Hoyt Wilhelm was born on Thursday, July 26, 1923, in Huntersville, North Carolina. Wilhelm was 28 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 18, 1952, with the New York Giants. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Hoyt Wilhelm baseball stats page.
"He (Hoyt Wilhelm) had the best knuckleball you'd ever want to see. He knew where it was going when he threw it, but when he got two strikes on you, he'd break out one that even he didn't know where it was going." - Robinson, Brooks. ESPN Classic. Wilhelm first reliever elected to Hall of Fame. 29 August 2002.
Hoyt WilhelmHoyt 'Old Sarge' Wilhelm Autograph on a 1954 Topps Archive Baseball Card (#36) |
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Hoyt WilhelmHoyt Wilhelm Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
1952 | 29 | Giants | 71 | 0 | 32 | 15 | 3 | .833 | 2.43 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 159.1 | 646 | 127 | 43 | 60 | 12 | 57 | 4 | 108 | 3 | 5 | 0 | - |
1953 | 30 | Giants | 68 | 0 | 39 | 7 | 8 | .467 | 3.04 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 145.0 | 628 | 127 | 49 | 61 | 13 | 77 | 8 | 71 | 9 | 4 | 0 | - |
1954 | 31 | Giants | 57 | 0 | 30 | 12 | 4 | .750 | 2.10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 111.1 | 456 | 77 | 26 | 32 | 5 | 52 | 0 | 64 | 2 | 5 | 1 | - |
1955 | 32 | Giants | 59 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 1 | .800 | 3.93 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 103.0 | 449 | 104 | 45 | 53 | 10 | 40 | 5 | 71 | 6 | 2 | 0 | - |
1956 | 33 | Giants | 64 | 0 | 38 | 4 | 9 | .308 | 3.83 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 89.1 | 403 | 97 | 38 | 45 | 7 | 43 | 10 | 71 | 6 | 2 | 0 | - |
1957 | 34 | Cardinals | 40 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 4 | .200 | 4.25 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 55.0 | 231 | 52 | 26 | 28 | 7 | 21 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - |
1957 | 34 | Indians | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.45 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.2 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - |
1958 | 35 | Indians | 30 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 7 | .222 | 2.49 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 90.1 | 371 | 70 | 25 | 32 | 4 | 35 | 2 | 57 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - |
1958 | 35 | Orioles | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 1.99 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 40.2 | 155 | 25 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 2 | - |
1959 | 36 | Orioles | 32 | 27 | 2 | 15 | 11 | .577 | 2.19 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 226.0 | 902 | 178 | 55 | 64 | 13 | 77 | 3 | 139 | 5 | 10 | 0 | - |
1960 | 37 | Orioles | 41 | 11 | 24 | 11 | 8 | .579 | 3.31 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 147.0 | 599 | 125 | 54 | 69 | 13 | 39 | 0 | 107 | 6 | 1 | 1 | - |
1961 | 38 | Orioles | 51 | 1 | 43 | 9 | 7 | .563 | 2.30 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 109.2 | 458 | 89 | 28 | 35 | 5 | 41 | 5 | 87 | 3 | 4 | 0 | - |
1962 | 39 | Orioles | 52 | 0 | 44 | 7 | 10 | .412 | 1.94 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 93.0 | 371 | 64 | 20 | 28 | 5 | 34 | 2 | 90 | 11 | 3 | 0 | - |
1963 | 40 | White Sox | 55 | 3 | 40 | 5 | 8 | .385 | 2.64 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 136.1 | 545 | 106 | 40 | 47 | 8 | 30 | 1 | 111 | 4 | 4 | 0 | - |
1964 | 41 | White Sox | 73 | 0 | 55 | 12 | 9 | .571 | 1.99 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 131.1 | 510 | 94 | 29 | 35 | 7 | 30 | 1 | 95 | 3 | 2 | 0 | - |
1965 | 42 | White Sox | 66 | 0 | 45 | 7 | 7 | .500 | 1.81 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 144.0 | 545 | 88 | 29 | 34 | 11 | 32 | 7 | 106 | 10 | 2 | 0 | - |
1966 | 43 | White Sox | 46 | 0 | 30 | 5 | 2 | .714 | 1.66 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 81.1 | 308 | 50 | 15 | 21 | 6 | 17 | 2 | 61 | 3 | 1 | 0 | - |
1967 | 44 | White Sox | 49 | 0 | 30 | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1.31 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 89.0 | 360 | 58 | 13 | 21 | 2 | 34 | 4 | 76 | 2 | 4 | 0 | - |
1968 | 45 | White Sox | 72 | 0 | 39 | 4 | 4 | .500 | 1.73 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 93.2 | 368 | 69 | 18 | 20 | 4 | 24 | 5 | 72 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - |
1969 | 46 | Angels | 44 | 0 | 35 | 5 | 7 | .417 | 2.47 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 65.2 | 256 | 45 | 18 | 21 | 4 | 18 | 4 | 53 | 5 | 3 | 0 | - |
1969 | 46 | Braves | 8 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.73 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12.1 | 47 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - |
1970 | 47 | Braves | 50 | 0 | 37 | 6 | 4 | .600 | 3.10 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 78.1 | 339 | 69 | 27 | 29 | 7 | 39 | 7 | 67 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - |
