1952
Born October 27, 1952
Johnstown, PA, USA
Pete Vuckovich Marquee
b. October 27, 1952 · Chicago White Sox 1975–1976, Toronto Blue Jays 1977, St. Louis Cardinals 1978–1980, Milwaukee Brewers 1981–1983, 1985–1986
Pete Vuckovich went 18-6 for the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers and won the American League Cy Young Award, then started twice in the World Series the club lost to St. Louis. He was the third Brewer in two years to take a major award, alongside Rollie Fingers and Robin Yount.
A shoulder injury the following spring took most of the next three seasons, and he was finished at thirty-three. He was known as an intimidator on the mound, a reputation that later got him cast as Clu Haywood, the sneering Yankees slugger in the film Major League.
Born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1952, Vuckovich finished 93-69 with 882 strikeouts, and spent years afterwards in the Pittsburgh Pirates front office.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Cy Young Award | 1 | 1982 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | CHW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1976 | CHW | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | TOR | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | STL | 45 | 58 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 0 | .138 |
| 1979 | STL | 34 | 79 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 0 | .152 |
| 1980 | STL | 32 | 71 | 4 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 1 | .183 |
| 1981 | MIL | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1982 | MIL | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1983 | MIL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1985 | MIL | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1986 | MIL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 286 | 208 | 15 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 49 | 1 | .159 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | CHW | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10.1 | 17 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 13.06 |
| 1976 | CHW | 7 | 4 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 110.1 | 122 | 57 | 60 | 62 | 4.65 |
| 1977 | TOR | 7 | 7 | 53 | 8 | 8 | 148.0 | 143 | 57 | 59 | 123 | 3.47 |
| 1978 | STL | 12 | 12 | 45 | 23 | 1 | 198.1 | 187 | 56 | 59 | 149 | 2.54 |
| 1979 | STL | 15 | 10 | 34 | 32 | 0 | 233.0 | 229 | 93 | 64 | 145 | 3.59 |
| 1980 | STL | 12 | 9 | 32 | 30 | 1 | 222.1 | 203 | 84 | 68 | 132 | 3.40 |
| 1981 | MIL | 14 | 4 | 24 | 23 | 0 | 149.2 | 137 | 59 | 57 | 84 | 3.55 |
| 1982 | MIL | 18 | 6 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 223.2 | 234 | 83 | 102 | 105 | 3.34 |
| 1983 | MIL | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 14.2 | 15 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 4.91 |
| 1985 | MIL | 6 | 10 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 112.2 | 134 | 69 | 48 | 55 | 5.51 |
| 1986 | MIL | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 32.1 | 33 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 3.06 |
| Career | — | 93 | 69 | 286 | 186 | 10 | 1455.1 | 1454 | 592 | 545 | 882 | 3.66 |
On this day & linked events
1975
Major-league debut: Pete Vuckovich
Pete Vuckovich made a major-league debut on August 3, 1975.
1986
Final major-league game: Pete Vuckovich
Pete Vuckovich played a final major-league game on October 2, 1986.
Image: Hostess, public domain