Don Drysdale
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(Number retired 1 July 1984) |
Don Drysdale| Position | Pitcher | | MLB Seasons | 14 | | Teams | Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers | | Debut | 17 April 1956 (BRO) | | Final Game | 5 August 1969 (LAD) | | Total Games | 518 | | World Series Teams | 1956, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1966 | | Allstar Teams | 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968 | | Awards | 1962 Cy Young | | Baseball Hall Of Fame (1984) | | Player of the Month (3 times) | Nickname| "Big D" | |
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Donald Scott Drysdale (
July 23,
1936 â€"
July 3,
1993) was an
American right-handed
pitcher in
Major League Baseball. He was born in
Van Nuys, California.
Pitching for the
Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, he teamed with
Sandy Koufax during the late
1950s and
1960s to form one of the most dominating pitching duos in history. The ferocious hurler (nicknamed "Big D" by fans) used brushback pitches and a sidearm fastball to intimidate batters, and his 154 hit batsmen remain a modern
National League record.
In
1962, Drysdale won 25 games and the
Cy Young Award, and set a record with 58 consecutive scoreless innings in 1968; the record was ultimately broken by fellow Dodger
Orel Hershiser 20 years later. In
1963, he struck out 251 batters and won a
World Series Game (Game 3 at
Los Angeles'
Dodger Stadium). In
1965, the all-around athlete was the Dodgers' only .300 hitter and tied his own National League record for pitchers with seven
home runs. That year he won 23 games and led the Dodgers to only their third
World Championship in Los Angeles, he ended his career by winning 209 games, striking out 2,486 batters, pitched in 167 complete games and had 49 shutouts. He was later inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in
1984, and had his number 53 officially retired at
Dodger Stadium on
July 1,
1984.
Don Drysdale retired after the
1969 season and became a broadcaster for not just the Dodgers (from
1988 up until his death in
1993), but also the
Montréal Expos (
1970-
1971),
Texas Rangers (
1972),
California Angels (
1973-
1979),
Chicago White Sox (
1982-
1987), and
ABC (
1978-
1986).
While at
ABC Sports, Drysdale not only did baseball telecasts, but also
Superstars and
Wide World of Sports. In
1979, Drysdale covered the
World Series Trophy presentation ceremonies for ABC. In
1984, Drysdale did
play-by-play (alongside fellow Hall of Famers
Reggie Jackson and
Earl Weaver) for the thrilling
National League Championship Series between the
San Diego Padres and
Chicago Cubs.
On
October 6,
1984 at
San Diego's
Jack Murphy Stadium, Game 4 of the NLCS ended when Padres first baseman
Steve Garvey hit a dramatic two run home run off of
Lee Smith.
"Deep right field, way back. Cotto going back to the wall...it's gone! Home run Garvey! And there will be tomorrow!" - Drysdale on the call.
The Padres, who rallyed from a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five series against the Cubs wound up winning the decisive Game 5 the next day (thus, winning their first ever National League pennant).
In
1986, he married
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame player
Ann Meyers, who took the name Ann Meyers-Drysdale. It was the first time that a married couple were members of their respective sports' Halls of Fame. Drysdale and Meyers had three children together: D.J., Drew, and Darren.
1988
On
September 28,
1988, fellow Dodger
Orel Hershiser surpassed Drysdale when Hershiser finished the season with a record 59 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. In his final start of the year, Hershiser needed to pitch 10 shutout innings to set the mark â€" meaning not only that he would have to prevent the San Diego Padres from scoring, but that his own team would also need to fail to score in order to ensure extra innings. The Dodgers' anemic offense was obliging, however, and Hershiser pitched the first 10 innings of a scoreless tie, with the Padres eventually prevailing 2-1 in 16 innings. Hershiser almost did not pitch in the 10th inning, in deference to Drysdale, but was convinced by the Hall of Famer to take the mound and try to break the record. When Hershiser broke Drysdale's record, Drysdale went to hug the man who just broke his record and told Hershiser
"Oh, I'll tell ya, congratulations...And at least you kept it in the family."Drysdale also called
Kirk Gibson's memorable walk-off home run in game one of the
1988 World Series for the Dodgers Radio Network.
In
1990 Drysdale published his autobiography,
Once a Bum, Always a Dodger.
Don Drysdale died of a
heart attack in his hotel room in
Montreal, Canada where he had been broadcasting a Dodgers game in
1993. Drysdale was found dead by radio station employees sent to look for him when he was late for his scheduled broadcast. After Drysdale missed the team bus, hadn't shown up about two hours before game time, and didn't answer his telephone, the hotel staff went in and found him face down, near his bed. The
coroner estimated that he had been dead for 18 hours. Soon afterwords, Drysdale's broadcasting colleague
Vin Scully, who was instructed to not to say anything on the air until Drysdale's family was notified, announced the news of his death by saying
"Never have I been asked to make an announcement that hurts me as much as this one. And I say it to you as best I can with a broken heart." Fellow broadcaster
Ross Porter told his radio audience,
"I just don't believe it, folks." Drysdale was replaced by
Rick Monday in the broadcast booth.
Drysdale's body was cremated at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in
Glendale, California.
"Batting against him (Don Drysdale) was like making a date with the dentist." -
Dick Groat*
All-Time leaders in Home runs for a Pitcher*
Career statistics and analysis @ Baseball Reference*
The Official Site of Don Drysdale*
Drysdale's stats @ MLB.com*
Photos
