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1958 • Baseball Clip • Herb Score Interview - Radio · Retro Sports Radio: Classic Games from History

• 0:00
  This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons.com for more sports history.
• 0:07
  This is Herb Scorer of the Cleveland Indians. In a few moments I'll tell you about my greatest sports thrill.
• 0:14
  This is Harry Wismer. What you're about to hear is a transcribed story of one of baseball's outstanding pictures and an event our special guest Herb Scorer considers his greatest sports thrill.
• 0:39
  And Herb himself is here to tell us all about it. But first, here is Bill Raddick with a message of interest from your United States Air Force.
• 0:48
  In baseball, a hit or cake sign can mean the ball game. And for this reason, the coaches take pains to cover up every signal they flash.
• 0:56
  But the Air Force is transmitting a loud, clear signal to all former servicemen right now. And it may be an opportunity for you.
• 1:04
  You see, the age of space is here, and ex-servicemen with certain valuable skills are critically needed.
• 1:10
  That's why the Air Force is offering special benefits to these important men.
• 1:14
  If you qualify, you'll receive good starting rank plus a chance for valuable career training.
• 1:20
  In addition, you'll get steady advancement, a guaranteed annual income, and 30 days paid vacation every year.
• 1:28
  Get the full story on dependents' benefits and all the other outstanding Air Force extras real soon.
• 1:34
  See your local Air Force recruiter while your prior service and skills are at their highest value.
• 1:39
  You'll agree that today and tomorrow, you're better off in today's space age Air Force.
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  Now back to Harry Wismer.
• 1:49
  What is the score on Herb Scorer, the sensational young southpaw of the Cleveland Indians?
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  Did getting hit by a vicious line drive change this pitcher's bright career?
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  What kind of a boy is this spectacular hurler, who with just two and a half years of major league experience behind him,
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  already has been called a second lefty grove, a left-handed Bob Feller, a future Hall of Famer?
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  So great was Herb Scorer's potential that one club, the Boston Red Sox, made a staggering offer of a million dollars for him,
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  a cash bid believed to be the largest ever made for a ball player.
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  Equally fantastic was the quick rejection of the offer by the Cleveland Indians.
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  Even before Herb Scorer delivered his first big league pitch, he was heralded as a sure fire star.
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  Then he went out and proved how deserving he was of that distinction.
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  The big kid with the fireball powered his way to 245 strikeouts in 1955,
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  his first season, to become an overwhelming choice as the rookie of the year in the American League.
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  He was even better in 1956, his second year, winning 20 games and increasing his strikeout total to 261.
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  This established him at the ripe old age of 24 as the strikeout wizard of the majors, the best to come along since Bob Feller.
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  The handful of men in the Cleveland organization who saw Herb Scorer throw for the first time knew little about him,
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  except that he apparently had an arm the likes of which is attached to no more than one human shoulder in any generation.
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  They didn't know the important things about his heart and his willingness to make the sacrifices that success demands.
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  They didn't know about his personal habits or how he would react to the public acclaim that were certain to be his lot.
• 3:40
  And still, they foresaw greatness for him.
• 3:43
  If he does nothing else, Cleveland Herb Scorer in 1955 would have won recognition for his speed of breaking in as a member of baseball's greatest pitching staff on his very first try.
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  With their famed big three of Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, and Mike Garcia backed by Bob Feller and Art Hudeman,
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  and with Ray Naleski and Don Massey in the bullpen, the Indians offered little opportunity for a youngster.
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  But Herb Scorer couldn't be ignored. His record-breaking 1954 season at Indianapolis,
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  plus some notably good pitching against the Giants and Cubs in spring exhibition games, demanded that he be given a chance, and a chance was all score needed.
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  Herb Scorer won his first 1955 start, beating Detroit 7-3, striking out 9 and walking 9-2.
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  His wildness had him in constant trouble, but he also showed something else that few suspected.
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  He had a curveball that was almost as effective as his fastball.
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  In his third Major League game, Herb Scorer pitching the second half of a doubleheader against the Red Sox after Bob Feller had hurled a one-hitter,
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  tossed a three-hitter at the Bull Sox, and struck out 16 men, two short of Feller's all-time record.
• 4:59
  That was just the beginning. Scorer went on to rack up a 16-10 season and the astounding total of 245 strikeouts.