1970 | 47 | Cubs | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 9.82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
1971 | 48 | Braves | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 15.43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
1971 | 48 | Dodgers | 9 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1.02 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17.2 | 59 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
1972 | 49 | Dodgers | 16 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 4.62 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25.1 | 112 | 20 | 13 | 16 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
21 Years | 1,070 | 52 | 651 | 143 | 122 | .540 | 2.52 | 20 | 5 | 227 | 2,254.1 | 9,164 | 1,757 | 632 | 773 | 150 | 778 | 73 | 1,610 | 90 | 62 | 4 | - |
Hoyt WilhelmHoyt Wilhelm Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1952 | 29 | Giants | 71 | 38 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .158 | .179 | .237 |
1953 | 30 | Giants | 68 | 33 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .152 | .243 | .273 |
1954 | 31 | Giants | 57 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .048 | .048 | .048 |
1955 | 32 | Giants | 59 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .158 | .200 | .158 |
1956 | 33 | Giants | 64 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .222 | .222 | .222 |
1957 | 34 | Cardinals | 40 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1957 | 34 | Indians | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1958 | 35 | Indians | 30 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .095 | .136 | .095 |
1958 | 35 | Orioles | 9 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .091 | .091 | .091 |
1959 | 36 | Orioles | 32 | 76 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .053 | .111 | .053 |
1960 | 37 | Orioles | 41 | 42 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .071 | .111 | .071 |
1961 | 38 | Orioles | 51 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .050 | .136 | .050 |
1962 | 39 | Orioles | 52 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .125 | .176 | .125 |
1963 | 40 | White Sox | 55 | 29 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .069 | .182 | .069 |
1964 | 41 | White Sox | 73 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | .182 | .143 |
1965 | 42 | White Sox | 66 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .083 | .000 |
1966 | 43 | White Sox | 46 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .125 | .125 | .250 |
1967 | 44 | White Sox | 49 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .077 | .077 | .077 |
1968 | 45 | White Sox | 72 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1969 | 46 | Angels | 44 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1969 | 46 | Braves | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1970 | 47 | Braves | 50 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .091 | .231 | .091 |
1970 | 47 | Cubs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1971 | 48 | Braves | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1971 | 48 | Dodgers | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1972 | 49 | Dodgers | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
21 Years | 1,070 | 432 | 24 | 38 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 26 | 0 | 166 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 8 | .088 | .139 | .106 |
Hoyt WilhelmHoyt Wilhelm Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1952 Giants | P | 71 | 0 | 478 | 43 | 0.6 | 41 | 9 | 32 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .953 | 2.32 |
1953 Giants | P | 68 | 0 | 435 | 31 | 0.5 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .968 | 1.86 |
1954 Giants | P | 57 | 0 | 334 | 30 | 0.5 | 30 | 5 | 25 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.43 |
1955 Giants | P | 59 | 0 | 309 | 35 | 0.6 | 34 | 6 | 28 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .971 | 2.97 |
1956 Giants | P | 64 | 0 | 268 | 24 | 0.4 | 24 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.42 |
1957 Cardinals | P | 40 | 0 | 165 | 11 | 0.3 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.80 |
1957 Indians | P | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1958 Indians | P | 30 | 6 | 271 | 24 | 0.8 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.39 |
1958 Orioles | P | 9 | 4 | 122 | 7 | 0.8 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.55 |
1959 Orioles | P | 32 | 27 | 678 | 45 | 1.4 | 45 | 13 | 32 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.79 |
1960 Orioles | P | 41 | 11 | 441 | 33 | 0.8 | 32 | 4 | 28 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .970 | 1.96 |
1961 Orioles | P | 51 | 1 | 329 | 30 | 0.6 | 28 | 6 | 22 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .933 | 2.30 |
1962 Orioles | P | 52 | 0 | 279 | 22 | 0.4 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.13 |
