Sam McDowell, six-time All-Star and B.A.T. advocate, passes away
Sam McDowell, the man known as “Sudden Sam” for his blazing fastball over a 15-year career, died Tuesday at the age of 84, the club announced.
McDowell was a six-time All-Star for Cleveland and finished third in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 1970, the year in which he led the AL with 305 innings pitched and the Majors with 304 strikeouts and was named The Sporting News’ AL Pitcher of the Year. The lefty is one of just two pitchers in Cleveland history to have eclipsed 2,000 strikeouts with the club; the other being legendary Hall of Famer Bob Feller, who struck out 422 more batters than McDowell in 234 more appearances.
“The Cleveland Guardians family is deeply saddened by the loss of one of the great pitchers in baseball history, Sam McDowell. Sam spent 11 of his fifteen seasons in a Cleveland uniform as one of the game’s most feared hurlers. A strikeout king. He was a cherished member of our Alumni Ambassador program and loved sharing stories with our fans when he visited Progressive Field. Most importantly, Sam’s life was a story of redemption. After extensive education and training, Sam was a counselor for athletes suffering from addiction and depression. We send our condolences to the entire McDowell family, as well as his many teammates and other organizations impacted by his career,” said Bob DiBiasio, Guardians SVP/Public Affairs, in a statement.
McDowell led the Major Leagues in walks five times in his 11 seasons with the Indians, but he also had the AL's best strikeouts-per-nine innings ratio six times (five teams leading MLB) and led the league in whiffs five times from 1965-70. He recorded the lowest ratio of home runs allowed per nine innings in the AL twice and had the best FIP in the league in three seasons.
Samuel Edward McDowell was born on Sept. 21, 1942, in Pittsburgh, growing up with four brothers and one sister. Their father, Thomas, worked at U.S. Steel, according to McDowell's SABR biography. Sam lettered in baseball, football, basketball and track at Pittsburgh's Central Catholic High School, just two blocks from Forbes Field, where he would pitch batting practice to the Pirates. After going 8-0 without allowing an earned run and striking out 152 batters in 63 innings his senior year, McDowell signed with the Indians, whose $75,000 bonus topped 14 other teams.
McDowell made his professional debut at 17 with Lakeland in the Class D Florida State League in 1960. He jumped to Triple-A Salt Lake City in ’61 and made his MLB debut on Sept. 15, 1961, against the Twins at 18 years old. He pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings in that first start, his only appearance that season. It took until ’64 for him to become a permanent fixture in the Indians’ rotation due to his struggles with command. But once he settled in, he flourished.
In ’64, the left-hander went 11-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 31 games (24 starts), striking out 177 batters in 173 1/3 innings. He was an All-Star the following year, during which he posted a 2.18 ERA in 42 games (35 starts) with an AL-leading 325 strikeouts in 273 innings. McDowell went on to lead the AL in strikeouts again in ’66 (225) and recorded the most in the Majors for three straight seasons in ’68 (283), ’69 (279) and ’70 (304).
At age 28, McDowell played his final season with the Tribe in ’71, after which he was traded to the Giants for future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry and shortstop Frank Duffy. McDowell spent a season and a half with San Francisco, then went to the Yankees, staying with them until the end of ’74. The next season ended up being his last after he made 14 appearances (one start) for his hometown Pirates at 32 years old. He struggled through his final four seasons, going 19-25 with a 4.16 ERA.
The high number of innings McDowell pitched might have contributed to his decline, but he also battled issues with alcoholism in his final few seasons. That challenge, however, began a new chapter in the former pitcher’s life. He conquered his addiction, went back to school and became a certified counselor. It was a storyline so intriguing that it’s believed that Sam Malone, the main character in the classic TV show “Cheers” played by Ted Danson, was inspired by McDowell.
McDowell's degree landed him a new position as a counselor in Major League Baseball. He was employed by teams like the Rangers and Blue Jays, but he helped players all across the league and in other sports.
In 1986, MLB created the Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.). The group was founded to confidentially help those in baseball who were in need of assistance with nowhere else to turn. McDowell joined the organization as a consultant in '87.
“My life was changed for the better with the very first call for help I received from Joe Garagiola of B.A.T.,” McDowell said after he announced his retirement from the group in 2016. “After my own recovery from alcoholism/drug addiction, I was determined to find out why, what, where and how I became an alcoholic. ... Once the training was completed, I realized there was far more education needed and I was paranoid, never wanting to hurt another person because of my ignorance. Therefore, my education continued forward.”