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  In 1956, Cleveland saw no reason to proceed with caution. Herb Scorer was now a starter, pitching in regular rotation.
• 5:17
  A stomach ailment slowed him down early in the season. He was hospitalized for two months and didn't pitch a complete game until June 29th.
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  His record on the 20th of June was 8-6, and it was generally agreed that he had only a slim chance of reaching 20 victories.
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  But in the second half of the campaign, Scorer racked up 12 wins while losing only three to finish the season with a 20-9 record.
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  He led the American League pitchers and shutouts with five, and here are some of his other 1956 accomplishments.
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  Scorer defeated the New York Yankees four times and in one game had a no-hitter going against them for eight innings.
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  Against the First Division clubs, the Yankees, White Sox and Red Sox, he was the Indians' most effective performer with an 8-3 mark.
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  On May 19th, Herb Scorer fanned 15 Washington batters and went on to whiff a total of 263 for the 1956 season,
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  to average more than nine strikeouts a game for the second year in a row. An indication of how brilliant this feat is attested by the fact that no other pitcher in baseball history
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  has been able to average as many as nine strikeouts per game in any season. Herb Scorer did this his first two seasons in the big leagues.
• 6:34
  It was at Lake Worth, Florida, Policeman, who first saw Herb Scorer pitch and told Sy Slapnicka, the Cleveland Indians' chief scout, about him.
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  Sy Slapnicka says he was impressed the first time he set eyes on the sandy-haired left-hander, but he had to wait until June 7th, 1952,
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  to get him to sign on the dotted line for a bonus of $60,000. The baseball experts all predicted greatness for this brilliant young left-hander.
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  Twenty-two years have gone by since Bob Feller first appeared on the Cleveland scene to write the original strikeout story.
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  As a result of Herb Scorer, the tribe may have the young man who is destined to author a revised edition.
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  That is, if he can erase the vision of a line drive off the bat of Gil McDougal. Only time will tell.
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  Now, before you meet our special guest, Herb Scorer in person, in an interview from Municipal Stadium in Cleveland,
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  about his greatest sports thrill, here is a message of interest to all young men who want to go places faster.
• 7:39
  Former servicemen, careers is the name of a popular new game. In careers, just as in real life, opportunities and experience lead the way to success.
• 7:49
  Well, your career is no game, but you do have an opportunity to use your past experience to gain success.
• 7:56
  In today's age of space, the United States Air Force urgently needs men with certain technical skills.
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  If you qualify, you can gain priceless training and the guarantee of a promising future.
• 8:09
  Just think, your background may entitle you to advanced training in jet mechanics, missiles, radar, or electronics.
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  Then, too, you may receive surprisingly good starting rank, plus the chance for travel and adventure.
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  Don't play games with your career. See your local U.S. Air Force recruiter and see how valuable your service experience really is.
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  Join the Space Age Air Force today for a brighter tomorrow.
• 8:38
  And now back to Herb Wisner.
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  Herb Scorer, what was your greatest sports thrill?
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  Well, Herb, it would be very difficult to say what thrill, among the many I've had since I've been in baseball, would be the greatest.
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  You know, each time I put on a uniform, I think it's a thrill because there are only 400 major league ballplayers in the country,
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  out of all the many who would like to play in the big leagues.
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  And so, for me, it's just the thrill of being in the big leagues.
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  And each succeeding game adds another thrill in my life, so it would be very tough to say.
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  I think the greatest sports thrill is just being able to play baseball.
• 9:13
  Herb Scorer, what player, coach, or manager has been most influential in your development as a pitcher?
• 9:19
  Harry, in our career, we have many people that help us.
• 9:23
  You know, I think we tend to forget the fellows who help us along the way, but no ballplayer makes the major league without some help.
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  Now, for me, I've had very excellent coaching.
• 9:32
  Right now, we have probably the finest pitching coach in baseball, Mel Hodder.
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  Mel's been working with me now since I've been with the ball club, and each succeeding day or each succeeding week or year, I seem to learn something more from Mel.
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  I think his greatest attribute is his patience.
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  That's what makes a great coach, and Mel is certainly the finest.
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  He's improved my curveball, I think, about 900 percent.
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  Before that, in the minor leagues, I had very great coaching.
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  I had a fine-managed Kirby Farrell when I played at Reading and at Indianapolis.
