Do you think Rick Wise was even shaving yet when this photo was taken? Such a baby face!
Fun facts about Rick Wise:
-Born in Jackson, MI, Rick signed with the Phillies at age 17 in 1963.
-He breezed through 12 games at Class A Bakersfield in his first pro season and debuted with the Phillies in 1964, going 5-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 25 games (eight starts).
-After returning to the minors for more seasoning, he was promoted for good in 1966. He soon became a mainstay in the Philly rotation, winning 48 games with a 3.79 ERA from 1967-1970.
-1971 was a career year for Rick. He went 17-14 for a 95-loss Philadelphia club but deserved better. His ERA was a strong 2.88 and he completed 17 games, including four shutouts. He made the All-Star team for the first time.
-On June 23, 1971, Wise no-hit the Reds and drove in three of his team's four runs with a pair of homers, becoming the first (and only, to date) pitcher to ever go deep twice while pitching a no-hitter. He lost two other no-hit bids in the ninth inning in 1973 and 1975.
-The following February, Rick was famously traded to St. Louis for their discontented ace, Steve Carlton. While the new Cardinal won 32 games with a 3.24 ERA in two seasons with the team and was an All-Star again in 1973, "Lefty" Carlton won 241 games and four Cy Young Awards in a 15-year run with the Phils.
-He won a game each in the 1975 ALCS (2 ER in 7.1 IP) and the 1975 World Series. He was hit hard in a Game 3 start in the Fall Classic, but came back to pitch a scoreless 12th inning in Game 6. He was the pitcher of record when Carlton Fisk hit his famed walkoff home run that barely stayed fair as it cleared the Green Monster.
-After a few more decent years in Beantown (25-16, 3.98 ERA), he made stops in Cleveland (24-29, 4.02 for the mediocre 1978-1979 Indians) and San Diego (10-16, 3.75 from 1980-1982). He finished his career with a lifetime record of 188-181 with 138 complete games and a 3.69 ERA in parts of 18 seasons.
-From 2005 to 2008, Rick served as pitching coach and interim manager for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League.
Rick Wise's first start came in the 2nd game of the doubleheader where Jim Bunning pitched a perfect game in the opener on Fathers Day 1964.
ReplyDeleteI was a closet Phillie fan (phan?) back in the early/mid 60s. Johnny Callison, Wes Covington and those guys were a fun team. One of my neighbor's dads was a huge fan and when they folded down the stretch in '64? there were some dark days in that house.
ReplyDeleteJim - Talk about your hard acts to follow!
ReplyDeleteBob - I bet. Gene Mauch carried that "choker" label all the way through the 80s, helped along by the Angels' ALCS collapse in 1986.
That cartoon could be a predecessor to tron. that, or he is being attacked by a bunch of old vinyl records...
ReplyDelete