ron Fairly | 9 Wally Moon | 14 Gil Hodges | 16 Danny McDevitt | 19 Jim Gilliam | 20 Rip Repulski | 22 Johnny Podres | 23 Don Zimmer | 29 Chuck Essegian | 30 Maury Wills | 32 Sandy Koufax | 35 Johnny Klippstein | 38 Roger Craig | 40 Stan Williams | 41 Clem Labine | 43 Charlie Neal | 44 Johnny Roseboro | 45 Chuck Churn | 51 Larry Sherry (World Series MVP) | 53 Don Drysdale | 58 Joe Pignatano
Manager 24 Walter Alston
Coaches: 1 Pee Wee Reese | 7 Chuck Dressen | 31 Greg Mulleavy | 33 Joe BeckerRegular season Los Angeles Dodgers 1963 World Series Champions 3 Willie Davis | 6 Ron Fairly | 8 Johnny Roseboro | 11 Ken McMullen | 12 Tommy Davis | 14 Bill Skowron | 16 Ron Perranoski | 19 Jim Gilliam | 20 Al Ferrara | 22 Johnny Podres | 23 Marv Breeding | 25 Frank Howard | 30 Maury Wills | 32 Sandy Koufax (World Series MVP) | 34 Dick Calmus | 35 Doug Camilli | 39 Ken Rowe | 44 Dick Tracewski | 45 Pete Richert | 53 Don Drysdale
Manager 24 Walter Alston
Coaches: 2 Leo Durocher | 27 Pete Reiser | 31 Greg Mulleavy | 33 Joe BeckerRegular season • Rivalry Los Angeles Dodgers 1965 World Series Champions 3 Willie Davis | 5 Jim Lefebvre | 6 Ron Fairly | 8 Johnny Roseboro | 9 Wally Moon | 10 Jeff Torborg | 11 John Kennedy | 15 Bob Miller | 16 Ron Perranoski | 19 Jim Gilliam | 21 Jim Brewer | 22 Johnny Podres | 23 Claude Osteen | 28 Wes Parker | 30 Maury Wills | 31 Don LeJohn | 32 Sandy Koufax (World Series MVP) | 39 Howie Reed | 41 Lou Johnson | 43 Willie Crawford | 44 Dick Tracewski | 53 Don Drysdale
Manager 24 Walter Alston
Coaches: 18 Preston Gómez | 19 Jim Gilliam | 33 Danny Ozark | 36 Lefty PhillipsRegular season Los Angeles Dodgers retired numbers #1 Pee Wee Reese • #2 Tommy Lasorda • #4 Duke Snider • #19 Jim Gilliam • #20 Don Sutton • #24 Walter Alston • #32 Sandy Koufax • #39 Roy Campanella • #42 Jackie Robinson • #53 Don DrysdaleBrooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day starting pitchers Cy Barger • Rex Barney • Tim Belcher • Kevin Brown • Leon Cadore • Bob Caruthers • Larry Cheney • Watty Clark • Curt Davis • Wheezer Dell • Bill Donovan • Don Drysdale • George Earnshaw • Carl Erskine • Red Evans • Hal Gregg • John Harkins • Joe Hatten • Ed Head • George Hemming • Orel Hershiser • Burt Hooton • Waite Hoyt • Mickey Hughes • Oscar Jones • Brickyard Kennedy • Clayton Kershaw • Sam Kimber • Sandy Koufax • Hiroki Kuroda • Derek Lowe • Rube Marquard • Ramón Martínez • Harry McIntire • Bob Miller • Van Mungo • Don Newcombe • Hideo Nomo • Claude Osteen • Vicente Padilla • Chan-Ho Park • Harley Payne • Brad Penny • Jesse Petty • Jeff Pfeffer • Henry Porter • Jack Quinn • Ed Reulbach • Jerry Reuss • Preacher Roe • Nap Rucker • Dutch Ruether • Henry Schmidt • Bill Singer • Don Sutton • Ed Stein • Elmer Stricklett • Fernando Valenzuela • Dazzy Vance • Kaiser Wilhelm • Whit Wyatt
Major League Baseball on ABC Related programs Major League Baseball Game of the Week · Wide World of Sports · Monday Night Baseball · Thursday Night Baseball · Baseball Night in America · ESPN Major League Baseball (broadcasters) · Little League World Series (broadcasters)Related articles The Baseball Network · World Series television ratings · Television contracts · List of events on Wide World of Sports
Commentators Key figures Jack Arute · Gary Bender · Johnny Bench · Buddy Blattner · Lou Brock · Jack Buck · Norm Cash · Ken Coleman · Howard Cosell · Dizzy Dean · Rick Dempsey · Don Drysdale · Leo Durocher · Carl Erskine · Bob Gibson · Curt Gowdy · Merle Harmon · Keith Jackson · Reggie Jackson · Jim Kaat · George Kell · Jim Lampley · Tommy Lasorda · Billy Martin · Tim McCarver · Corey McPherrin · Al Michaels · Joe Morgan · Brent Musburger · Jim Palmer · Ross Porter · Bob Prince · Jackie Robinson · John Saunders · Chris Schenkel · Steve Stone · Gary Thorne · Bob Uecker · Lesley Visser · Earl Weaver · Bill White · Warner WolfLore Roger Maris' 61 home run season · The Bird · Chris Chambliss' Walk-Off Home Run · Garvey Home Run · Gatorade Glove Play · You're Looking at One for the Ages Here · The Double
Tiebreaker games1959 National League playoff series · 1978 AL East Playoff · 1980 NL West PlayoffWorld Series gamesWorld Series AL Championship Series NL Championship Series AL Division Series NL Division Series All-Star Game Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1984 BBWAA Vote Luis Aparicio (84.62%) • Don Drysdale (78.41%) • Harmon Killebrew (83.13%)Veterans Committee J. G. Taylor Spink Award Ken SmithFord C. Frick Award Pitchers inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame Alexander • Bender • Blyleven • M. Brown • R. Brown • Bunning • Carlton • Chesbro • Clarkson • Cooper • Coveleski • Cummings • Day • Dean • Dihigo • Drysdale • Eckersley • Faber • Feller • Fingers • Ford • B. Foster • R. Foster • Galvin • Gibson • Gomez • Gossage • Grimes • Grove • Haines • Hoyt • Hubbell • Hunter • Jenkins • Johnson • Joss • Keefe • Koufax • Lemon • Lyons • Marichal • Marquard • Mathewson • McGinnity • Méndez • Newhouser • Nichols • Niekro • Paige • Palmer • Pennock • Perry • Plank • Radbourn • Rixey • Roberts • Rogan • Ruffing • Rusie • Ryan • Seaver • Smith • Spahn • Sutter • Sutton • Vance • Waddell • Walsh • Welch • Wilhelm • Williams • Willis • Wynn • YoungCategories:- 1936 births
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