Hal Woodeshick

Harold Joseph Woodeshick (August 24, 1932 – June 14, 2009) was an American left-handed pitcher who spent eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (1956 and 1961), Cleveland Indians, the original modern Washington Senators franchise (1959–60), the expansion Washington Senators club (1961), Houston Colt .45s / Astros (1962–65), and St. Louis Cardinals (1965–67). He was the first closer in the history of the Astros' franchise. He was also a member of the Cardinals' 1967 World Series Championship team. He was nicknamed "The Switchman" for his ability to "turn out the lights" on opposing batters.

Playing career

Baseball nomad Born on August 24, 1932, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Woodeshick signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1950. His time with them consisted of only one inning pitched for the Carbondale Pioneers, the Phillies' North Atlantic League team. He split his 1951 campaign with a pair of independent minor league clubs: the Duluth Dukes of the Northern League (three games) and the Youngstown A's of the Middle Atlantic League (two innings). He joined the New York Giants organization in 1952, winning 13 decisions that year with the Kingsport Cherokees of the Appalachian League and 14 in 1955 with the Danville Leafs of the Carolina League. He served in the United States Army during the two years between those seasons.

He was selected by Detroit in the minor league draft on November 27, 1955. His only other appearance with the Tigers came ten days later on September 24 in another start at home which resulted in him yielding four runs again and earning his second straight loss. This time his outing lasted innings in the Chicago White Sox's 14–11 triumph. He returned to the minors in 1957, dividing his time between Charleston and the Augusta Tigers.

The acquisition was a big risk because Woodeshick was prone to wildness with his pitches and had problems with his fielding. He spent most of his first Colt .45s spring training working with Richards and pitching coach Cot Deal to correct his inability to make accurate throws to the first baseman after cleanly fielding ground balls. The solution was for Woodeshick to jog toward the first baseman and lob an overhand soft toss to him. Under Richards' tutelage, he improved his curveball and learned how to throw the slip pitch. He finished the campaign with a 5–16 record due to a pair of nagging injuries. A slow-healing throat infection had left him out of playing shape at midseason. By the time he was released at year's end, his back pain was so debilitating that his wife had to drive him back to their Pennsylvania home. After two spinal taps failed to provide a cure, his problem was remedied by a chiropractor who prescribed an exercise regimen. Woodeshick pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Ray Culp for the National League in the 1963 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, striking out Joe Pepitone in the sixth and Bob Allison and Harmon Killebrew in the seventh. The only two baserunners he allowed were Zoilo Versalles (walk) and Brooks Robinson (single), both in the sixth. His best year in the majors was 1964 when he led the senior circuit in saves with 23. As a member of the 1967 World Series Champions, Woodeshick's only appearance in the Fall Classic was a scoreless bottom half of the eighth inning in relief of Ray Washburn in Game Six. After getting both George Thomas and Joe Foy each to ground out, he surrendered a single to Mike Andrews, who was retired when the next batter, Carl Yastrzemski, hit into a fielder's choice. Woodeshick's professional baseball career ended when he was released by the Cardinals on October 20, 1967, only eight days after The Series concluded.

Overview In 11 major league seasons he had a 44–62 win–loss record, 427 games, 62 games started, 7 complete games, 1 shutout, 197 games finished, 61 saves, 847.1 innings pitched, 816 hits allowed, 400 runs allowed (335 earned), 40 home runs allowed, 389 walks allowed (61 intentional), 484 strikeouts, 35 hit batsmen, 55 wild pitches, 3,717 batters faced, 5 balks and a 3.56 ERA.