Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notably for the Boston Braves, who became the Milwaukee Braves after the team moved west before the 1953 season. His baseball career was interrupted by his military service in the United States Army during World War II.
With 363 career wins, Spahn holds the major league record for a left-handed pitcher, and has the most by a pitcher who played his entire career in the post-1920 live-ball era. He was a 17-time All-Star who won 20 games or more in 13 seasons, including a 23–7 win–loss record when he was age 42. Spahn won the 1957 Cy Young Award and was a three-time runner-up during the period when only one award was given for both leagues. He won 202 games in the 1950s, the most for all pitchers in the decade. At the time of his retirement in 1965, Spahn held the Major League record for career strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher.
Spahn was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1973, with 82.89% of the vote. The Warren Spahn Award, given annually to the major leagues' best left-handed pitcher, is named in his honor. Regarded as a "thinking man's" pitcher who liked to outwit batters, Spahn once described his approach on the mound: "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing."
Spahn was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, to Edward and Mabel Spahn, the fifth of six children and the first of two sons. He was named after President Warren G. Harding and his father.
He attended Buffalo Bisons baseball games with his father and initially wanted to be a first baseman. However, when Spahn began to attend South Park High School, the first baseman position was already taken. Reluctantly, he took up pitching and led his high school team to two city championships, going undefeated his last two seasons, and throwing a no-hitter his senior year.
Spahn's major league career began in 1942 with the Braves organization, and he spent all but one year with that franchise, first in Boston and then in Milwaukee. He finished his career in 1965 with the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. With 363 wins, Spahn is the sixth-most winning pitcher in history, trailing only Cy Young (511), Walter Johnson (417), Grover Cleveland Alexander (373), Christy Mathewson (373), and Pud Galvin (364) on MLB's all-time list. He led the league in wins eight times (1949–50, 1953, 1957–1961, each season with 20+ wins) and won at least 20 games an additional five times (1947, 1951, 1954, 1956, 1963).
Spahn also threw two no-hitters, in 1960 and 1961, at ages 39 and 40. He won three ERA titles (1947, 1953, and 1961), and four strikeout crowns (1949–1952). Spahn also appeared in 14 All-Star Games, the most of any pitcher in the 20th century. He won the NL Player of the Month Award in August 1960 (6–0, 2.30 ERA, 32 strike-outs) and August 1961 (6–0, 1.00 ERA, 26 SOs).
Spahn acquired the nickname "Hooks", not so much because of his pitching, but due to the prominent shape of his nose. He had once been hit in the face by a thrown ball that he was not expecting, and his broken nose settled into a hook-like shape. In Spahn's final season, during his stint with the Mets, Yogi Berra came out of retirement briefly and caught four games, one of them with Spahn pitching. Yogi later told reporters, "I don't think we're the oldest battery, but we're certainly the ugliest."
Spahn was known for a very high leg kick in his delivery. Photo sequences show that this high kick served a specific purpose. As a left-hander, Spahn was able not only to watch any runner on first base, but also to avoid telegraphing whether he was delivering to the plate or to first base, thereby forcing the runner to stay close to the bag. As his fastball waned, Spahn adapted, and relied more on location, changing speeds and throwing a good screwball. He led or shared the lead in the National League (NL) in wins in 1957–1961 (ages 36–40).
Spahn was also a good hitter, with at least one home run in 17 straight seasons, and finishing with an NL career record for pitchers who do not play any other position, with 35 home runs. Wes Ferrell, who spent most of his time in the American League, holds the overall record for pitchers, with 37. Spahn posted a .194 batting average (363-for-1872) with 141 runs, 57 doubles, six triples, 94 walks, and 189 runs batted in (RBIs). He also drove in 10 or more runs nine times, with a career-high 18 in 1951. In 1958, he batted a strong .333 (36-for-108). In eight World Series games, he batted .200 (4-for-20) with four RBIs and a walk.
Minor Leagues and brief call-up
First signed by the Boston Braves, he reported to the Class-D Bradford Bees of the PONY League — later known as the NY-Penn League — after graduating high school. Spahn made his professional debut on July 6 at MacArthur Park (Dwyer Stadium) in Batavia, New York. He took the loss against the Batavia Clippers, pitching out of the bullpen, where he walked two batters and struck out none. He finished the season with a 5–4 record and 2.73 ERA. In 1941, Spahn broke out and won 19 games against six losses with a 1.83 ERA while pitching for the Class-B Evansville Bees of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League.
Spahn reached the major leagues in 1942 at the age of 20. He clashed with Braves manager Casey Stengel, who sent him back to the minors after Spahn refused to throw at Brooklyn Dodgers batter Pee Wee Reese in an exhibition game. Spahn had pitched in only four games, allowing 15 runs (10 earned) in 15.2 innings.
Stengel later said that it was the worst managing mistake he had ever made: "I said "no guts" to a kid who went on to become a war hero and one of the greatest lefthanded pitchers you ever saw. You can't say I don't miss 'em when I miss 'em". The 1942 Braves finished next to last, and Stengel was fired the following year. Spahn was reunited with his first manager 23 years later, for the even more woeful last-place New York Mets, and—referring to Stengel's success with the 1949–60 New York Yankees—later quipped, "I'm probably the only guy who played for Casey before and after he was a genius."
Spahn finished the 1942 season with a 17–12 record for the Hartford Bees of the Class-A Eastern League.
Along with many other major leaguers, Spahn chose to enlist in the United States Army, after finishing the 1942 season in the minors. He served with distinction and was awarded a Purple Heart. He saw action in the Battle of the Bulge and at the Ludendorff Bridge as a combat engineer, and was awarded a battlefield commission.
Spahn returned to the major leagues in 1946 at the age of 25, having missed three full seasons. Had he played, Spahn might have finished his career behind only Walter Johnson and Cy Young in all-time wins. Spahn was unsure of the war's impact on his career:
People say that my absence from the big leagues may have cost me a chance to win 400 games, but I don't know about that. I matured a lot in three years, and I think I was better equipped to handle major league hitters at 25 than I was at 22. Also, I pitched until I was 44. Maybe I wouldn't have been able to do that otherwise.