July 13, 1963: For a pitcher in baseball, winning 300 games in a career has long been considered a milestone, which is tantamount to election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. And no pitcher worked harder, or struggled more, to get there than Early Wynn.
Born in Alabama in 1920, a football injury led him to concentrate on baseball. In 1939, he made his major league debut, with the Washington Senators, pitching a complete game in his debut, but losing. He spent most of the 1940 and '41 seasons in the minor leagues, but the manpower drain of World War II forced the Senators to put him in their starting rotation. He remained with them through the 1948 season, except for missing the end of the 1944 season and all of 1945 in the U.S. Army's Tank Corps.
In 1949, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians. He got there too late for their 1948 World Series win, but kept them in contention, and helped them win the American League Pennant in 1954. In 1958, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox. In 1959, despite being 39 years old, he went 22-10, as the ace of a team that won the Pennant. He received the Cy Young Award, then a both-Leagues award.
He made the All-Star Game in 7 seasons. He won 17 or more games in a season 10 times, including 20 or more 3 times. He led the AL in wins in 1954 and 1959, in ERA in 1950, in strikeouts in 1957 and 1958. He struck out 2,334 batters in his career. But he also walked 1,755 batters, a record until Nolan Ryan surpassed it in 1981. His career ERA was 3.54.
As late as 1961, in limited action, he was 8-2, raising his career won-lost record to 292-227. That season, on August 11, Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves won his 300th game, only the 13th pitcher to do it, and the 1st since Lefty Grove in 1941. Spahn and Grove were now the only ones to have done it while playing their entire careers in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era.
Wynn wanted to become the next to do it. But age caught up with him. On July 24, 1962, he won his 297th. It took 3 more starts to win his 298th, on August 10. This was followed by 4 losses, until his won his 299th on September 8. He closed the season by losing his last 3, finishing at 7-15, with a career record of 299-242. He needed only 1 more. But the White Sox released him. He would be 43 before heading down to his next Spring Training.
He did go to the White Sox' camp, but failed to make the team. Several teams offered him one-game contracts, but he wanted a real contract. He got one from the Indians on June 21. His 1st game was that night -- against the White Sox. He gave a statement performance, going the distance, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits and 1 walk. But he didn't get any support, and lost, 2-0.
He started against the White Sox again on June 28, pitching 6 innings, and got no decision, though the Indians won. He started against the Boston Red Sox on the 4th of July. Again, he pitched 6 innings and got no decision, though the Indians won. He was used in the last 2 innings of a game against the Yankees on July 7, and didn't allow any runs, but the Indians couldn't come back and give him Number 300 that way. He wasn't pitching badly, but he wasn't getting that 300th win.
Indians manager George "Birdie" Tebbetts decided to start him in the 2nd game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Athletics, at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, on July 13, with a full 5 days' rest. But Wynn struggled to sleep, due to gout-related pain. The A's won the opener, 6-5.
Wynn got the A's out 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 1st inning. In the 2nd, the Indians gave him a run, but he walked the bases loaded with 1 out, before getting out of the jam. In the 3rd, he allowed a leadoff single -- to the opposing pitcher, Moe Drabowsky, no less. But he got the next 3 men out. In the bottom of the 4th, he allowed a leadoff home run to George Alusik, tying the game. He got the next 3 men out.
Playing 3rd base for the A's that night, Ed Charles remembered, "His fastball, if it reached 80, that was stretching it. He was laboring, throwing nothing but bloopers and junk."
Wynn himself led off the top of the 5th, and got a hit. After Tito Francona flew out, Dick Howser singled. After Willie Kirkland popped up, Max Alvis walked to load the bases. Joe Adcock singled Wynn and Howser home. It was 3-1 Indians. John Romano walked, re-loading the bases. Al Luplow singled, scoring Adcock and Alvis. That made it 5-1 Indians.
But to start the bottom of the 5th, Wynn allowed 3 straight singles, to Ken Harrelson, Gino Cimoli and José Tartabull, loading the bases with nobody out. Future manager Tony La Russa pinch-ran for Cimoli. Wynn got Wayne Causey to pop up. But Jerry Lumpe hit a double, scoring Tartabull and La Russa. But Wynn's luck turned again: Lumpe was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a triple, and Alusik popped up. The Indians had closed to within 5-4.
But Wynn had now pitched 5 innings, the minimum necessary to get a win. Tebbetts took no chances, and took him out. "Jerry Walker relieved me ,and saved the game for me," Wynn later said. "He was my roommate, and pitched like a man possessed." Over the last 4 innings, he allowed 3 hits and 2 walks, but no runs. The Indians added a run in the 7th, and another in the 9th. They won, 7-4, and Wynn had his 300th win. The 7-appearance gap remains the longest ever between a pitcher's 299th and 300th wins.
Wynn made 15 more appearances, though only 1 more start, recording a loss and a save. He retired with a record of 300-244. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972. He died in 1999. That year, The Sporting News named its 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and Early Wynn was listed at Number 100.
The Senators moved to become the Minnesota Twins in 1961, but the Washington Nationals, formerly the Montreal Expos, named Wynn to their Ring of Honor, honoring players for all D.C.-based teams, including the Negro Leagues' Homestead Grays. The Indians became the Cleveland Guardians in 2022, and, while still named the Indians, named Wynn to their team Hall of Fame. (The White Sox don't have one.) He usually wore Number 11 in Washington, and Number 24 in Cleveland and Chicago, but no team has ever retired his number.
As of July 13, 2022, there are 24 pitchers who have won 300 or more games. The most recent addition was Randy Johnson in 2009. Given the way pitchers have been used in the 21st Century, it seems unlikely that there will be another in the next few years. Roger Clemens, who won 354 -- more than anyone in the Lively Ball Era except Spahn and Greg Maddux -- is not in the Hall of Fame, due to never-proven accusations of steroid use. Every other pitcher with at least 300 wins is in the Hall of Fame.
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July 13, 1963 was a Saturday. These other baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Angels, 3-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Angels were groundsharing until their Anaheim stadium could be built. Dean Chance outpitched Jim Bouton. Mickey Mantle was injured, and did not play.
* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11-2 at the Polo Grounds. Duke Snider went 1-for-4... as a home player in the Polo Grounds, with a Giants-style "NY" on his cap, against the Dodgers.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia (which had been Shibe Park until 1953). Willie Mays hit a home run.
* The Washington Senators beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.) Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Colts .45s, 3-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Vernon Law pitched a 6-hit shutout. Donn Clendenon hit 2 home runs. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-4 with the Pirates' other RBI. The Colt .45s became the Astros in 1965.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-4 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew, Rich Rollins and Earl Battey hit home runs. Carl Yastrzemski went 2-for-4.
* The Milwaukee Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis (which had been Sportsman's Park until 1953). Hank Aaron went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Stan Musial, in his final season, appeared only as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.
* And the Chicago White Sox, the Detroit Tigers, the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds were not scheduled.
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