Karl Spooner

Karl Benjamin Spooner (June 23, 1931 – April 10, 1984) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers. After a meteoric rise during which he set a Major League Baseball record for most strikeouts by a pitcher in his major league debut in , his promising athletic career was ended prematurely by an injury to his pitching arm. However, he threw hard, led two leagues in strikeouts — the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League and Western League — and showed flashes of brilliance.

Spooner had a breakout year in 1954 when he won 21 games with 262 strikeouts in 238 innings for the Fort Worth Cats of the Texas League. In the process, he broke the record of 13 strikeouts set by the Giants’ Cliff Melton on April 25. Spooner also set another record for pitching debuts by recording six consecutive strikeouts, striking out the side in both the seventh and eighth innings. post-injury, that was not the case. In his final appearance with the Dodgers, Game 6 of the 1955 World Series, he was shellacked, giving up five runs in one-third of an inning against the New York Yankees and taking the 5–1 loss. Brooklyn, however, would win the Series' decisive Game 7 for its first, and only, world championship before the franchise moved to Los Angeles in .

Return to the minors Spooner never again played in the majors after 1955. Still hampered by injuries, he pitched in only four games in Triple-A in . Although he was called up to the Dodgers in September, he did not get into any games. In , Spooner was demoted two more levels, to Class A; in 13 games with nine starts, he was 2–4.

The Dodgers left Spooner unprotected in the 1957 minor league draft, and he was claimed by the St. Louis Cardinals. In , St. Louis sent Spooner to the lowest rung of minor league ball, playing for Dothan in the Class D Alabama–Florida League, appearing in nine games. He also played two games for Houston at the Double-A level that same season, his last in professional baseball. Spooner attended spring training in , but retired before the season started.

MLB statistics Spooner's lifetime major-league statistics line included a 10–6 won–lost record in 31 games pitched; in 116 innings pitched, he allowed 86 hits, 47 bases on balls, and 40 earned runs, compiling a 3.09 ERA. He struck out 105, threw three career shutouts and four complete games in 16 starting pitcher assignments, and was credited with three saves in his 15 games as a relief pitcher. In his two 1955 World Series appearances, including his Game 6 start, Spooner posted a 0–1 record and 13.50 ERA; he allowed five earned runs on four hits (including a three-run home run to Bill Skowron) and three walks, recording six strikeouts, in 3 innings of work.

Later life As his baseball career wound down, Spooner moved to Vero Beach, Florida and found work as a manager in the citrus industry. He worked at this job for the rest of his life, raising five children with his wife Carol.

Karl Spooner died of liver cancer in 1984, aged 52.