Joel Horlen | |||
---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | |||
Born: San Antonio, Texas |
August 14, 1937 |||
|
|||
MLB debut | |||
September 4, 1961, for the Chicago White Sox | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
October 4, 1972, for the Oakland Athletics | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Win–loss record | 116–117 | ||
Earned run average | 3.11 | ||
Strikeouts | 1,065 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
|
Joel Edward Horlen (born August 14, 1937) is a right-handed former Major League Baseball pitcher. Horlen pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1961 to 1971, and the Oakland Athletics in 1972. In references, he is called Joe Horlen or Joel Horlen with roughly equal frequency.
In his career, Horlen won 116 games against 117 losses, with a 3.11 earned run average and 1,065 strikeouts in 2,002 innings pitched.
He is the only baseball player to play for teams that won a Pony League World Series (1952), a College World Series (Oklahoma State-1959), and a Major League World Series (Oakland-1972).
Horlen was a star pitcher at Oklahoma State University. He was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-America second team, as he helped lead Oklahoma State to the College World Series in 1959.
Horlen was signed by the Chicago White Sox in 1959.
He made his Major League debut against the Minnesota Twins in the second game of a September 4, 1961 doubleheader. He won the game in relief while wearing a numberless uniform —- as the only available road uniform did not have a number.
Horlen pitched as a spot starter in his first two full seasons with the White Sox.
In 1964 he earned a spot in the starting rotation, posting a 13–9 record and setting career bests in earned run average (1.88; 2nd in the American League only to Dean Chance's 1.65) and strikeouts (138). He also led the majors by allowing only 6.07 hits per 9 innings, bettering Sandy Koufax's National League-leading 6.22. In the next 42 years, only 8 right-handed pitchers bettered that ratio in a season. He also led the AL in Walks + Hits per IP (WHIP) (.935).