Jack Baldschun
| Jack Baldschun | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | |||
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Born: October 16, 1936 Greenville, Ohio |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 28, 1961, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| August 21, 1970, for the San Diego Padres | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 48–41 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.69 | ||
| Strikeouts | 555 | ||
| Saves | 60 | ||
| Teams | |||
Jack Edward Baldschun (born October 16, 1936) is a former relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres.
Baldschun was a graduate of Greenville High School (Ohio). He was originally signed by the Washington Senators out of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1956. In 1957 while playing minor league ball for the Wausau, Wisconsin Lumberjacks, he met his future wife, Charlotte Kolbe. They were married April 10, 1958 and had two children, Kim and Brad.
The right-handed pitcher was selected by the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft on November 28, 1960. After learning how to throw the screwball, Baldschun made it to the majors as a 24-year-old rookie in 1961.
Baldschun made his major league debut on April 28, 1961 in relief of Chris Short in a 10-9 Phillies road loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Baldschun pitched one inning, allowing no runs, one hit and one walk. That season. the Phillies endured their fourth straight last-place finish with a major league-worst 47–107 mark and a 23-game losing streak in August that still stands as a record. Baldschun led all National League pitchers with 65 appearances and was the only Phillies pitcher with a winning record (5–3).
Baldschun established himself as the closer by leading the team in saves in each of the next three years (13 in 1962, 16 in 1963, 21 in 1964). During the Phillies' "September swoon" of 1964, Baldschun was used in relief but not as a closer because manager Gene Mauch believed he was not going after hitters aggressively enough and was going too deep in the counts. Baldschun continued to fall out of favor with Mauch in 1965, registering only six saves due to a failure to hold leads. His five-season record in Philadelphia was 39–34 with 59 saves.
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