Herb Score

Infobox MLB retired
name=Herb Score
position=Pitcher


bats=Left
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1933|6|7
city-state|Rosedale|New York
deathdate=
debutdate=April 15
debutyear=by|1955
debutteam=Cleveland Indians
finaldate=May 4
finalyear=by|1962
finalteam=Chicago White Sox
stat1label=Win-Loss record
stat1value=55-46
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=3.36
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=837
teams=
* Cleveland Indians (by|1955-by|1959)
* Chicago White Sox (by|1960-by|1962)
highlights=
* 2x All-Star selection (1955, 1956)
* 1955 AL Rookie of the Year

Herbert Jude Score (born June 7, 1933 in Rosedale, New York) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and announcer.

1955-1956

Score came up as a rookie in by|1955 with the Cleveland Indians. He quickly became one of the top power pitchers in the American League, no small feat on a team that still included Bob Feller, Bob Lemon and other top pitchers, going 16-10 with a 2.85 ERA in his first year. A left-hander, Score struck out 245 batters in his rookie year, a rookie record that stood until by|1984, when it was topped by Dwight Gooden (Score, Gooden, Don Sutton, Gary Nolan, Kerry Wood, and Hideo Nomo were actually the only six rookie pitchers to top 200 strikeouts in the 20th century). Score actually topped himself in by|1956, going 20-9 with a 2.53 ERA and 263 strikeouts, while reducing the number of walks from 154 to 129. He also allowed 5.85 hits/9 innings, which would stand as a franchise record low until it was broken by Luis Tiant's 5.30 in by|1968.

1957-1958

On May 7, by|1957, against the New York Yankees, Score was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of Gil McDougald, breaking numerous bones in his face and leaving him quite bloodied. McDougald reportedly vowed to retire if Score was blinded as a result, but Score actually eventually recovered his 20/20 vision, though he missed the rest of the season. Score returned late in the by|1958 season, but fearful of being hit by another batted ball, his pitching motion was altered, and he was never quite the same pitcher.

Later career

His velocity dropped and he became prone to injury as a result of the changed motion. Score pitched the full by|1959 season, going 9-11 with a 4.71 ERA and 147 strikeouts. Score was traded to the Chicago White Sox after the season, and pitched parts of the subsequent three seasons before retiring. Score finished with a career record of 55-46 and a 3.36 ERA and 837 strikeouts over 8 seasons, in 858 1/3 innings pitched.

Broadcasting career

After retiring, Score served as an announcer on the Indians television broadcast from by|1964-by|1967, and joined the radio broadcast, serving from by|1968-by|1997. Score was revered by fans for his announcing style, including a low voice and a low-key style, as well as a habit of occasionally mispronouncing the names of players on opposing teams.

Score's final Major League Baseball game as play-by-play announcer was Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. He outlasted all other Indians play-by-play announcers to date.

Traffic Accident

On October 8, 1998, while driving to Florida after being inducted into the [http://www.broadcastershalloffame.com/ Broadcasters Hall of Fame] the night before, Score was severely injured in a traffic accident. [Scholz, Karin. 1998. Herb score hospitalized after truck slams auto. Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), October 9, 1998.] Score pulled into the path of a westbound tractor-trailer truck in New Philadelphia, Ohio; and his car was struck in the passenger side. [Score has condition upgraded, stays in intensive care. 1998. Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), October 10, 1998.] He suffered trauma to his brain, chest and lungs. The orbital bone around one of his eyes was broken as were three ribs and his sternum. He spent over a month in the intensive care unit, and was released from MetroHealth Hospital in mid-December. [Hoynes, Paul. 1998. Score moved out of intensive care. Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), November 13, 1998.] [1998. Score out of hospital, still doesn't recall crash. Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), December 12, 1998.] He was cited for failure to stop at a stop sign. [Associated Press. 1998. Score, in hospital, cited for failure to yield. Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), October 12, 1998.]

He fought through a difficult recovery and was healthy enough to throw out the first pitch at the Indians Opening Day on April 12, by|1999. [Crump, Sarah. 1999. First pitch score's on opening day. Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), April 9, 1999.]

Legacy

In by|1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book "The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time". They explained what they called "the Smoky Joe Wood Syndrome," where a player of truly exceptional talent but a career curtailed by injury should still, in spite of not having had career statistics that would quantitatively rank him with the all-time greats, be included on their list of the 100 greatest players. In the book's introduction, they used this as their reason why Score, with 55 career wins, was on their list, while Early Wynn, who won 300 games, all in the post-1920 Live Ball Era, was not.

References

ee also

* List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
* Chicago White Sox all-time roster

External links

*baseball-reference|id=s/scorehe01