Baseball player
| Al Downing | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1941-06-28) June 28, 1941 (age 83) Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| Batted: RightThrew: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 19, 1961, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 13, 1977, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 123–107 |
| Earned run average | 3.22 |
| Strikeouts | 1,639 |
Stats at Baseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Alphonso Erwin Downing (born June 28, 1941) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1961 through 1977. Downing was an All Star in 1967 and the National League's Comeback Player of the Year in 1971. Downing allowed Hank Aaron's record breaking 715th home run on April 8, 1974.
Early life
Downing was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He participated in the Police Athletic League. Downing attended Trenton Central High School, Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Rider College in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. He also played baseball as a semi-professional.
New York Yankees
Downing signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1961, and was promoted to the major league roster by July of that season. In 1963, his first full major league season, Downing had a 13–5 win–loss record with a 2.56 earned run average (ERA) for a Yankee team that went 104–57, but were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1963 World Series. In 1964, he went 13–8 with a 3.47 ERA, and led the league with 217 strikeouts.
Downing was 9–5 with a 2.66 ERA when he made his only All-Star team in 1967. He pitched two innings, giving up no earned runs while striking out two. On August 11, 1967, Downing struck out all three batters on nine total pitches in the second inning of a game against the Cleveland Indians; it was the first immaculate inning in the major leagues since 1964.
Injuries limited Downing to only twelve starts in 1968. In 1969, Yankees manager Ralph Houk began using Downing out of the bullpen more, as he made fifteen starts and fifteen relief appearances. He was traded to the Oakland Athletics prior to the 1970 along with catcher Frank Fernández for Danny Cater and Ossie Chavarria.
NL Comeback Player of the Year
Oakland traded Downing and Tito Francona to the Milwaukee Brewers on June 11, 1970, for Steve Hovley. Despite a respectable 3.34 ERA, Downing's record was 2–10 for a Brewers team that narrowly escaped losing 100 games (97). For the season, Downing went 5–13 with a 3.52 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 27 games and 22 starts between his two teams.
Prior to the start of the 1971 season, the Brewers traded Downing to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Andy Kosco. In his first season in the National League (NL), Downing won twenty games, and pitched a league-leading five shutouts. He earned NL Comeback Player of the Year honors as well as finishing third in NL Cy Young Award balloting behind Ferguson Jenkins and Tom Seaver.
On April 8, 1974, Downing allowed a home run to Hank Aaron that was the 715th of his career, breaking the all-time record set by Babe Ruth. Downing made his third, and final post-season appearance that season. His Dodgers lost four games to one to the Oakland A's. Downing played two more full seasons with the Dodgers, and was released during the 1977 season with a 0–1 record and 6.75 ERA.
Broadcasting career
Downing served as a color analyst on Dodgers cable-TV broadcasts from 1980 to 1987 and on Dodgers radio in 2005. He also broadcast for CBS Radio in the 1990s, and the Atlanta Braves in 2000. As of 2006, he remains on the Dodgers Speaker's Bureau.
See also
- Black Aces, African-American pitchers with a 20-win MLB season
- List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders
References
- "Atlanta Braves 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 4". Baseball-Reference.com. April 8, 1974.
- Persichilli, Tony (February 28, 2002). "PAL and Downing, both 'Trenton's Own'". The Trentonian. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
- "Diamond Reflections: Al Downing misses creativity in the batters' box". August 18, 2010.
- "1967 All Star Game". Baseball-Reference.com. July 11, 1967.
- "Immaculate Innings: 9 Pitches – 9 Strikes – 3 Outs". Baseball-Almanac.com. Baseball Almanac. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
- "Brewers' Hovley Is Traded To A'S". The New York Times. June 12, 1970. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- "Dodgers Acquire Downing for Kosco In Brewers Trade". The New York Times. February 11, 1971. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- Lyle, By. "Lyle Spencer: Al Downing was a major factor in Yankees' run to 1963 World Series". Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- "Bonds and Baseball Will Need an Al Downing". The New York Times. June 29, 2007. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- "Archives". Los Angeles Times. June 19, 1987.
- "Archives". Los Angeles Times. May 17, 1994.
External links
- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Al Downing at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
- Living people
- 1941 births
- African-American baseball players
- American League All-Stars
- American League strikeout champions
- Atlanta Braves announcers
- Baseball players from Trenton, New Jersey
- Binghamton Triplets players
- Los Angeles Dodgers announcers
- Los Angeles Dodgers players
- Major League Baseball broadcasters
- Major League Baseball pitchers
- Milwaukee Brewers players
- New York Yankees players
- Oakland Athletics players
- Richmond Virginians (minor league) players
- Rider Broncs baseball players
- Trenton Central High School alumni
- 21st-century African-American sportsmen
- 20th-century African-American sportsmen