By Nathan Hale
A young slugger could hardly ask for a greater compliment than the one
bestowed on Rocky Colavito by Gordon Cobbledick of the Cleveland
Plain-Dealer, who dubbed the Indians’ powerful young rightfielder "the new
Babe Ruth." But the veteran scribe wasn't just referring to Colavito's powerful
swing -- he was pointing out his hidden talents on the mound.
Colavito's first appearance on a major-league
mound wasn't mop-up duty. It came in a tight
game against Detroit on Aug. 13, 1958, when the
Tigers put runners on second and third against
knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm. Manager Joe
Gordon decided it was time for a new hurler -- but
instead of turning to the bullpen, he looked
towards right field. Colavito jogged in.
The 24-year old outfielder was enjoying a
breakout season -- he went on to lead the team
with a .303 batting average, 113 RBI and 41
home runs, second only to Mickey Mantle in the
American League. But the most impressive part
of his game was his cannon arm. Herb Score, who came up through the
Indians’ farm system with Colavito, spoke of players placing bets on whether
the outfielder could clear the center field wall with a throw from home plate. He
would routinely make the 400-foot throws.
Indeed, the Bronx native had originally been signed as much for his pitching
ability as anything else. In his only mound appearance to date, had struck out
five Cincinnati batters in two innings of an exhibition game. "As a pitcher,
Rocky could have been a 20-game winner," Gordon said on numerous
occasions.
On Aug. 13, Colavito gained several believers -- especially among the Detroit
hitters. He dominated the Tigers with his 90-mph fastball, tossing three
innings of no-hit relief, walking three and striking out one. Despite Colavito’s
impressive outing, the Indians lost the game 3-2.
Colavito was too valuable as a home run hitter for the Indians’ front office to
risk his getting hurt on the mound. Although Gordon would also use outfielder
Gary Geiger for an inning in ’58, Colavito never pitched for the Tribe again.
Yet "The Rock" would not leave baseball without an encore performance. A
decade later -- long after the notorious deal that sent him from Cleveland to
Detroit for Harvey Kuenn -- Colavito found himself in Yankee pinstripes
following a midseason trade from Los Angeles. He contributed five
round-trippers but hit just .220 for the fifth-place Yankees.
But this was 1968 -- the "Year of the Pitcher" -- and on the mound, Colavito
put forth a more worthy performance. When he convinced manager Ralph
Houk to send him to the hill, he returned with a victory after 2 2/3 shutout
innings.
Fans in Cleveland adored him, teammates called him an angel and one of the
friendliest guys you’d ever meet, but try prying the same response from the
batters who had the unfortunate opportunity to dig in against the fastball of
Rocky Colavito.
BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
