Game 3 of the 1965 World Series at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers are down 2 games to none to the powerful Twins. Their vaunted 1-2 punch of Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax had lost the first two games by scores of 8-2 and 5-1. Koufax had refused to pitch game one because it fell on Yom Kippur. The flight back to L.A. was tense. Claude Osteen, the Dodgers # 3 starter, was sitting with his wife. All during the flight, his teammates would come up to him and say, “ you’ll get em“. By the time the flight landed in LA, Osteen was a nervous wreck.
After allowing a leadoff double to MVP Zoilo Versailles, he settled down and just allowed 4 more hits while pitching a 4-0 shutout. The Dodgers would rebound and win the series in 7 games. Osteen showed why the Dodgers had traded for him after the 1964 season by sending Frank Howard, Ken McMullen, Pete Richert, Phil Ortega, and a PTBNL. Dick Nen was later sent to the Senators to complete the trade. The Dodgers also received infielder John Kennedy in the trade.
Claude Wilson Osteen was born in Caney Springs Tennessee on August 9, 1939. His father Claude owned a country store and pitched on an amateur team and his mom, Pauline, was a housewife. He grew up around baseball. His dad’s store sponsored a team on which seven of his cousins played. Watching his dad pitch, he developed a curve that helped his team, the Woodman Choppers, to win a championship and the right to play in a tournament in North Carolina.
To better his chances, his family moved to Cincinnati in his freshman year of high school. He moved back to Tennessee citing the difficulties of living in an urban area. Then desiring to play baseball in a serious way with proper coaching and facilities, he moved back to Cincinnati and enrolled in Reading High School in 1955. There he amassed one of the best varsity careers in Ohio history. He went 23-1 in his career. He was 16-0 his senior year with a 0.13 ERA and 221 Ks in 103 2/3 innings for the 1957 State Championship team.
In light of that great season, he signed a contract with the Reds right out of high school. He joined the Reds immediately. He remembered that his high school coach, Don Mohr, was a scout for the Dodgers and wanted him to sign with them. But the Reds offered him an immediate spot on the roster, and the Dodgers did not. He turned down offers from at least 10 teams. After signing he said he was sure he could be successful in the majors and had a lot of confidence in his abilities.
He made his MLB debut on July 6, 1957, against the Cardinals. He went 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and a run. But that did not factor into the decision. He said he was scared to death. Throughout his playing and coaching career, he would pick other pitchers’ and coaches’ minds for any way to be better. He also paid attention to detail, watching other pitchers’ mechanics and he was a great listener.
He spent most of the 1957 and 1958 seasons in the minors. He was getting experience and developing as a pitcher. He had a couple of September call-ups with the Reds. Because all of his three options were used up, he spent the entire 1960 season with the Reds but was the forgotten man down in the bullpen. He only pitched 48 1/3 innings and got his first MLB decision, a loss. He played winter ball, hoping to boost his chances at a spot in the Reds rotation. He went 6-5 against the competition, which included some major leaguers.
He started the 1961 season with the Reds. He made one relief appearance and then was sent to Indianapolis, effectively ending his Reds career. He was now eligible for the winter draft, so the Reds traded him to Washington in September hoping to capitalize on his good year, 16-11 3.53 at Indianapolis.
Senators.
The Reds received P Dave Sisler and cash in the deal. Osteen would call the trade to DC one of the biggest breaks of his career. He went there as a starting pitcher, and there was no pressure. He got to start three games and notched his first win almost 4 years after signing his contract. He beat the Twins going 7 1/3 and allowing three runs. He was rather embarrassed that it took that long to notch the first one. The Senators were an expansion team and lost over 100 games or more three straight years, 1962-1064. After a rough start to the season, Osteen settled down and went .500 the rest of the 1962 season to finish with an 8-13 record and a respectable 3.53 ERA. His 1963 season started badly with four consecutive losses. He lost his spot in the rotation for a while. Then, he got his first win, a 1-0 shutout of the Yankees as a pivotable moment in his career. He credited catcher Hobie Landrith with helping him mature as a pitcher. He finished with a 9-14 record and a 3.35 ERA in 212 innings.
In 1964, Osteen came into his own and was the ace of the Senator’s staff. Gil Hodges, his manager was right on in his prediction that Osteen could win 15 games for the Senators, and Claude finished the year with a 15-13 with 13 complete games and 257 innings pitched. But the Senators were punchless, so that winter they sent Osteen to the Dodgers in a blockbuster deal for Frank Howard and four other players, Ken McMullen, Pete Richert, Phil Ortega, and the PTBNL, Dick Nen. The Dodgers received Osteen and infielder John Kennedy, a slick glove no-hit infielder.
Although the Senators were widely criticized in the press for the trade, it served them well. Howard became a star slugger, McMullen manned 3rd base for the next five seasons, and Richert was their best starter in 1965-1966.
