Carl Erskine

Carl Erskine

Erskine circa 1953.
Pitcher
Born: (1926-12-13) December 13, 1926
Anderson, Indiana
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 25, 1948, for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
June 14, 1959, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
Win–loss record 122–78
Earned run average 4.00
Strikeouts 981
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Carl Daniel Erskine (born December 13, 1926) is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948 through 1959. He was a pitching mainstay on Dodger teams which won five National League pennants, peaking with a 1953 season in which he won 20 games and set a World Series record with 14 strikeouts in a single game. Erskine pitched two of the NL's seven no-hitters during the 1950s. Following his baseball career, he was active as a business executive and an author.

Career

Known as "Ersk", or more accurately "Oisk", owing to the Brooklynese diction of the borough, Erskine signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946, and after two minor league seasons he made the team in July 1948 as part of a powerful squad that included Roy Campanella, Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider. Along with Snider and Reese, he lived in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge, and was frequently to be found around the baseball diamonds on Shore Road, offering encouragement to youngsters.

1948–1956

He broke into the majors a year before Don Newcombe, and from 1948–50 was used primarily as a reliever, going 21-10. In 1951, he mixed 19 starts with 27 relief appearances, and went 16-12. For the following five seasons, he was right at the heart of Brooklyn's rotation, especially with his work in 1952-53, which was crucial for the NL pennant winners due to Newcombe serving in the army from 1952 until mid-1954. Erskine was 14-6 in 1952 with a career-best 2.70 earned run average, then had his 20-win season in 1953, leading the league with a .769 winning percentage along with 187 strikeouts and 16 complete games, all career highs. This was followed by 18-15 in 1954, posting career highs in starts (37) and innings (260-1/3), then by 11-8 in 1955 and 13-11 in 1956.

When Newcombe was pitching in the ninth inning of the third game of the playoff with the New York Giants on October 3, 1951, Erskine and Ralph Branca were warming up in the bullpen. On the recommendation of pitching coach Clude Sukeforth, who thought that Branca had better stuff, Newcombe was relieved by Branca, who then gave up the game-winning home run to Bobby Thomson. Whenever Erskine was asked what his best pitch was, he replied, "The curveball I bounced in the Polo Grounds bullpen in 1951."[1]

Erskine, author of two no-hitters, (against the Chicago Cubs on June 19, 1952 and the New York Giants on May 12, 1956), was a member of the beloved Dodgers team which won the 1955 World Series for the franchise's first Series title. He appeared in eleven World Series games (1949–52–53-55-56), and made the NL All-Star team in 1954. His 14 strikeouts as the winner of Game 3 of the 1953 Fall Classic – including striking out the side in the ninth inning – broke the Series record of 13 held by Howard Ehmke (1929, Game 1), and stood for 10 years until Sandy Koufax struck out 15 New York Yankees in the first game of the 1963 World Series; but he was ineffective in Games 1 and 6, although he was not charged with the losses. From 1951 through 1956, Erskine won 92 games while losing only 58, which helped the Dodgers to four pennants during the "Boys of Summer" era.

Despite his two no-hitters,

1957–1959

Then in 1957, like so many of his Dodgers teammates, Erskine began his final decline. He moved to Los Angeles with the team the following year, but lasted only a season and a half. The long decline of his career had actually been set in motion during his rookie year when he injured his shoulder in his first major league start, yet not only finished the game but started twice more in extreme pain. So serious was the injury, in which he pulled a muscle away from his shoulder bone, that he was unable to throw between starts; by 1957, at only 31, he was on his way out, and he made his final appearance on June 14, 1959. In a twelve-season career, he posted a 122-78 (.610) record with 981 strikeouts and a 4.00 ERA in 1718.2 innings pitched.

Retirement

Following his retirement as a player, Erskine returned to his native Indiana. He coached at Anderson College for 12 seasons, including four Hoosier Conference championships, and his 1965 squad went 20-5 and reached the NAIA World Series. He had 18 players named to All-Conference teams, and three named as All-American. In 1973, his final season, he coached John Bargfeldt, who later spent three seasons in the minors as a Chicago Cubs prospect.[2] He also became a leader in the community, participating in numerous organizations and businesses, including rising to the presidency of the Star Bank of Anderson, Indiana before easing back to the role of vice chairman of the board. He is devoted to his son Jimmy, who has Down syndrome[3] and lives at home and holds a job nearby at the Hopewell Center for people with developmental difficulties, and to his grandchildren Abby, Amy, Luke, and Dannae.

To commemorate Erskine's accomplishments both as a Dodger and as a citizen, a 6-foot (1.8 m) bronze statue was erected in front of the Carl D. Erskine Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Center. Erskine also donated part of his land to the Anderson Community School System to build a new school, which was named Erskine Elementary.

Erskine currently serves as a member of the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro League players through financial and medical difficulties.

Erskine is also a very active member of the First Baptist Church of Anderson, Indiana.

In 2002, Erskine Street in Brooklyn was created and named after him.[4][5]

Books

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bob, Hurte. "Carl Erskine". sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  2. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=bargfe001joh
  3. ↑ Tackett, Michael (May 28, 2016). "Carl Erskine Helps Honor a Childhood Friend". New York Times. p. SP5. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  4. ↑ Benardo, Leonard; Weiss, Jennifer (2006). Brooklyn by Name. New York and London: New York University Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-8147-9945-1. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2008-08-17.

External links


Preceded by
Virgil Trucks
Sam Jones		 No-hitter pitcher
June 19, 1952
May 12, 1956 		Succeeded by
Virgil Trucks
Mel Parnell
Preceded by
Don Newcombe
Preacher Roe		 Brooklyn Dodgers Opening Day
Starting pitcher
1951
1953–1955 		Succeeded by
Preacher Roe
Don Newcombe
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