1963 White Sox | P | 55 | 3 | 409 | 29 | 0.5 | 28 | 4 | 24 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .966 | 1.85 |
1964 White Sox | P | 73 | 0 | 394 | 21 | 0.3 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.44 |
1965 White Sox | P | 66 | 0 | 432 | 27 | 0.4 | 27 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.69 |
1966 White Sox | P | 46 | 0 | 244 | 12 | 0.3 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.33 |
1967 White Sox | P | 49 | 0 | 267 | 14 | 0.3 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .929 | 1.31 |
1968 White Sox | P | 72 | 0 | 281 | 13 | 0.2 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.25 |
1969 Angels | P | 44 | 0 | 197 | 12 | 0.3 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .917 | 1.51 |
1969 Braves | P | 8 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 0.3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.46 |
1970 Braves | P | 50 | 0 | 235 | 18 | 0.4 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .944 | 1.95 |
1970 Cubs | P | 3 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 1.0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 7.36 |
1971 Braves | P | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0.7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 7.71 |
1971 Dodgers | P | 9 | 0 | 53 | 2 | 0.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.02 |
1972 Dodgers | P | 16 | 0 | 76 | 8 | 0.5 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.84 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
P Totals | 1,070 | 52 | 6,763 | 498 | 0.5 | 487 | 114 | 373 | 11 | 17 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .978 | 1.94 | |
21 Years | 1,070 | 52 | 6,763 | 498 | 0.5 | 487 | 114 | 373 | 11 | 17 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .978 | 1.94 |
Hoyt WilhelmHoyt Wilhelm Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1952 Giants | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 38.0 | 3.5 | 19.0 | 1.89 | 6.10 | 3.22 |
1953 Giants | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.1 | 33.0 | 0.92 | 4.41 | 4.78 |
1954 Giants | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.6 | 21.0 | 1.23 | 5.17 | 4.20 |
1955 Giants | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.8 | 0.0 | 1.78 | 6.20 | 3.50 |
1956 Giants | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 9.0 | 0.0 | 1.65 | 7.15 | 4.33 |
1957 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1.38 | 4.75 | 3.44 |
1957 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.45 |
1958 Indians | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.5 | 10.5 | 1.63 | 5.68 | 3.49 |
1958 Orioles | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.8 | 0.0 | 3.50 | 7.75 | 2.21 |
1959 Orioles | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.3 | 38.0 | 1.81 | 5.54 | 3.07 |
1960 Orioles | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.0 | 10.5 | 2.74 | 6.55 | 2.39 |
1961 Orioles | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 2.12 | 7.14 | 3.36 |
1962 Orioles | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 2.65 | 8.71 | 3.29 |
1963 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.6 | 14.5 | 3.70 | 7.33 | 1.98 |
1964 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 3.17 | 6.51 | 2.06 |
1965 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 3.31 | 6.63 | 2.00 |
1966 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 3.59 | 6.75 | 1.88 |
1967 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.2 | 13.0 | 2.24 | 7.69 | 3.44 |
1968 White Sox | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.00 | 6.92 | 2.31 |
1969 Angels | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 2.94 | 7.26 | 2.47 |
1969 Braves | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.50 | 10.22 | 2.92 |
1970 Braves | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.8 | 11.0 | 1.72 | 7.70 | 4.48 |
1970 Cubs | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.33 | 2.45 | 7.36 |
1971 Braves | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.00 | 3.86 | 3.86 |
1971 Dodgers | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 3.75 | 7.64 | 2.04 |
1972 Dodgers | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.60 | 3.20 | 5.33 |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
21 Years | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 432.0 | 2.6 | 20.6 | 2.07 | 6.43 | 3.11 |
James Hoyt Wilhelm was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the New York Giants (1952-1956), St. Louis Cardinals (1957), Cleveland Indians (1957-1958), Baltimore Orioles (1958-1962), Chicago White Sox (1963-1968), California Angels (1969), Atlanta Braves (1969-1970), Chicago Cubs (1970), Atlanta Braves (1971), and Los Angeles Dodgers (1971-1972). When Hoyt, who went by his middle name, made his big league debut on April 18, 1952, he became the first Cornelius High School (Cornelius, NC) student to play in the majors. Do you like historical firsts?
