Newberry Major Leaguer Looks Back Th Th Thth
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THE NEWBERRY OBSERVER – Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010 I PAGE 7 55th 55th Newberry major leaguer looks back Leslie Moses Staff Writer t still seems like a dream, says New- Iberry’s Billy O’Dell of his nearly 14-year major league baseball career. But 55 years ago, O’Dell stepped from the Clemson campus as an All-American into the big leagues in Baltimore. “June 8, 1954,” says O’Dell, 77. “That’s one of those things you never for- —Staff photo by get. That was the Leslie Moses beginning of it all.” DIGGER — As a pitcher for Billy O’Dell in Newberry High, O’Dell knew he was a pret- never would be. He was a nice guy,” he says. his living room ty good ballplayer. today. Sometimes 10 scouts watched the strike- O’Dell, too, it seems, out king at his high school ball games. is a nice guy. In one game, the lanky left-hander sat 28 Orioles pitching coach Harry Brecheen Clinton High batters. took him out to dinner right after O’Dell At Clemson, he once sat 21 Gamecock bat- signed with Baltimore for steak and wisdom ters, all of whom returned after the game to to ensure O’Dell stayed on track. shake his hand. “Billy, you’re going to be a good pitcher,” His Clemson team was good, he says, but O’Dell recalls Brecheen saying. “You’re full of graduating seniors. So, as a junior, going to the top. You’re going to pass a lot of figuring the Tigers wouldn’t be as good his players. Be nice. Because you’re going to senior year, O’Dell moved on. come back down.” With the help of Clemson’s public rela- And 55 years later, O’Dell says he still tions rep, O’Dell sent letters to all 16 major lives by Brecheen’s advice. league baseball clubs in the country “’Course, by my personality, I’m like that announcing he was ready to play profes- anyway,” he says. sionally. And others across the country are glad. Each team wanted him, but O’Dell chose Their autograph requests come in droves. Baltimore’s “terrible ball club” for good rea- “Mama, why do people want daddy’s sons, he says. name?” O’Dell’s wife Joan remembers their In the 1950s, players who accepted a sign- young son asking. ing bonus for more than $4,000 had to stay “That’s about a month’s worth,” says with the team they signed with for two Billy O’Dell pointing from his Lay-Z-Boy to years. a cardboard box spilling over with letters O’Dell signed with Baltimore for a total of and baseballs and cards awaiting his signa- $12,500, reasoning that if he wasn’t good ture. enough to pitch in the majors, he’d at least “If you have time, sign any, keep any,” bag a two-year stay. writes one man from Summerville, Mass. “I said, well, if I can’t pitch for Baltimore With the Summerville note is a self- in the major leagues, I can’t pitch for any- addressed stamped envelope with two Billy body,” says O’Dell. O’Dell baseball cards. He could, it turned out, pitch for Balti- “I believe that one come today,” he says. more, and strike out the best the league had “They’ll send ’em. I’ll sign ’em.” to offer—Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron and He even signs repeat requests from peo- Willie Mays. ple he knows make money off his signature. He was chosen for both the 1958 and 1959 And annually, O’Dell drives to Atlanta to All-Star games, and awarded MVP in the sign more autographs at the Braves’ stadi- 1958 game after striking out nine straight um. batters. But because O’Dell is getting a little more A year later, he’d have a 2.69 strikeout-to- “laid back” these days, his last flight to a far- walk ratio, the highest in the major leagues. away baseball memorial was last year to San Only at first, O’Dell checked before games Francisco, where O’Dell played four years to see the big names he’d pitch against. But for the team. then before long, “you got to know every- Former Giants’ stars were invited on the body,” he says. field for San Francisco’s 50th anniversary of “I know in the ’62 World Series, (Mantle) major league baseball. was still with the Yankees and I struck him As O’Dell walked from center field and out with a curveball the first inning of the took the pitcher’s mound again, the nation- opening game of the series. And he said, al anthem played and he was right back ‘Digger! Where’d you get that?’ I said, almost 50 years ago. ‘Mickey, you got to learn new tricks as you “I thought about when they played the get older,’” recalls O’Dell with a smile. national anthem and how many times I A San Francisco newspaper, however, stood out there on that mound and heard interpreted the jest the next day with the them play it before a game,” he says, “prob- headline, “O’Dell and Mantle have words,” ably a thousand times in my career. says O’Dell. “That may be the last time,” he says. “It “Mantle wasn’t mad at anybody. He makes you feel a little weak on the stom- ach.” 55th 55th PAGE 8 I Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010 – THE NEWBERRY OBSERVER 55th 55th Fifty-five Billy O’Dell facts, figures Billy O’Dell made his major league baseball 23. In the three World Series games he debut 55 years ago. His major league totals are a appeared in, here is how each batter he faced career record of 105-100, a 3.29 ERA, allowed did in total at-bats: Tony Kubek..3-5; Bobby 1697 hits, 137 homeruns and 758 runs to score. Richardson..2-6; Tom Tresh..2-6; Mickey Man- He struck out 1,133 batters and walked 556. tle..0-5 with a walk; Roger Maris..1-5 with a Here are 55 facts and figures on O’Dell’s career. walk; Elston Howard..1-5 with a walk; Moose 1. His Clemson record was 19-8 with a 1.51 Skowron..0-4 with a walk; Clete Boyer..1-5 ERA. He struck out 300 batters, walked 83, (homerun); Whitey Ford..0-3; Hector Lopez..0-1; allowed 129 hits and 84 runs during his career. Ralph Terry..0-1; Dale Long..1-1. He had five career shut-outs including throwing 24. Sumter native Bobby Richardson got the a 21 strike-out no-hitter against USC in 1953. first hit off of him in the ’62 Series. 2. While at Clemson, he was named an All- 25. He has the second most complete games American in 1954. He was also named to the in the National League in 1962 with 20. 1952 and 1953 All Southern Conference teams. 26. He had the fifth most National League 3. He helped lead Clemson to the 1953 South- wins (19) and strikeouts (195) in 1962. ern Conference championship and the 1954 27. He is referred to in a 1963 baseball maga- inaugural ACC championship. Of the team’s 14 zine article as the “best quail shot in the whole total wins that year, he was the winning pitcher darned country.” in eight of those games. 28. In the third inning of a game at Milwau- 4. He was the first baseball player ever induct- kee on May 9, 1963, he threw two wild pitches, ed into Clemson University’s Athletic Hall of faced Warren Spahn, Hank Aaron and Eddie Fame. Fred Cone, Frank Howard and Banks Matthews. These three future Hall-of-Famers McFadden were among the other inductees in would be his teammates just two years later. that 1973 inaugural class. 29. His best batting career performance was 5. He signed with the Baltimore Orioles on when he went 3-4 on Sept. 26, 1963 against June 8, 1954 as their first-ever “bonus baby” for Philadelphia in San Francisco. $15,000. This was the Orioles’ first year in Balti- 30. In the 16+ months that he was a member of more. the Braves organization, he saw them move 6. His nickname “Digger O’Dell” is believed from Milwaukee to Atlanta. to have come from the character of the same 31. He recorded the first road save ever for name on the popular show “Life of Riley.” the Atlanta Braves at New York’s Shea Stadium Digby “Digger” O’Dell was “the friendly morti- in their first away game in history. cian” on the radio and television show. 32. The last out he ever recorded was a left 7. He never threw one pitch in the minor field fly-out by Johnny Bench. leagues. 33. Five of the last batters he ever faced were 8. He made his pitching debut on June 20, Roger Maris, Lou Brock, Tony Perez, Johnny 1954 at home against the Washington Senators. Bench and Pete Rose. The first batter he ever faced was Pete Runnels, 34. Twenty-five broadcasting Hall-of-Famers whom he walked. That day he also recorded his announced at least one of his games. He pitched first strike-out (Dean Stone) and allowed his to three future broadcasting Hall-of-Famers. first hit (Tom Wright). 35. Of the 63 complete games he had, 13 were 9. Future Hall-of Fame umpire Bill McGowan shut-outs.