Osteen for his part stepped right into the # 3 spot in the Dodger rotation behind Ace’s Koufax and Drysdale. Longtime starter Johnny Podres was coming off of an injury-riddled 1964 season and would start 22 games for LA. But he was not the mainstay he once was. Osteen matched his win total from 1964 with 15 for the Dodgers. But he also lost 15. His ERA though was very good at 2.79. This set up his big moment in the 1965 series. And he was up to the task. He held serve and the big guns won games 4 and 5. Osteen took the mound in game 6 with a chance to win the title.
Claude held the Twins to 2 runs, only one of them earned, pitched 5 innings walking 3 and striking out 2. But reliever Howie Reed gave up a 3-run homer to Twins pitcher Mudcat Grant, who would later pitch for LA, in the 6th and the Twins tied the series with a 5-1 win. This set up game 7 where Alston made the choice to start Koufax on 2 days’ rest. Sandy would shut the Twins out and the Dodgers had their 3rd title in 7 years.
When Osteen had arrived at Vero Beach for spring training, he was immediately nicknamed “Gomer” for his resemblance to Jim Nabors by teammate Dick Tracewski. Osteen was anything but goofy as Nabor’s character was. In fact, Dodger skipper Walter Alston said he was a very serious competitor when on the mound.
The Dodgers would win the pennant again in 1966. But the team got tired towards the end. Osteen, who would win 17 games, only won 6 in the second half. The Dodgers faced the up-and-coming Orioles in the World Series and were swept. They scored 2 runs in game one and then none the next 3 games. Osteen was stellar in game three but lost a 1-0 decision. Although his World Series record would be 1-2, his ERA was a microscopic 0.89. The Dodgers were shut out in his last two starts,
The years 67-69 were termed the lean years for the Dodgers. Koufax retired after the 1966 season because of his arthritis, and the hitting was anemic. Over those 3 seasons, Osteen would win 49 games and lose 50. His ERA over those three years was very respectable 3.38. He pitched well enough to win 20 games in 1969. He lost 15. He was with Drysdale, not the same pitcher, pretty much the Ace of the staff.
From 1970-1973, he would win 16, 14, 20, and 16 games respectively. His overall record as a Dodger was 147-126. Just think how good he would have been with a team that hit well. His team was shut out 44 times when he was on the mound. He threw 40 shutouts himself. After the 1973 season, Claude was sent to the Houston Astros in December with Dave Culpepper, for Jimmy Wynn. Without knowing he would contribute to another Dodger pennant with the arrival of the Toy Cannon.
The 34-year-old lefty went 9-9 with the Astros. They then traded him to the Cardinals in August, and he was 0-2. His first losing season since 1968. After the season, he was released by the Cardinals and then signed with the Chicago White Sox as a free agent.
Claude would make 37 starts for the Sox. He had 5 complete games. But the Sox were not very good, and he finished 7-16. Although he went to spring training with them in 1976, he was released at the end of spring training. Claude had noticed some changes. He could not feel the stitches of the ball with the tips of his fingers. That led to control problems which led to a lack of confidence. He was released. He decided to hang them up instead of going for 200 wins. He finished with a 196-195 record. Over his long career, he had not suffered a serious injury. He averaged 34 starts and 242 innings a year. He was about as reliable as they come.
After his release, he accepted a position with the Phillies Double-A Reading club. Expecting to be named the pitching coach at the Phils AAA team the following year, he was surprised to be offered the job as pitching coach for the Cardinals.
He would spend four years with the Cardinals then he moved to the Phillies for the beginning of a seven-year stint there. During his time as pitching coach there, three pitchers won Cy Young Awards. Steve Carlton in 82, John Denny in 83, and Steve Bedrosian in 1987. He went to the Dodgers in 1989 as the coach at A San Antonio. He followed that up by moving to the Dodgers AAA team in Albuquerque for 3 seasons.
He was the pitching coach for the Rangers for two seasons, 93-94. He was the Dodgers pitching coach for two seasons, 1999-2000. He retired only to be lured back by the Diamondbacks as a scout and consultant and to work with their pitchers at AA El Paso. He retired for good in 2009.
Osteen was a four-tool pitcher, slider, sinking fastball, curve, and changeup. He was deliberate and poised. He said that he had noticed the changes in philosophy by pitchers today. It is all about power and how fast you throw the ball. He does not believe today’s hurlers have the control his generation did. He feels that scouts today would not have signed guys like himself, Tom Glavine, and Randy Jones. They are looking for the 93-94 mile an hour heater. It is a shame that the game might be depriving itself of workmen like Osteen, the consistent, dependable pro.
In 2011 Claude and his second wife Jackie were living in Arlington, Texas. He had five children with his first wife, David, Brian, Eric, Gavin, and Jennifer. He has kept close to the game. And he offered clinics with his sons, David and Gavin, who both reached AAA ball. Claude Osteen # 23 on your scorecard. One of the most consistent pitchers in Dodger history. A true professional in every facet of the game.
Pepiot on the taxi squad .
Likely gonna debut on Wednesday.
Go Dodgers!
Great article on Claude Osteen today. He really stepped up for that ’65 World Series.
Good timing since it seems that news is trickling in on another pitcher, Ryan Pepiot perhaps making his debut on Wednesday. It seems like injuries to Treinen and V-Gone along with the condensed schedule and Pepiot’s dominant start to the AAA season is propelling him onto the 40 man roster.
