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Jim Lonborg

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Jim Lonborg
Lonborg in 1969
Pitcher
Born: (1942-04-16) April 16, 1942 (age 82)
Santa Maria, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 23, 1965, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
June 10, 1979, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Win–loss record157–137
Earned run average3.86
Strikeouts1,475
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

James Reynold Lonborg (born April 16, 1942) is an American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies. Though nicknamed "Gentleman Jim", he was known for fearlessly pitching on the inside of the plate throughout his fifteen-year career.

Early life

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Lonborg was born on April 16, 1942 in Santa Maria, California.[1][2] His father was a professor of agriculture.[3] Lonborg attended San Luis Obispo High School in San Luis Obispo, California,[2] where he excelled in both baseball and basketball.[4][1] One of his teammates was future major league pitcher Mel Queen, who would also become his brother-in-law.[1]

He attended Stanford University as a pre-med student on an academic scholarship,[5][3] graduating in 1963.[6] He pitched on the school's baseball team as a walk-on,[3] and was its MVP as a junior.[1] He was a walk-on player on the basketball team as well, but did not see a future as there was a star player ahead of him.[4][3] He has been inducted into Stanford's Athletics Hall of Fame as a baseball player.[7]

During his college years, the Baltimore Orioles had an interest in Lonborg, and he played as an amateur on teams sponsored by the Orioles during his college career.[1] In 1963, he played in the Basin League for the Oriole-sponsored Winner Pheasants, along with future Oriole hall of fame pitcher Jim Palmer, and future Oriole player and .300 hitter Merv Rettenmund.[8][1][9]

On August 14, 1963, he signed as an amateur free agent with the Boston Red Sox.[10] The Red Sox had offered him a much higher signing bonus than the Orioles.[1]

Professional baseball career

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Longborg spent only one year in the Red Sox minor league system (1964) before being called up to the team in 1965.[11] In his rookie year for Boston, Lonborg had a 9–17 win loss record and 4.47 earned run average (ERA). In 1966, he improved his record to 10–10, and his ERA to 3.86.[2]

In the 1967 Red Sox' "Impossible Dream" season,[5] Lonborg tied for the American League (AL) lead for pitchers in wins (22) and games started (39), and led the AL in strikeouts (246).[12] He also led the league in hitting batters (19),[12] after his pitching style changed under the tutelage of pitching coach Sal "The Barber" Maglie.[1][13]

That year, the Red Sox were involved in a four-way race for the AL pennant with the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago White Sox; the race was reduced to three teams after the White Sox lost a doubleheader to the Kansas City Athletics, on September 27. The Red Sox and Twins faced each other in the season's final series and entered the final day (October 1) tied for first place; the Tigers were half a game out of first and needed to sweep a doubleheader from the California Angels to force a playoff between the winner of the Red Sox–Twins game. Lonborg outdueled Twins ace Dean Chance in that finale, while the Tigers defeated the Angels in the first game but lost the second, putting the Red Sox in the World Series for the first time since 1946.[1][14]

In that World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Lonborg pitched a one-hit shutout in Game 2 on October 5,[15] only the fourth one-hitter in Series history. He followed that up with another victory in Game 5 four days later by limiting the Cards to three hits, and pitching a complete game again.[16] Longborg's boyhood idol Sandy Koufax was calling the World Series as a television broadcaster, and gave Longborg game preparation advice on visualizing himself pitching that aided Longborg's success in his two victories.[1]

Called upon to pitch the seventh and deciding game with only two days rest, he lasted six innings, but allowed six earned runs in a 7–2 loss.[17] Teammate Dan Osinski remembered, "Lonborg couldn't break a pane of glass in the bullpen when he was warming up. We all knew that, and [Dick Williams] still started him. You know he could have pitched the bullpen an inning apiece, or something. It just gave Gibson too big a lead against us that we couldn't come back from."[18] Shortly after being fired by the Red Sox, pitching coach Sal Maglie also criticized Williams's handling of Lonborg. "It was obvious Lonborg didn't have it. Williams should have gotten him out sooner, and I told him so. It was a crime that he let a man who'd done such a great job for him all season take a pounding like that. It was degrading."[19]

Lonborg received the 1967 Cy Young Award, with 90% of the votes,[20] (becoming the first Red Sox pitcher so honored[21]). He was selected to the 1967 AL All-Star team, though he did not play in the All-Star Game,[22] and finished prominently in voting for the MLB Most Valuable Player (MVP) award (placing 6th in the voting, with teammate Yastrzemski winning the award).[2][20]

Lonborg in 1971

In December of 1967, Lonborg tore the ligaments in his left knee while skiing, and his pitching career thereafter was marked by many injuries.[23][24] In trying to compensate for his knee injury, he developed right should problems that lasted the remainder of his career.[1] After pitching 273.1 innings in 1967, he never threw more than 167.2 innings in a season over the next four years with the Red Sox, and won only 27 games from 1968 through 1971.[2] In both 1970 and 1971, he spent time with the Triple-A Louisville Colonels while trying to recover from his injuries and to regain his pitching form, and he finished the 1971 season with the Red Sox going 10–7, his best record since 1967.[1][24][25] It would not be until 1976, years after leaving Boston, that Lonborg's right shoulder would be pain free.[24]

Lonborg was traded along with George Scott, Ken Brett, Billy Conigliaro, Joe Lahoud and Don Pavletich to the Milwaukee Brewers in a ten-player trade that also sent Tommy Harper, Marty Pattin, Lew Krausse and minor-league outfielder Pat Skrable to the Red Sox on October 10, 1971.[26] In 1972, he had his second best season to date, with at 14–12 record, 2.83 ERA, and 143 strikeouts in 223 innings for the Brewers.[2] His success was in part attributable to pitching coach Wes Stock, who changed Lonborg from a power pitcher into one who relied on control and change of speed.[24]

With the Philadelphia Phillies needing to improve its pitching staff beyond Steve Carlton, a future hall of fame pitcher and 329 game winner,[27] both Lonborg and Brett were acquired along with Ken Sanders and Earl Stephenson from the Brewers for Don Money, John Vukovich and Bill Champion on October 31, 1972.[28] Like Stock, Phillies pitching coach Ray Rippelmeyer suggested adjustments that improved Lonborg's pitching significantly.[24] Lonborg spent the next six and a half seasons with Philadelphia before his release, midway through the 1979 season.[10] In 1974, he was 17–13 with a 3.21 ERA, leading the Phillies starting pitchers (including Carlton) in wins and ERA; and in 1976 Lonborg was 18–10 with a 3.08 ERA, second among starting pitchers in wins (Carlton had 20), and first in ERA.[2][10][29][30] The Phillies reached the NL championship series in 1976 and 1977, losing both times. Lonborg pitched one game in each series, losing each.[31][2] The Phillies lost the NL championship again in 1978, but Lonborg did not appear in the playoffs.[32][2]

Lonborg's MLB career statistical totals include a 157–137 record with 1,475 strikeouts, a 3.86 ERA, 90 complete games, 15 shutouts, and 2464+1⁄3 innings pitched in 425 games.[2] Lonborg was selected to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002.[33]

Longborg's nickname was "Gentleman Jim".[24]

Post-baseball career

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After retiring, Lonborg attended the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and graduated in 1983 and began practicing.[3] He worked as a general dentist in Hanover, Massachusetts, until he retired in 2017.[1] He is active in many nonprofit organizations, including Catholic Charities, Little League Baseball, and The Jimmy Fund,[1] as well as the Susan G. Komen foundation and those seeking to treat cystic fibrosis.[3] Lonborg lives in Scituate, Massachusetts.[3]

On the Boston-based sitcom Cheers, the photo of Sam Malone pitching is actually that of Lonborg. At times, Sam also wore Lonborg's number 16 Red Sox jersey.[34]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wisnia, Saul. "Jim Lonborg, Society for American Baseball Research". SABR.org.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Jim Lonborg Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g MacKay, Leigh (July 31, 2018). "The MacKay Files: "Gentleman Jim" Lonborg". New England dot Golf. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Cameron, Greg (July 21, 2012). "Former Red Sox ace Jim Lonborg discusses magical summer of 1967". masslive. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Crehan, Herb (September 30, 2024). "The Impossible Dream 1967 Red Sox: Jim Lonborg". Boston Baseball History. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  6. ^ "Stanford Hall of Fame - Baseball". Stanford Cardinal - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  7. ^ "Hall of Fame". Stanford Cardinal - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  8. ^ "Basin League History". September 17, 2010.
  9. ^ "Palmer, Jim | Baseball Hall of Fame". baseballhall.org. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c "Jim Lonborg Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  11. ^ "Jim Lonborg Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "1967 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  13. ^ "Sal "The Barber" Maglie: A Baseball Legend – Baseball: Past and Present". baseballpastandpresent.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  14. ^ Andres, Andy. "The 1967 AL Pennant Race: The 30,315,229 to 1 Possibility, 1967 Boston Red Sox Essays, Society for American Baseball Research". SABR.org.
  15. ^ "1967 World Series Game 2 Box Score". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  16. ^ "1967 World Series Game 5, Boston Red Sox vs St. Louis Cardinals: October 9, 1967". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  17. ^ "1967 World Series Game 7, St. Louis Cardinals vs Boston Red Sox: October 12, 1967". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  18. ^ Anderson, Ron. "Dan Osinski". SABR. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  19. ^ "Maglie Raps Williams On Judgement, Courage". The Reading Eagle. November 2, 1967. p. 22. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  20. ^ a b "1967 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  21. ^ "Cy Young Award Winners | History". MLB.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  22. ^ "1967 All-Star Game Box Score, July 11". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  23. ^ "Jim Lonborg hurt skiing, Gettysburg Times". news.google.com. December 26, 1967. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  24. ^ a b c d e f Hurford, Daphne (May 31, 1976). "A gentler style for a gentleman". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  25. ^ "Jim Lonborg Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  26. ^ "RED SOX, BREWERS IN 10‐PLAYER DEAL (Published 1971)". New York Times. October 11, 1971. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  27. ^ "Carlton, Steve | Baseball Hall of Fame". baseballhall.org. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  28. ^ "Phillies Obtain Jim Lonborg In 7‐Man Deal With Brewers," United Press International (UPI), Tuesday, October 31, 1972. Retrieved April 13, 2020
  29. ^ "1974 Philadelphia Phillies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  30. ^ "1976 Philadelphia Phillies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  31. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  32. ^ "1978 Philadelphia Phillies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  33. ^ "Red Sox Hall of Fame | Boston Red Sox". MLB.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  34. ^ MacKay, Leigh (July 31, 2018). "The MacKay Files: "Gentleman Jim" Lonborg". New England dot Golf. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
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