Hoyt Wilhelm Rookie Card | 1952 Topps Baseball Card (#392 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library
Do you like historical firsts? Hoyt Wilhelm hit a home run in his first at-bat. Hoyt Wilhelm was the first pitcher to accumulate 200 career saves. Hoyt Wilhelm was the first pitcher to appear in 1,000 career games. Hoyt Wilhelm was the first relief pitcher elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame:
Hoyt Wilhelm | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1985 (HOF)
Hoyt Wilhelm was also the first pitcher in a Baltimore Orioles uniform to throw a no-hitter [Box Score]. Earl Hamilton, Ernie Koob, Bob Groom and Bobo Holloman had each thrown a no-no for the franchise, but each of them wore a St. Louis Browns uniform at the time. Join Baseball Almanac as we take a closer look at Hoyt Wilhelm's gem, a rarity by a knuckleball pitcher who rarely even started games:
Hoyt Wilhelm No-Hitter. September 20, 1958.
Throughout virtually his entire career, Hoyt Wilhelm was a reliever. He started just 52 games, more than half with the Orioles, the biggest of which occurred on a rainy afternoon, Saturday September 20, before a crowd of 10,941 at Memorial Stadium.
Facing the first place New York Yankees and World Series perfect game pitcher Don Larsen, the 35-year old Wilhelm was making just his third start for the Orioles, having been purchased August 23 on waivers from the Indians and been pressed into starting service because of a dearth of starters for seventh place Baltimore.
Less than two hours after he began, Wilhelm, who carried a 2-10 record into the game, had delivered the first no-hitter in Orioles modern history. It was also his first victory as an Oriole.
Throwing knuckleballs almost exclusively, Wilhelm used an amazingly low total of 99 pitches while facing just one batter above the minimum. He struck out eight and walked two. Although they hit few balls hard, the Yankees managed to slap 10 balls to Oriole outfielders.
For six innings, Larsen matched Wilhelm nearly pitch for pitch. The hero of the 1956 World Series allowed just one hit before being replaced by Bobby Shantz in the seventh. Shantz wound up allowing the game's only run when he served up a gigantic 425-foot home run to Gus Triandos in the seventh.
Wilhelm had little trouble with the hard-hitting Yankees. He put down Hank Bauer on a popup to short, struck out Jerry Lumpe and got Mickey Mantle on a fly to center in the first inning.
Norm Siebern hit the hardest ball in the early going when he lined a one-out smash in second to Gene Woodling in right. An inning later, the Yanks put their first man on base when Bobby Richardson drew a one-out walk. He was quickly erased trying to steal second before Larsen flew out to right to end the inning.
Wilhelm walked Lumpe with one out in the fourth. The Yankees' infielder moved to second on a passed ball, but stayed there as Mantle flew out to center and Bill Skowron was thrown out at first on a dribbler in front of the plate.
Lumpe would be the last Yankee to reach base. Wilhelm struck out Siebern and Elston Howard in the eighth when Siebern led off with a hard bouncer between first and second. Second baseman Billy Gardner raced far to his left, grabbed the ball and threw on the run to first to nip Siebern. Howard then flew out to left and pinch-hitter Yogi Berra grounded out to second.
Richardson opened the ninth with a routine fly to late-inning defensive replacement Jim Busby in center. Next up was pinch-hitter Enos Slaughter, and he drilled a liner to right that Willie Tasby hauled down after a long run.
Hank Bauer was the final batter. He tried to bunt the first pitch down the third base line, but the ball rolled foul. On the next pitch, Bauer hit a lazy popup near the line in shallow right. Gardner raced over, and calling everybody else off, made the catch for the last out.
Wilhelm, in what was just one of his 20 complete games in his career, had his no-hitter. It was his only Orioles victory of the year. He finished the season with a 3-10 record.
Source: Researched and written by author Rich Westcott. Original text from No-Hitters (McFarland, 02/15/2000, Hoyt Wilhelm, Pages 193-194), exclusively reprinted on Baseball Almanac with written permission.
Hoyt Wilhelm No-Hitter | The Racine Journal Times | 21 September 1958 | Page 1
Baseball Almanac Research Library
On May 18, 1969, Hoyt Wilhelm relieved California Angels starter George Brunet in the eighth inning of a 0-0 game in Yankee Stadium. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Joe Pepitone hit a walk-off home run versus Wilhelm, the first game-ending home run in a 1-0 game by a Bronx Bomber.