Lowell Palmer

Lowell Raymond Palmer (born August 18, 1947 in Sacramento, California ) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. The right-hander was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1st round (6th pick) of the 1966 amateur draft (Secondary Phase). He played for the Phillies (1969-1971), St. Louis Cardinals (1972), Cleveland Indians (1972), and San Diego Padres (1974). Palmer was called up to the Phillies after posting a 36-17 record in 3 1/2 minor league seasons, with 534 strikeouts in 516 innings pitched, and made his major league debut on June 21, 1969.

At the major league level, Palmer rarely achieved the success that he had enjoyed in the minors. He did have some excellent outings, but they were few and far between. One of his main problems was wildness, as he walked a total of 202 batters in just 316.2 innings pitched. His BB/9IP was 5.74, much higher than the major league average at that time. He also was fourth in the National League with 14 wild pitches in 1970, and eighth in the league with 10 wild pitches in 1974. He also hit 7 batters in 1974, ranking third in the league. As a power pitcher, however, he did strike out quite a few batters (239), giving him a K/9IP of 6.79, which was higher than the major league average. Palmer gave up a total of 527 baserunners in his 316.2 innings and never pitched for a winning team, leading to a career record of 5-18. His earned run average for those 106 games (25 starts) was 5.29.

Palmer was renowned for wearing dark sunglasses while pitching and his baseball cards are considered classics

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/palmelo01.shtml Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Ppalml101.htm Retrosheet]