Satchel Paige
From BR Bullpen
Leroy Robert Paige
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 180 lb.
- Debut July 9, 1948
- Final Game September 25, 1965
- Born July 7, 1906 in Mobile, AL USA
- Died June 8, 1982 in Kansas City, MO USA
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1971
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[edit] Biographical Information
"Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." - an oft-quoted saying by Satchel Paige
". . . the best and fastest pitcher I've ever faced." - Joe DiMaggio
Satchel Paige was a great Negro League pitcher who was still effective when he came to the white major leagues in his 40's. Some of his quotes became quite famous.
It was common, during his career in the white majors, for observers to speculate about his age. The official Paige site (www.satchelpaige.com) thinks he was born in 1905, but during his lifetime all manner of dates were guessed. Satchel stoked the flames himself, by saying various things about his age:
"I was born in August - no, July - 1908."
"I've said it once and I'll say it a hundred times, I'm forty-four years old."
His baseball career started in semi-pro ball in 1924. He came to the Negro Leagues in 1927, and although he pitched for many teams over a long career, his time with the Kansas City Monarchs is most famous.
He came to the white major leagues in 1948, and pitched from 1948-53, mostly with a good ERA. As a "rookie" in 1948, he went 6-1 with a 2.48 ERA, and had an ERA of 0.00 in 2/3 inning in the 1948 World Series, which his 1948 Cleveland Indians won. Much later, in 1965, he came back to pitch three more innings in the majors, at an age that was close to 60, and he gave up no runs and only one hit.
Paige, in addition to being a fastballer with incredible speed, was also a showman and storyteller.
According to research done by Bill Veeck, Paige could not have been born after 1900, meaning he was actually 7 years older than the record books have him listed as. - Veeck as in Wreck.
"Satchel Paige is the best pitcher I ever saw. I hit against Feller in his prime, but Paige ... he was just fast. Just straight overhand. He'd lift that leg and show down on you." - Monte Irvin
[edit] Famous Feats
- Satchel Paige pitched 3 shutout innings for the Kansas City Athletics at the age of 59 on September 25, 1965. This made him the oldest player ever to participate in a major league game. Only five other players have played after the age of 50: Minnie Minoso, Nick Altrock, Jim O'Rourke, Charley O'Leary and Jack Quinn. He gave up one hit, a double to Carl Yastrzemski, and notched one strikeout - opposing hurler Bill Monbouquette.
- Paige was the first African-American to pitch in a World Series game. He pitched 2/3 of an inning in relief for Cleveland in Game 5 of the 1948 World Series. The Indians' pitching had been dominant up until that point, as they got complete games from their starters in each of the first four games. However, the Braves battered Bob Feller and scored six times in the 7th inning of Game 5. Only Paige could stop the bleeding and end the inning, in a game the Indians went on to lose 11-5.
- Paige is the all-time Puerto Rican Winter League record-holder for wins (19) and strikeouts (208) in a year.
- Paige was perhaps the greatest pitcher in the history of the California Winter League. He holds the records for wins (56), strikeouts (766, more than the next two combined - Bullet Joe Rogan and Walter Johnson, games (80) and shutouts (17, 5 more than Johnson). He was tied for second in complete games (47, 5 behind Rogan) and third in winning percentage (.889, behind Willie Foster and Schoolboy Griffith, just ahead of Johnson).
- After his first stint in the majors ended, Paige pitched several seasons in the minors. He won 31 games for the Miami Marlins of the International League from 1956 to 1958. At age 55, he played for the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League in 1961 and posted a 2.88 ERA.
- During some time away from baseball, he appeared in the 1959 movie "The Wonderful Country".
- Paige was an Atlanta Braves coach in 1968 and 1969.
- First Baseball Card appearance 1949 Bowman
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2-time AL All-Star (1952 & 1953)
- Won a World Series with the Cleveland Indians in 1948
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1971
[edit] Further Reading
- William Price Fox: Satchel Paige's America, University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, AL, 2005.
- Leslie A. Heaphy, ed.: Satchel Paige and Company: Essays on the Kansas City Monarchs, their Greatest Star and the Negro Leagues, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2007.
- Satchel Paige: Maybe I'll Pitch Forever, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 1993 (original edition 1962).
