Lew Burdette

Lew Burdette
Burdette in 1954.
Pitcher
Born: (1926-11-22)November 22, 1926 Nitro, West Virginia
Died: February 6, 2007(2007-02-06) (aged 80) Winter Garden, Florida
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 26, 1950, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
July 16, 1967, for the California Angels
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	203–144
Earned run average	3.66
Strikeouts	1,074
Teams
New York Yankees (1950) Boston / Milwaukee Braves (1951–1963) St. Louis Cardinals (1963–1964) Chicago Cubs (1964–1965) Philadelphia Phillies (1965) California Angels (1966–1967)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star (1957, 1959) World Series champion (1957) World Series MVP (1957) NL wins leader (1959) NL ERA leader (1956)

Selva Lewis Burdette, Jr. (November 22, 1926 – February 6, 2007) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves. The team's top right-hander during its years in Milwaukee, he was the Most Valuable Player of the 1957 World Series, leading the franchise to its first championship in 43 years, and the only title in Milwaukee history. An outstanding control pitcher, his career average of 1.84 walks per nine innings pitched places him behind only Robin Roberts (1.73), Carl Hubbell (1.82) and Juan Marichal (1.82) among pitchers with at least 3,000 innings since 1920.

Born in Nitro, West Virginia, Burdette was signed by the New York Yankees in 1947, and after making two relief appearances for the team in September 1950, he was traded to the Braves in August 1951 for four-time 20-game winner Johnny Sain. Along with left-hander Warren Spahn and Bob Buhl, he gave the Braves one of the best starting rotations in the majors during the 1950s, winning 15 or more games eight times between 1953 and 1961. Burdette led National League pitchers in earned run average in 1956. When Milwaukee won the 1957 World Series against the Yankees, Burdette became the first pitcher in 37 years to win three complete games in a series, and the first since Christy Mathewson in 1905 to pitch two shutouts (Games 5 and 7). In the 1958 Series, however, the Yankees defeated Burdette twice in three starts. In addition to winning 20 games in 1958 and tying Spahn for the National League lead with 21 victories in 1959, Burdette won 19 in 1956 and 1960, 18 in 1961, and 17 in 1957.