Ray Caldwell

Ray Caldwell
Caldwell with the New York Yankees in 1918
Pitcher
Born: (1888-04-26)April 26, 1888
Corydon, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died: August 17, 1967(1967-08-17) (aged 79)
Salamanca, New York, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 9, 1910, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1921, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
Win–loss record134–120
Earned run average3.22
Strikeouts1,006
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Raymond Benjamin Caldwell (April 26, 1888 – August 17, 1967) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians from 1910 to 1921. He was known for throwing the spitball, and he was one of the 17 pitchers allowed to continue throwing the pitch after it was outlawed in 1920.[1]

Caldwell was notorious during his playing career for his addiction to alcohol and partying; he possessed a self-destructive streak that many of his contemporaries believed stopped him from reaching his potential.[2] In 1924, Miller Huggins wrote: "Caldwell was one of the best pitchers that ever lived, but he was one of those characters that keep a manager in a constant worry. If he had possessed a sense of responsibility and balance, Ray Caldwell would have gone down in history as one of the greatest of all pitchers."[3]

  1. ^ Ray Caldwell - Baseballbiography.com
  2. ^ Brady, Erik (April 20, 2022). "Remembering Salamanca's own 'Remarkable Ray Caldwell,' who brought the heat and survived the lightning". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  3. ^ Miller Huggins. San Francisco Chronicle, March 14, 1924.