Ned Garver

Ned Franklin Garver (December 25, 1925 – February 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1961. He never played for a first division team.[1]

Ned Garver
Garver in 1956.
Pitcher
Born: (1925-12-25)December 25, 1925
Ney, Ohio
Died: February 26, 2017(2017-02-26) (aged 91)
Bryan, Ohio
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 28, 1948, for the St. Louis Browns
Last MLB appearance
June 4, 1961, for the Los Angeles Angels
MLB statistics
Win–loss record129–157
Earned run average3.73
Strikeouts881
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Ned Franklin Garver was born on December 25, 1925, in Ney, Ohio, to parents Arl and Susie Garver. He was the fourth of five children. The Garvers lived on a wheat farm, which they tended using horses.[2] Though Garver's mother wanted him to be a preacher or an undertaker, his father encouraged him to play baseball; the older Garver had once experienced success as an amateur pitcher.[3] Ned started pitching for his town's local semipro baseball team, also playing baseball and basketball at Ney High School. As a senior in 1943, Garver helped the high school baseball team reach the state championship, where he suffered the loss in a 3–2 defeat.[4]

Garver's performance with the semipro team caused three Major League Baseball (MLB) teams to be interested in him: the St. Louis Browns, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Washington Senators.[2] He did not think he would be able to take advantage of any of these opportunities, as he enlisted in the United States Naval Air Corps in the fall of 1943. However, he was discharged the following spring because his feet were flat. Garver's manager with the semipro team, P. L. McCormick, contacted the Browns, who signed Garver to a minor league contract.[5]

Professional career

Minor leagues

Garver began his professional career at age 18 in 1944 with the Newark Moundsmen, St. Louis' affiliate in the Ohio State League (OSL). On July 19, he threw a no hitter against the Marion Diggers.[6] Garver ultimately pitched in 32 games for the team, going 21-8. He led the OSL in wins, earned Run Average (ERA) (1.21), and innings pitched (245).[2] In the playoffs, he defeated the Middletown Red Sox three times, ultimately helping the Moundsmen to the first OSL championship since the league was put on hiatus due to World War II.[7]

The following season, Garver pitched briefly for the Browns' Single-A affiliate, the Elmira Pioneers of the Eastern League, before being promoted to the Double-A Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association. In Toledo, he served as both a starting pitcher and a reliever, starting 15 games while making 16 relief appearance. He went 5-8 with an ERA of 4.64 and a walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) figure of 1.712.[2][8]

Garver was sent to the San Antonio Missions, another Double-A team in the St. Louis Browns organization, in 1946 and he would stay there until the end of the 1947 season. During his two years in San Antonio, Garver went 25-22 with an ERA of 3.43.[8] According to Garver, the Browns nearly called him up in September 1947 when rosters expanded in September, but they decided to keep him in San Antonio when Ox Miller had his contract sold to the Chicago Cubs, as this left the Missions short of pitchers.[9]

Major leagues

Garver was called up to St. Louis in 1948, where he would play his first Major League game against the Detroit Tigers on April 28. On September 4, he pitched 10 innings, driving in the winning run with a walkoff RBI single against Ed Klieman in a 2–1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.[10] In 1950, Garver led the American League with 22 complete games and finishing 2nd with a 3.39 earned run average. Despite this performance, his record was 13-18 with the 58-96 Browns.

In 1951, Garver compiled a 20-12 record[11] while the Browns lost 102 games that year. Garver also posted a 3.73 ERA that season. Out of the Browns' 52 total wins, Garver accounted for nearly 40 percent of them. Garver also led the American League in complete games with 24 and, when he pitched, he often batted sixth in the order rather than the customary ninth, compiling a .305 batting average with one home run. He was also used as a pinch hitter and pinch runner.[12] Garver was the named the starting pitcher for the American League in the 1951 All-Star Game, his only All-Star appearance.

Garver is one of only two modern era pitchers (post-1900) to win 20 or more games for a team which lost 100 or more games in the same season, and is the last to do so and the only one to do it with a winning record.[note 1][1] Garver was the winning pitcher in 38% of the Browns' victories; their record when he did not get the decision was 32–90, .262. He led the American League in complete games that year (he had also done so in 1950).[1] After the season, Garver found himself in a three-way tie for first place Most Valuable Player Award votes with Yankees Yogi Berra and Allie Reynolds, though the tally of votes further down the ballots meant that Berra won the award.

