Herb Score

Herbert Jude Score (June 7, 1933 – November 11, 2008) was an American professional baseball pitcher and announcer in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for the Cleveland Indians from 1955 through 1959 and the Chicago White Sox from 1960 through 1962. He was the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 1955, and an AL All-Star in 1955 and 1956. Due to an on-field injury that occurred in 1957, he retired early as a player in 1962. Score was a television and radio broadcaster for the Cleveland Indians from 1964 through 1997. He was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 2006.

Early life Herb Score was born in Rosedale, New York in 1933. He was given the middle name "Jude" after St. Jude, to whom his mother prayed during her pregnancy. At 3, he was run over by a truck and later had rheumatic fever.

On June 7, 1952 (his 19th birthday), he signed a baseball contract with the Cleveland Indians. He was sent to Indianapolis of the American Association where he made 10 pitching starts. In 1953, he moved to Cleveland's Class A affiliate, Reading (Pennsylvania) of the Eastern League. At Reading, he became a roommate and lifetime friend with Rocky Colavito, a near future Cleveland Indians home run hitter and right fielder from the Bronx, New York. For the 1954 season, both were promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis. Score won The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year Award and began to be referred to as "left-handed Bob Feller".

MLB playing career

Cleveland Indians (1955–1959) In , Score came up to the major leagues (with Colavito) as a rookie with the Cleveland Indians at the age of 21. He quickly became one of the top power pitchers in the American League, no small feat on a team that still included Feller, Bob Lemon, and other top pitchers, going 16–10 with a 2.85 earned run average in his first year. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine on May 30, 1955.

In , Score improved on his rookie campaign, going 20–9 with a 2.53 earned run average and 263 strikeouts, while reducing the number of walks from 154 to 129, and allowed only 5.85 hits per 9 innings, Score's roommate, Colavito, was traded to the Detroit Tigers the previous day.

Retirement and death On October 8, 1998, while driving to Florida after being inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame the night before, Score was severely injured in a traffic accident. He pulled into the path of a westbound tractor-trailer truck near New Philadelphia, Ohio, and his car was struck in the passenger side. He suffered trauma to his brain, chest, and lungs. The orbital bone around one of his eyes was fractured, as were three ribs and his sternum. He spent over a month in the intensive care unit, and was released from MetroHealth Hospital in mid-December. He was cited for failure to stop at a stop sign.

He went through a difficult recovery, but managed to throw out the first pitch at the Indians' Opening Day on April 12, 1999. He suffered a stroke in 2002, and died on November 11, 2008, at his home in Rocky River, Ohio, after a lengthy illness. He is interred at Lakewood Park Cemetery in Rocky River. The Indians wore a memorial patch on their uniform during the 2009 season to honor him.

Awards and honors

Baseball

High school 1952 Florida State Baseball Championship (Lake Worth Community High School) Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame – 2006 Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame (class of 1992)

Broadcasting Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame (class of 1996) Cleveland Press Club Journalism Hall of Fame (class of 1998) Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame (class of 1998)