"In 1968 Lindy McDaniel had the Giants convinced he was through. His ERA was 7.58 when the Yankees traded for him in July of that year. But Lindy reached back for that something extra, as he has in other low periods of his 16-year career, and compiled a 4-1 record with a masterful 1.76 ERA for New York.
He had an off year in 1969, but the gray-haired preacher (he edits a religious newsletter and preaches in Texas during the off-season) was the Yankees' stalwart in the bullpen last year. The 35-year-old right-hander was the second-best reliever in the league with a 9-5 record, 29 saves and a 2.01 ERA.
Lindy has won the Fireman of the Year award twice in his career - in 1960 with the Cardinals and in 1963 with the Cubs."
-Brenda Zanger and Dick Kaplan, Major League Baseball 1971
"One of the two or three best relief pitchers in the league last season, Lindy's best pitch is a tantalizing fastball. He has made more appearances than all active pitchers save Hoyt Wilhelm. Born in Hollis, Oklahoma, December 13, 1935, he is one of the oldest major leaguers in point of service, starting his 17th season. Lindy played only six games in the minors after signing for a reported $50,000 bonus with the Cardinals.
A lay preacher in the Church of Christ, he has driven a 100-mile round trip to find a congregation on Sunday when the Yanks are on the road.
'I don't think I'd ever take a job where I couldn't worship on the first day of the week,' he says.
Lindy has an unusual stiff-legged overhand motion, and always trots back and forth from the mound to the dugout between innings. He was named by his father after 'Lucky Lindy,' Col. Charles A. Lindbergh. His younger brother Von was a brief sensation with the Cards.
Lindy is married, with three children."
-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1971 Edition
"Fantastic, amazing, incredible, superb. Any or all of those words would describe the kind of job McDaniel turned in last year. He had 29 saves - to tie Luis Arroyo's 1961 record for most saves by a Yankee. He was runner-up to the Twins' Ron Perranoski for the Fireman of the Year Award. For a relief man he had a remarkable strikeout ratio. In 112 innings he fanned 81 and walked 23. He won 9, lost 5 and had a 2.01 ERA.
Lindy's great year didn't come easy. In the previous season he seemed to be slipping. But he went to work on a physical conditioning program and in 1970 the young old pro of 35 was again throwing white hot stuff. The winner of the Fireman of the Year Award in 1960 and 1963 has been a relief specialist for 12 years, a major leaguer for 15.
McDaniel is an ordained preacher in the Church of Christ and preaches regularly in the off-season. Early this year he received the Ken Hubbs Memorial Award from the Chicago Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association for best exemplifying the spirit of the late Chicago Cubs second baseman who was an outstanding Christian athlete. Preacher McDaniel has the sincere respect of every man on the club.
He lives in Baytown, Texas with his wife and three children."
-The New York Yankees Official 1971 Yearbook
"McDaniel has developed into one of the all-time top relief pitchers the game has produced. He is third in total relief victories with 94 (Hoyt Wilhelm leads with 123, Elroy Face has 96) and is third in lifetime saves with 156 (Wilhelm 216, Face 194). Lindy has won the Fireman of the Year award twice, in 1960 and 1963, and just missed beating Ron Perranoski for that honor last year.
His 29 saves last year tied a Yankee record for most in one season- Luis Arroyo had 29 in 1961- and he led the Yankees in games (62), saves and ERA (2.01). Lindy amassed the highest total of combined wins and saves of any right-handed Yankee relief pitcher- nine wins and 29 saves for 38 points; Arroyo, a left-hander, had 44 points in 1961 with 15 wins and 29 saves, and Joe Page, another left-hander, had 40 points in 1949 with 13 wins and 27 saves.
McDaniel allowed an earned run in only 15 of his 62 appearances in 1970, including a string of 12 straight games without allowing a run (July 11-August 9). He tied an American League record in 1968 when he hurled 10 and two-thirds hitless innings and retired 32 straight batters over four games (August 18-25).
Lindy went to the University of Oklahoma on a basketball scholarship and later attended college at Abilene Christian and Florida. A veteran of 16 years in the major leagues, he received a reported $50,000 bonus to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1955. Except for a brief period in 1958, Lindy has spent his entire baseball career in the major leagues. He began his career as a starting pitcher; however, since returning from the minors in 1958 he has been mainly a relief specialist. The last game he started he was in 1967 with the Giants.
McDaniel is a lay preacher during the off-season. He was nicknamed 'Lindy' by his father after Charles Lindbergh, the famous flyer. He has two brothers who played in the Cardinal organization- Von and Kerry."
-1971 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
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