Following the 1951 season, Browns owner Bill Veeck made Garver the highest paid member of the team with a salary of $25,000.[13] Baseball Hall of Fame member Ted Williams said of Garver, "He could throw anything up there and get me out."[13] In actuality, though, Williams' batting average off Garver was .419, with a .767 slugging percentage.[14]

During the 1952 season, the Browns fired manager Rogers Hornsby, and the grateful players presented their owner with a trophy for getting rid of the hated manager. According to Garver, his teammates bought the trophy without his knowledge, but as their player representative, he was the one to present it to Veeck.[15]

In 1954, Garver was leading the AL in ERA in mid-May, having posted an 0.49 mark in his first five games.[16][17]

As a hitter, Garver had a career .218 batting average (180-for-827) with 87 runs, 7 home runs, 72 RBI and drawing 76 bases on balls.

Pitching style

Garver's primary pitch was a sinking fastball. During the 1947 season, he figured out how to throw a slider while playing catch with another player before a game. By putting pressure on his next-to-index finger, he could make the ball change directions as it came to the plate. "That pitch took me to the big leagues, and it kept me there," he credited its importance.[18] He would try to add to his array of pitches during spring training, using the time for experimentation.[19]

His injury in 1952 changed the way he pitched. "I was never as good after that," Garver said, but he was able to stay in the major leagues for several years by adjusting his approach. Garver would change speeds on his ball, and he would throw from different angels: overhand, underhand, and sidearm.[20]

Post-retirement

His nephew Bruce Berenyi became a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets.

In 1996, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative postmark in his honor in his hometown of Ney, Ohio, to mark the 45th anniversary of his 20-win season. On September 30, 1951, he was sent a plaque by the Commissioner of Baseball to commemorate the 20th victory, September 30, 1951.[21]

In a conversation with Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams mentioned he had "trouble" with Garver. "He could throw anything up there and get me out," Williams recalled.[22]

Death

Garver died in Bryan, Ohio on February 26, 2017 at the age of 91.[23][1][24]

Notes
  1. Irv Young went 20-21 for the 51-103 1905 Boston Braves.[1]

References
  1. Richard Goldstein (February 28, 2017). "Ned Garver, 20-Game Winner for the 102-Loss Browns, Dies at 91". New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  2. Wolf, Gregory H. "Ned Garver". SABR. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  3. Garver, p. 14
  4. Garver, p. 17
  5. Garver, pp. 18-22
  6. Newark Advocate, July 20, 1944.
  7. Lammers, Craig. "1944 Ohio State League". SABR. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  8. "Ned Garver Minor Leagues Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  9. Garver, pp. 35-36
  10. "Cleveland Loses". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. September 5, 1948. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  11. Clavin, Tom; Peary, Danny (2010). Roger Maris: Baseball's Reluctant Hero. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-4165-8928-0.
  12. Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, and Ned Garver (September 10, 2015). "BP Daily Podcast − Effectively Wild Episode 722: Cold-Calling Ned Garver". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved March 4, 2017.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (audio)
  13. Ron Clements (February 28, 2017). "Ned Garver dead at 91; longtime MLB pitcher won 20 games for 52-win team". The Sporting News. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  14. "Baseball-Reference:Ted Williams vs. Ned Garver" https://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/batter_vs_pitcher.cgi?batter=willite01&pitcher=garvene01
  15. Garver, pp. 138, 142
  16. "Simmons And Garver Leading On ER Averages". Ellensburg Daily Record. May 11, 1954. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  17. "Ned Garver 1954 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  18. Garver, p. 34
  19. Garver, p. 40
  20. Garver, p. 75
  21. Frank Jackson (March 13, 2017). "Against All Odds: Ned Garver and the '51 Browns". Fan Graphs. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  22. Vincent, Fay (2006). The Only Game in Town: Baseball Stars of the 1930s and 1940s Talk About the Game They Loved. Simon & Schuster. p. 8. ISBN 0743273184.
  23. "Ned F. Garver (obituary)". Bryan [Ohio] Times. February 28, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  24. Oberlin Turnbull Funeral Home and Crematory. (February 27, 2017). "Ned Garver Obituary". Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  • Garver, Ned; Bozman, Bill; Joyner, Ronnie (2003). Touching All the Bases. Pepperpot Productions, Inc. ASIN B00B6JBVV6.

Sources
  • The Baseball Encyclopedia
  • Urbana Daily Citizen newspaper
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