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November 26, 2003

THANKSGIVING AND BASEBALL

When Rogers Hornsby, the great Hall of Fame shortstop was asked what he did in the off season he said: "I stare out the window and wait until spring." Horsefeathers knows how he felt. The off-season is punctuated by holidays like Thanksgiving, and we are inclined to give thanks for our secular religion baseball. Wartime makes baseball even more precious, more than just a game- a great cultural artefact threatened by enemies who would impose a theocratic totalitarianism that would have no room for such pleasurable delights as baseball.
On the eve of Thanksgiving 2003, Horsefeathers notes the passing of Warren Spahn, World War II hero. Spahn served in Europe during World War II and was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge, receiving a Purple Heart. He was also awarded a Bronze Star for bravery and earned a battlefield commission. After the war Spahn became the winningest left handed pitcher in baseball history. He never lamented the 3 years lost in his career, but like so many of the "greatest generation", did his duty and never complained. Baseball is, of course, the quintessential American game, the living refutation of multicultural relativism since it is the greatest game ever invented. Spahn not only achieved greatness but did some of his greatest pitching at an age when most ballplayers have retired. Baseball Musings described Spahn's great career thusly: "I'm proud of the fact that I pitched as long as I did, and I was a consistent 20-game winner," Spahn said. "I always felt I had to win to keep my job. I felt I had a bad year if I didn't win 20.

"The ballclub never offered me a raise," said Spahn, who pitched during the age of one-year contracts and never made more than $87,500 in salary. "I had to fight for every damn dollar I made. I always felt I had to have a good year or I was going to lose my job because I was that old. And when Greg came along [in 1950], I had another mouth to feed. I couldn't fail."

Spahn led the NL in victories eight times. His 63 career shutouts are the most by a left-hander. He threw an NL-record 5,246 innings, pitching every fourth day in a four-man rotation. His first no-hitter came at the age of 39, a 4-0 victory over Philadelphia on Sept. 16, 1960. The following April, five starts later, Spahn no-hit San Francisco, 1-0.

But his most remarkable start may have come in 1963, when Spahn, 43, dueled the Giants' Juan Marichal for 15 scoreless innings. In the 16th, on his 201st pitch that night, Spahn hung a screwball to Willie Mays, whose homer won it 1-0.

Horsefeathers offers a Thanksgiving salute to Warren Spahn, patriot, warrior and baseball immortal.

Posted at 10:33 PM by

Comments

During Spahn's best years, the rest of the Milwaukee pitching staff was usually terrible. The saying there was "Spahn and Sain, and then, Dear Lord, two days of rain."

Warren Spahn was a great athlete who gave full value to the adjective "great."

Posted by: Francis W. Porretto on November 27, 2003 08:49 AM

That's a great post. Of course I knew Ted Williams was a vet, but not Warren Spahn.

His era of baseball, and his kind of player, surely have passed on.

Posted by: The Commissar on November 27, 2003 09:28 AM

Can you imagine a starter today being asked to go 16 innings and throw 200 pitches?

It's true: They don't make 'em like they used to.

Posted by: Bernard on November 27, 2003 10:07 AM

It's no small thing for a left-handed pitcher to win 360-some odd games, facing all those right handed batters. Definitely one of the greats. And I didn't know about his veteran history: it adds to his resume, certainly.

Posted by: Frank on November 28, 2003 09:12 AM

A person never tells you anything until contradicted.

Posted by: Maisel Mel on December 10, 2003 04:39 PM

The world is a beautiful book for those who can read it.

Posted by: Dulabaum Nina on December 20, 2003 09:03 PM