Sam Zoldak

Samuel Walter Zoldak, nicknamed Sad Sam, (December 8, 1918 – August 25, 1966) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine seasons in the American League with the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, and Philadelphia Athletics. In 250 career games, Zoldak pitched innings and posted a win–loss record of 43–53, with 30 complete games, five shutouts, and a 3.54 earned run average (ERA).

Although an average hitting pitcher in his major league career, posting a .175 batting average (50-for-286) with just 16 runs and 11 RBIs, he was a very good fielding pitcher, posting a .984 fielding percentage with only four errors in 258 total chances. He attended Eastern District High School and took up the game of baseball at McCarren Park, as his high school did not have a baseball team. He transferred from Eastern District to Textile High School where he swam competitively.

He began his professional career with the Palatka Azaleas in 1938, and threw 13 innings in two games. He was released afterwards, and played college baseball for the Fordham Rams baseball team while also playing some semi-professional baseball for a team in Cedarhurst, New York. Zoldak was signed by Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack before the 1941 season, ending his college baseball career and restarting his professional one.

In 1941, Zoldak played for the Selma Cloverleafs and Williamsport Grays, pitching in 12 combined games. The following season, he spent the full year with Williamsport. In 32 games, he won and lost 11 each, and finished the year with an ERA of 2.54 in 177 innings pitched. The following year, he remained in the Eastern League with the Elmira Pioneers due to the Williamsport team choosing not to field a team until the conclusion of World War II. In 36 games for Elmira, Zoldak won 20 games, lost 11, and had a 2.73 ERA in 244 innings pitched. He impressed the Browns coaching staff in spring training, and as a result was named to the opening day roster. Zoldak made his major league debut on May 13, and was used as a reliever during his first season, pitching in 18 games and earning an ERA of 3.72.

Entering the 1946 season, manager Luke Sewell was reluctant to turn Zoldak into a starter, but eventually gave him the nod. His first two starts were both victories, one of which was a complete game shutout against the Chicago White Sox, which gave him credit for three of the Browns' first eight wins of the season. He pitched in 35 games over the season, 21 of them starts, and ended the year with a 3.43 ERA, a 9–11 record, and a career-high 51 strikeouts. Unlike the previous season, Zoldak was slow to start in 1947, not winning his first game until June 22 against the Washington Senators. He finished the season similar statistically to 1946: he played in 35 games and started 19, and had a record of 9–10 and a 3.47 ERA. Zoldak was projected to be the team's opening day starting pitcher against the Cleveland Indians, who had planned for him; instead he was used in relief and Fred Sanford was named the starter the day of the game.

After spending the first two months of the season with the Browns, where he went 2–4 record in 11 games, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians on June 15, 1948, who added pitcher Bill Kennedy to go with their original offer of $100,000, a move which Bill Veeck called "a case of begging for him on our knees." For the Indians, he served both as a relief pitcher and a fifth starting pitcher as he did with the Browns. On August 18, he faced his former team, and threw a complete-game shutout, defeating the Browns, 3–0. A month later, he won two back-to-back games against the Detroit Tigers, both in extra innings. During his time with the Indians, he went 9–6 with a 2.81 ERA in 23 games, 12 of them starts. He was on the Indians roster for the 1948 World Series and warmed up for all six games in the Indians' bullpen, but was never called upon to pitch; he was one of two on the roster who did not see any action in the World Series. On July 27, Zoldak managed to hit his only career home run against the New York Yankees off Ed Lopat. However, the game was rained out, and the only home run of his career was erased. In 27 games that season, Zoldak had a 1–2 record with a 4.25 ERA. He pitched poorly in his first starts, and was placed back in the bullpen for the rest of the year; Indians management considered demoting him to the minor leagues, and would have been sent to the San Diego Padres in May if not for the intervention of Johnny Berardino, who wanted to play on the west coast and agreed to a demotion instead. Zoldak spent the full season with Cleveland, and had a 4–2 record and a 3.96 ERA in 33 games. On July 15, Zoldak pitched a one-hitter against the Chicago White Sox in what was called "the greatest game of his career", and followed that up with a complete game against the Indians, allowing one run in nearly ten innings of work. In 26 games for the Athletics, 18 of them starts, he had a 6–10 record and a 3.16 ERA. Zoldak pitched in 16 games in 1952, and had a 0–6 record and a 4.06 ERA. He was given a tryout with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but after salary negotiations fell through he signed with the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League. Zoldak pitched briefly for the Rainiers, appearing in two games before being released by the team; he retired from the game after his release. Zoldak, who never married, died of a pulmonary embolism while battling lung cancer on August 25, 1966, leaving behind his mother and three siblings, and is buried in the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury, New York.