Warren Spahn
| February 8, 2012 | Posted by admin under Warren Spahn |
Biography for
Warren Spahn
Birth
23 April 1921, Buffalo, New York, USA
Date of Death
24 November 2003, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, USA
Birth Name
Warren Edward Spahn
Nickname
Spahnie
Height
6' (1.83 m)
Spouse
Lorene Southard (10 August 1946 - 1978) (her death) 1 child
Trivia
During WWII, he earned the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
Elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in 1973.
Holds the National League record for most home runs by a pitcher with 35.
Holds the National League record for most innings pitched for his career.
Along with Johnny Sain, he was immortalized by the saying "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" because of the lack of quality pitching on the Braves other than the two stars.
Pitched two no-hitters and won the Cy Young Award in 1957.
Pitcher for the Boston/Milwaukee Braves (1942, 1946-1964) New York Mets (1965) and San Francisco Giants (1965).
Most successful left-hander in history with 363 victories.
Atlanta Braves Career Wins Leader (356).
Atlanta Braves Career Games Started Leader (635).
Atlanta Braves Career Shutouts Leader (63).
Atlanta Braves Career Innings Pitched Leader (5046).
1957 Major League Cy Young Award Winner.
Member of 1948 National League Champion Boston Braves team. Member of 1957 World Series Champion Milwaukee Braves team. Member of 1958 National League Champion Milwaukee Braves team.
Named to 14 National League All Star Teams (1947, 1949-54, 1956-59, 1961-63).
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 523-524. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.
Personal Quotes
When I throw a ground ball, I expect it to be an out, maybe two.
After what I went through overseas, I never thought of anything I was told to do in baseball as hard work. You get over feeling like that when you spend days on end sleeping in frozen tank tracks in enemy threatened territory. The Army taught me something about challenges and about what's important and what isn't. Everything I tackle in baseball and in life I take as a challenge rather than work.
Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing.
A pitcher needs two pitches, one they're looking for and one to cross them up.
What is life, after all, but a challenge? And what better challenge can there be than the one between the pitcher and the hitter.
You don't just throw the ball - you propel it.
A sore arm is like a headache or a toothache. It can make you feel bad, but if you just forget about it and do what you have to do, it will go away. If you really like to pitch and you want to pitch, that's what you'll do.
On Willie Mays: "He was something like zero for twenty-one the first time I saw him. His first major league hit was a home run off me and I'll never forgive myself. We might have gotten rid of Willie forever if I'd only struck him out."
On returning from WWII to the major leagues: "I felt like, wow what a great way to make a living. If I goof up, there's going to be a relief pitcher coming in there. Nobody's going to shoot me."
The difference between winning 19 games and winning 20 for a pitcher is bigger than anyone out of baseball realizes. It's the same for hitters - someone who hits .300 looks back on the guy who batted .295 and says, 'Tough luck buddy.'
US $125.00 