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  But at Indianapolis in 1954, I came across a man named Ted Wilkes, who was a relief pitcher with the Cardinals for a few years,
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  and then with the Cleveland Ball Club at the end of his career.
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  He was coaching at Indianapolis, and I think he's the fellow that I am really strictly responsible of my being in the major leagues.
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  He coached me every day, and I can remember the first day he started to coach me.
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  I'd walk seven men in a row. I threw 40-something balls and four strikes.
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  And he came up to me after this game. It was an exhibition game at Daytona Beach.
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  He said, Herb, he said, you've been doing a lot of pitching on your own now, and you're still wild.
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  He said, how about let me help you?
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  And the only thing I'm going to ask you is that you give me a chance and never give me any buts or ifs and ands or what you want to do.
• 10:47
  You do what I say. And I said, OK, Ted, I'll try it.
• 10:50
  Well, that year I ended up 22-5, and I'm quite sure without Ted's help, I'd still be in the minor leagues.
• 10:57
  Herb, do you recall the first time you ever walked out to the mound in a big league baseball game?
• 11:02
  Oh, boy, do I remember the first game I ever pitched in a big league.
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  It was a rainy day in Detroit in 1955. I remember the first hitter I pitched to was Harvey Keene.
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  And I can remember talking before the ball game with the fellas, and they were saying, well, there's one thing you don't have to worry about.
• 11:18
  You never walk this fella because he swings at everything.
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  And I remember going to three and two on him. And I said to myself, well, they say I can't walk him.
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  And I didn't. He got a base hit right cleanly through a shortstop. I struggled long for the rest of the nine innings.
• 11:32
  I ended up walking nine men and striking out. And we won the ball game. And that was the start of my career in a big league.
• 11:39
  Is there any one pitch or ball game that you wish you could play over again if you had the chance?
• 11:44
  Well, it's hard to say if there would be one pitch or a ball game that I could play over again.
• 11:50
  I think there are many times that we throw the ball and the fella hit it and say, oh, if we can only throw that one again.
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  Of course, it's too late. Hindsight is wonderful, but foresight's a little bit better.
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  I remember I won 10 innings in Detroit in 1956. Let's see now. I had nothing, nothing ball game.
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  I'd given up two hits until the 10th inning. And the two out in the 10th inning, I threw the first pitch to a fella named Tuttle.
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  And bang, that was the end of the ball game. They beat me one to nothing.
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  I probably would like to throw that pitch over again. When you're out there, you throw the pitch you think is right.
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  And if it's wrong, why, then you suffer the consequences.
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  Herb, have you ever talked to a manager out of taking you out of a ball game and with what results?
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  Well, I've heard of people talking managers and I've read about it.
• 12:34
  I have never done this because all the managers I've had have never said anything when they come to take you out.
• 12:40
  They walk out there, they say, well, give me the ball. It's tried hard. And that's all.
• 12:45
  Some fellas, Al Lopez, I think this is the best way to be. He used to walk out there. He'd never say a word, put out his hand.
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  You'd give him the ball and you'd walk off the mound. He'd pat you on the back and say, better luck next time.
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  He never gave you a chance to talk him out of it because his mind was always made up, which is probably the best thing.
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  Herb, have you found that batter's weaknesses will change from one season to the next?
• 13:06
  That's true. A batter's weakness does change from one season to the next.
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  If you will remember, for a while, Mickey Mantle, if they got two strikes on him, why, you could throw balls away from them or fool them with curveballs.
• 13:18
  You might lunge and swing at them. Nowadays, you get two strikes on Mickey Mantle, he's just as good a hitter as he was when he didn't have any strikes on him.
• 13:26
  He's learned a lot in the season he's played. And of course, that's not too good for the pitchers because he's gotten better and better.
• 13:32
  But I think a lot of hitters are that way. You'll notice from season to season, one fella may move up in the box or back in the box or get further away from the plate or closer to the plate.
• 13:41
  They do it even during a ballgame. If they see a pitching them outside, for instance, they may move up on the plate. So hitters are out there thinking just as the pitchers are.
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  And every once in a while, you get to thinking why it's nothing but a big guessing game.
• 13:55
  Thank you very much, Herb Sporer, the Cleveland Indians, one of baseball's outstanding pitchers.
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  Music