June 27, 1973: The Sabotage of David Clyde

June 27, 1973: David Clyde, the 1st overall pick in the recent Major League Baseball Draft, makes his major league debut, for the Texas Rangers. The Dallas-area team was desperate for attendance, and chose the 18-year-old lefthanded pitcher from the Houston area, and sent him to the majors without one single minor-league warmup appearance.
 
The Rangers got what they wanted: A sellout crowd of 35,698 coming out to see the much-hyped Texan, and a win, as Clyde pitched 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on just 1 hit, and striking out 8. He outpitched a future Hall-of-Famer, Jim Kaat. Alex Johnson got 3 hits, while Dave Nelson, Toby Harrah, Vic Harris got 2 each. The Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3. Not really noticed in all the hype: Clyde walked 7 batters in just 5 innings.
 
The plan was to have Clyde pitch his 1st 2 professional games in the majors, and then season him in the minors. But the Rangers' owner was Bob Short. He had moved them from being the Washington Senators after the 1971 season, and was also the owner who moved the Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles in 1960. He was bankrupt, and there was talk that the American League would take over the franchise, possibly moving it back to Washington.

So Short got greedy, seeing not a Number 32 but a big fat dollar sign on Clyde’s back. He was kept on the big-league roster for the rest of the season, and he went 4-8 with a 5.01 ERA. In 1974, he went 3-9, 4.38 ERA. And he developed shoulder trouble. And a drinking problem.

He spent the 1975, '76 and '77 seasons in the minor leagues, except for 1 losing major league appearance in '75. He was left unprotected in the 1977 expansion draft, but he was already seen as damaged goods, and neither the Seattle Mariners nor the Toronto Blue Jays wanted him. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians, and went 8-11 for them in 1978, and 3-4 in 1979. He was traded back to the Rangers for 1980, but released after Spring Training.

He signed with his hometown Houston Astros, and went 6-0 in Class AA, but 4-10 in Class AAA. The Astros did not bring him up, and released him. He threw his last professional pitch at the age of 26, and finished with a major league record of 18-33, an ERA of 4.63, and a WHIP of 1.530.

Was it worth it? The interest he generated is sometimes credited with saving major league baseball in the Dallas-Fort Worth "Metroplex," as Short found a buyer willing to bail him out, oilman Brad Corbett. In 1980, Corbett sold the team to another oilman, Eddie Chiles. In 1989, Chiles sold the team to another oilman, George W. Bush.

In 1994, because he was running for Governor of Texas, Bush put his controlling interest in the team into a blind trust. In 1998, because he was about to launch a campaign for President of the United States, he sold the team completely, to Tom Hicks. Hicks went bankrupt in 2010, and the team was bought by a group that included former star pitcher Nolan Ryan.

Although their competitive history has been rather checkered, the Rangers have never again been in danger of being moved.

But the effect on Clyde was terrible. His 1st manager, Whitey Herzog, called him "one of the best young lefthanded pitchers I’ve ever seen," but wrote in his memoir that he was often forced to leave Clyde in the game much longer than usual, because fans wanted to see the "phenom" pitch. Former teammate Tom Grieve, later a major-league general manager, said that keeping Clyde in the roster was the "dumbest thing you could ever do to a high school pitcher."

Clyde eventually recovered from his alcoholism, and ran his father-in-law’s lumber business. He has said that it gave him peace of mind following the crash of his career.

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June 27, 1973 was a Wednesday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 4-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Dave McNally allowed 10 hits, but kept the shutout.

* A doubleheader was split at Shea Stadium. The New York Mets won the opener, 7-6. The Mets scored 7 runs in the 1st inning, and hung on for dear life. Ted Martínez went 4-for-4. The Philadelphia Phillies won the nightcap, 7-1. Mike Schmidt, in his rookie season, hit 2 home runs, and had 5 RBIs. Willie Mays, in his last season, did not play in the opener, but went 2-for-4 in the nightcap.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 15-4 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Lou Brock went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Joe Torre went 4-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Ted Simmons went 3-for-4 with 5 RBIs. Ken Reitz went 4-for-6 with 2 RBIs. José Cruz Sr. went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Willie Stargell went 1-for-2 before leaving the game due to injury.

* The Detroit Tigers swept a doubleheader from the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-3 and 5-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline made only one plate appearance that day, pinch-hitting in the 2nd game, and did not reach base.

* In the 1st game of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field in Chicago, the Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 6-1. Since Wrigley did not have lights until 1988, the 2nd game was called due to darkness in the top of the 13th inning, with the score tied, 3-3. The game was completed the next day, and Bob Bailey's RBI single in the top of the 18th inning gave the Expos a 5-4 win.

* The Houston Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Jerry Reuss outpitched Fred Norman. Pete Rose went 3-for-4. Johnny Bench did not play.

* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. The A's won in the bottom of the 9th when Bill North reached on an error by Royal shortstop Fred Patek. Catfish Hunter outpitched Paul Splittorff. Gene Tenace hit a home run. Reggie Jackson went 2-for-4.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-5 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Dave Rader hit 2 home runs. Willie McCovey did not play. Hank Aaron only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* The Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians were rained out at Fenway Park in Boston. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Indians won the 1st game, 4-2. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4, but left the game due to injury, and did not play in the 2nd game. Despite this, the Red Sox won it, 16-7.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres were not scheduled.