Books and articles about Herb Score

With a catapulting delivery that left him in an awkward fielding position, Score simply overpowered American League hitters for the first two years of his career. In that short time, he joined Whitey Ford and Billy Pierce as the league's dominant lefthanded pitchers. One can only speculate about the kind of career he might have put together had his fortunes not been irreversibly altered on May 7, 1957.

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As AL champions in 1954, the Indians used a starting rotation comprised exclusively of righthanders, three of whom, Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, and Early Wynn, would become Hall of Famers. Because the three were also in their mid-thirties, Score's debut in 1955 was propitiously timed. He was the first and best of a young crop of Cleveland pitchers that included Gary Bell, Mudcat Grant, and Jim Perry, and he was expected to lead the new staff in replacing the old.

Score astonished. He won 16 games, fanned a league-leading, rookie-record 245 batters, and was named AL Rookie of the Year. His 1956 seaon was more than an encore. He upped his strikeouts to 263 while taming some of the wildness he had shown in his rookie season. He posted 20 wins, pitched a league-leading five shutouts, and held opposition batters to a minuscule .186 average. Teammate Hal Newhouser, who was at the end of a career that saw him lead the AL in victories four times and in ERA and strikeouts twice, said he would trade his past for Score's future in a minute.

On May 7, 1957 at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium, Gil McDougald hit a line drive that struck Score in the eye and ended his season. Questions were raised in the aftermath of the bloody scene as to whether Score would ever see properly again. He made a partial comeback in 1958, and pitched a full season in 1959. Perhaps it was the layoff or fear or loss of vision; whatever the reason, he was no longer unhittable, despite retaining a fine ratio of strikeouts to innings pitched.

As the Indians' young staff of the late 1950s came into its own, Score became expendable. He was traded to the White Sox for Barry Latman after the 1959 season. He pitched for Chicago in 1960 and for fragments of 1961 and 1962 before retiring. In 1988, Score celebrated his 25th anniversary as a play-by-play announcer for the Indians. (ME/CR)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » May 1, 1955: In a masterful performance, Bob Feller one-hits the Red Sox 2–0, with Sammy White's single in the 7th spoiling his bid for a no-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader. It is his ML-record 12th one-hitter. In the nightcap, Cleveland's Herb Score fans 16 Boston hitters in a 2–1 win, missing Feller's strikeout record by 2. Score fans nine of the first 12 batters and 12 through the first five frames. » May 18, 1955: Cleveland scores 11 runs in the 5th to whip the Red Sox 19–0, and give Herb Score an easy win over Willard Nixon. Vic Wertz's grand slam is the big blow in the inning. It is the worst shutout pasting ever by Boston and the most runs ever in a shutout for the Tribe. » May 29, 1955: Larry Doby of the Indians hits the first ML home run over the outer wall in Kansas City, an estimated 500-foot clout in the 6th. The Indians win 4–2 behind Herb Score, who is replaced in the 9th after singles by C Wilmer Shantz and pinch-hitter Enos Slaughter. Wilmer's brother Bobby Shantz is the loser. » September 14, 1955: Herb Score of the Indians breaks Grover Cleveland Alexander's rookie record of 235 strikeouts. He finishes the season with 245. » July 29, 1956: Herb Score and Hank Aguirre of the Indians sweep Baltimore 3-0 and 4­0. » March 18, 1957: In what is believed to be the largest offer for a player ever made, the Indians reject a million-dollar offer for lefty Herb Score from Red Sox GM Joe Cronin. Cleveland GM Hank Greenberg refuses, saying that the team is interested in building for the future, not in selling its best ballplayers. » May 7, 1957: Gil McDougald of the Yankees hits a wicked line-drive that strikes Cleveland's Herb Score in the right eye. Score, with a broken nose and lacerations, is carried off the field on a stretcher. Bob Lemon relieves and wins the game, 2–1. Score will return the following year but his pitching will not be the same. » April 15, 1958: OF Bill Tuttle of the Athletics records 2 assists in the 2nd inning, tying a ML record. The A's win 5-0 and beat Herb Score in his first appearance following his injury. Score lasts 3 inning. » July 3, 1959: After giving up a grand slam to the A's Bob Cerv, Herb Score settles down and strikes out 14 in Cleveland's 8–4 win. » April 18, 1960: Trader Frank Lane continues to swap sending Cleveland favorite Herb Score, a lefty, is sent to the White Sox for righty Barry Latman. Score and Rocky Colavito, traded three days ago, were the last two players to pre-date Lane's arrival in Cleveland. » July 24, 1960: Chicago's 3rd straight win at Yankee Stadium and 8th straight overall, 6–3 behind Billy Pierce, gives the Sox a 2-game lead atop the American League. Eli Grba beats Herb Score 8–2 in the 2nd game to give New York a twin-bill split. » August 24, 1960: Despite Roy Sievers two homers and a double, the Yankees beat the White Sox, 3–2, dropping Chicago one 1/2 games off the pace and into a 2nd place tie with the Orioles. Art Ditmar is the winner over Herb Score. » May 9, 1961: The Indians tie a major-league record with just 23 official at bats as Chicago's Herb Score pitches a 2-hit 4–2 win. » November 11, 1981: Fernando Valenzuela becomes the first rookie ever to win a Cy Young Award, edging the Reds Tom Seaver 70-67 for National League honors. He was the first rookie since Herb Score in 1955 to lead his league in strikeouts with 180. » September 12, 1984: Dwight Gooden strikes out 16 Pirates in a 2–0 victory to break Herb Score's ML rookie strikeout record of 245. Gooden now has 251. » August 20, 1985: Dwight Gooden fans 16 batters on the way to his 13th consecutive victory 5–0 over the Giants, raising his season strikeout total to 208. Gooden (19-3) joins Herb Score as the only pitchers this century to strike out 200 batters in each of their first two seasons.