1945
Born August 6, 1945
Toms River, NJ, USA
Andy Messersmith Notable
b. August 6, 1945 · California Angels 1968–1972, Los Angeles Dodgers 1973–1975, 1979, Atlanta Braves 1976–1977, New York Yankees 1978
Andy Messersmith played for four clubs across 12 seasons as a pitcher, opening with the California Angels in 1968 and closing with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1979.
He went 130 and 99 with a 2.86 earned run average, pitching 2,230 innings in 344 games. He struck out 1,625, completed 98 of his 295 starts and threw 27 shutouts. Across 353 games he batted .170, with 124 hits and 49 runs. He finished with 5 home runs, 30 doubles and 1 stolen base.
He led the league in shutouts once, in 1975, with 7. He led the league in wins once, in 1974, with 20.
He was selected to four All-Star teams between 1971 and 1976.
He was born in Toms River, NJ, USA on August 6, 1945. He batted right-handed and threw right-handed.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 4 | 1971, 1974, 1975, 1976 |
| Gold Glove | 2 | 1974, 1975 |
| Player of the Week | 2 | 1974, 1975 |
| Pitcher of the Month | 1 | 1976 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1974 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | CAL | 29 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | .100 |
| 1969 | CAL | 42 | 77 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 28 | 0 | .156 |
| 1970 | CAL | 38 | 70 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 0 | .157 |
| 1971 | CAL | 39 | 93 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 0 | .172 |
| 1972 | CAL | 26 | 53 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 1 | .189 |
| 1973 | LAD | 34 | 89 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 16 | 0 | .169 |
| 1974 | LAD | 39 | 96 | 12 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 28 | 0 | .240 |
| 1975 | LAD | 44 | 108 | 8 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 25 | 0 | .157 |
| 1976 | ATL | 29 | 67 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 19 | 0 | .179 |
| 1977 | ATL | 16 | 34 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 0 | .118 |
| 1978 | NYY | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | LAD | 11 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .091 |
| Career | — | 353 | 729 | 49 | 124 | 30 | 0 | 5 | 54 | 46 | 212 | 1 | .170 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | CAL | 4 | 2 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 81.1 | 44 | 20 | 35 | 74 | 2.21 |
| 1969 | CAL | 16 | 11 | 40 | 33 | 2 | 250.0 | 169 | 70 | 100 | 211 | 2.52 |
| 1970 | CAL | 11 | 10 | 37 | 26 | 5 | 194.2 | 144 | 65 | 78 | 162 | 3.01 |
| 1971 | CAL | 20 | 13 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 276.2 | 224 | 92 | 121 | 179 | 2.99 |
| 1972 | CAL | 8 | 11 | 25 | 21 | 2 | 169.2 | 125 | 53 | 68 | 142 | 2.81 |
| 1973 | LAD | 14 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 249.2 | 196 | 75 | 77 | 177 | 2.70 |
| 1974 | LAD | 20 | 6 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 292.1 | 227 | 84 | 94 | 221 | 2.59 |
| 1975 | LAD | 19 | 14 | 42 | 40 | 1 | 321.2 | 244 | 82 | 96 | 213 | 2.29 |
| 1976 | ATL | 11 | 11 | 29 | 28 | 1 | 207.1 | 166 | 70 | 74 | 135 | 3.04 |
| 1977 | ATL | 5 | 4 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 102.1 | 101 | 50 | 39 | 69 | 4.40 |
| 1978 | NYY | 0 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 22.1 | 24 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 5.64 |
| 1979 | LAD | 2 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 62.1 | 55 | 34 | 34 | 26 | 4.91 |
| Career | — | 130 | 99 | 344 | 295 | 15 | 2230.1 | 1719 | 709 | 831 | 1625 | 2.86 |
On this day & linked events
1968
Major-league debut: Andy Messersmith
Andy Messersmith made a major-league debut on July 4, 1968.
1979
Final major-league game: Andy Messersmith
Andy Messersmith played a final major-league game on June 1, 1979.
Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain