"It wasn't exactly the best of times for Ed Whitson in his first season with the Yankees. Coming to the Big Apple became an ugly situation for last year's free agent from San Diego after he got off to a slow 1-6 start.
That is all in the past. Relying on a live fastball and a tough palm ball, Whitson bounced back from the rough start and was able to turn his season around. "I wanted to prove to George Steinbrenner, the Yankees, the fans and everybody else that getting me was a good deal,' Whitson says.
The proof came in an excellent outing in a big game against Toronto, followed by eight wins in his next nine decisions. From July 29 to September 5, the Yankees won eight consecutive games that 'Whit' started.
'He came back to be one of our big starters,' says pitching coach Jeff Torborg. With a year of experience playing in New York behind him, Ed Whitson hopes to keep up the momentum from last year and continue with his winning form."
-The New York Yankees Official 1986 Yearbook
"Ed's first year in pinstripes was plagued by inconsistency. He opened the season losing his first three decisions, then recorded his first win on May 1 at Texas. Ed lost his next three decisions (six starts) before turning the corner. Through June 6 he was 1-6 with a 6.23 ERA in 11 starts; in 47.2 innings pitched he allowed 76 hits with 15 walks and nine homers and struck out 21.
He pitched exceptionally well in his next six starts, beginning with a June 11 outing against Toronto in which he threw 9.1 innings while allowing one run on six hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. Whitson notched his fifth career shutout in his next start on June 19 at Baltimore and continued to roll by winning three of his next four starts, culminating with a 6-0 shutout of Texas on July 12. Over his six starts from June 11 through July 12, he was 4-0 with a 1.14 ERA; in 47.1 innings pitched he allowed 31 hits with seven walks and one homer and struck out 21. Whitson made 13 starts after the All-Star Game, going 5-2 with a 6.64 ERA; in 63.2 innings pitched he allowed 94 hits with 19 walks and nine homers and struck out 44.
Ed struck out a season high of seven three times: June 11 against Toronto, September 5 against Oakland and September 10 at Milwaukee. The Yanks went 19-11 in games he started, 10-3 after the break. His 9.1 inning performance against Toronto on June 11 was the longest by a [Yankee] starter. He was 6-6 with a 5.48 ERA on the road, 4-2 with a 4.08 ERA at Yankee Stadium, 2-4 with a 5.74 ERA during the day and 8-4 with a 4.44 ERA at night. Whitson had a .309 batting average against, the highest on the club, allowing better than 1.2 hits per inning.
Whitson set several new personal highs [with the San Diego Padres] in 1984 with 14 wins and 103 strikeouts. He pitched in two postseason games, [starting] against the Cubs for a win in the NLCS and against the Tigers in the World Series with a no-decision. He developed his palm ball pitch, necessitated by a cut finger on his pitching hand during the 1983 season. Ed suffered an injury plagued 1983 season: he had a muscle pull late in spring training and then in late April injured his left knee, requiring arthroscopic surgery. He struggled, then won his final three decisions of '83, giving indications of a strong '84.
He originally made it to the big leagues with the Pirates in 1977, defeating Montreal in his first big league start on September 17. Ed had his best season in 1980 for the Giants, winning 11 with a 3.10 ERA and being named to the National League All-Star team, and in 1981 was the NL's Pitcher of the Month for August. In 1982, he was used mainly in relief by the Indians in his only [other] American League season.
Whitson graduated from Unicoi County High School (Erwin, Tennessee) in 1974 where he played baseball, basketball and football. He was second team All-State in baseball and all-conference in baseball and basketball. One of nine children, he also played Little League and Babe Ruth ball as a youngster.
Ed enjoys hunting, fishing and Willie Nelson music."
-1986 New York Yankees Information Guide
No comments:
Post a Comment