I happened to catch David Vassegh talking about this on the radio yesterday. He said that Pepiot would probably also start one of the games of the double-header against the D-Backs at home next Wednesday as well. He also said that it’s likely that Phil Bickford is optioned to create room on the 26 man roster and that Robbie Erlin will probably be kept on the roster to provide length in the pen. Either Treinen or V-Gone will be transferred to the 60 day IL to make room for Pepiot. Pepiot may be optioned after the game, then brought back as the 27th man on the Double-Header roster.
I like this news, but I’m also a little apprehensive about it. Pepiot has been very good in AAA so far this season, but he also has a tendency to throw a lot of pitches to get through 4-5 innings. He looks to be similar to Tony G in that respect.
I ran across this video this morning talking about ratings and the de-juiced ball.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gQejcvAxQU
The latest conspiracy theory is that MLB is using livelier balls on Nationally televised games and references an article where Mets’ hitting coach, Eric Chavez speaks to the matter. He says that ball hit 100MPH+ with the right launch angle just aren’t going out anymore, but on the Nationally televised games, balls hit 95 MPH are travelling. He states that hitting coaches are speaking to this across the league.
Also discussed in the video is that ratings have been steadily tanking ever since MLB moved the All-Star game last season.
It sure looks like all of Manfred’s horrible ideas are starting to come home to roost. It seems that Manfred is not in touch with what the fans really want. This guy is single handedly ruining the sport. I sure hope the owners realize this and make a change very soon.
Don’t forget to wake up early on Wednesday to see Pepiot’s debut. The early day game is scheduled for a 9:35 am start time.
Interesting about the ball. You’d think some enterprising stat nerd would be able to verify this with some key metrics that are easy to measure:
Exit velocity
Launch angle
Barometric pressure
Humidity
Wind speed and direction
You should be able to predict how far the ball travels based on this, and if there are measurable and significant discrepancies, then that leaves differences in the ball as the likely culprit.
JT’s liner that he turned on yesterday seemed like it should have hit the wall or the base of the wall. It kind of hung up and was caught.
Thank you BP. I appreciate the Kudos.
Looking forward to seeing what the kid has.
OK, here’s a current interview:
By the way: Never speak of last night’s game again!
I’m going to defy your order to say this. They had a lot of soft hits that fell. We had a lot of hard hits that found gloves. That’s baseball. That’s why it’s a 162 game season. That’s why you play your games in series.
Thank you OldBear for the article on Claude Osteen. I enjoy all your stories about Dodgers players from the past.
Thank you Cubbies. After being swept 3 games by the Dodgers, they were able to shut out the Padres. This means the Dodgers remain 1.5 game games ahead of the Padres despite the results of the game that Mark says we cannot speak about. 🙂
PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN!!
Dodgers: MLB Insider Says LA is Willing to Trade David Price
Brook Smith
May 10
The Dodgers are in a fortunate position this year. Even with an injury to Andrew Heaney, they’ve been able to keep their starting staff healthy and productive. Part of that can be attributed to the work of the bullpen, which has also been phenomenal.
But you can’t deny the incredible start that the rotation is off to. Even Tyler Anderson has been an incredible addition, a guy that they expected to mostly work out of the bullpen. But one arm that the Dodgers don’t appear to be using is David Price.
Price hit the COVID injured list last month, but he has been traveling with the team and appears to be healthy. But despite that, he has not been activated and has not pitched in a game since April 22nd. In fact, he has appeared in just 5 games all year long, and there might be a reason for that.
According to The Athletic’s Peter Gammons, the Dodgers might be trying to trade Price away. Gammons says that they want to give him an opportunity to get more starts somewhere, and he won’t get that in Los Angeles. So that means that Price could be on the move at some point.
The Dodgers are paying $16 million of Price’s $32 million deal this season. The Red Sox are on the hook for the remainder of his contract as part of the trade than landed Mookie Betts and Price in LA. But if there is an opportunity for him to pitch somewhere else, it sounds like they will make that happen.
Someone has to want him for this to happen and I would bet LA would have to pay a significant amount of his remaining money to move him. And what do you trade him for that is worth that kind of money. LA is not just going to give him away.
Whatever it takes, get rid of him! He has no value to the Dodgers, starting or relieving. If it’s being reported there is a chance his days in Dodger Blue are limited. AF is a mastermind at pulling off these kinds of trades. Here’s hoping.
Don’t need anything significant for him if we can unload the majority of his salary. He has contributed virtually nothing since he has been a Dodger. Some contending team with pitching injuries may bite.
He did something no one else did. He donated 1000 dollars to each Dodger minor leaguer during the 2020 season. He was 4-1 last season with a save. That is something, not nothing. He let LA know ahead of time that he was sitting out the 2020 season. Has he done enough to merit 16 mil from LA? That is for the powers at be to decide.
“Gammons says that they want to give him an opportunity to get more starts somewhere, and he won’t get that in Los Angeles”
No, that start is going to a rookie.
Trade? Sure. We can expect exactly what we think of him for him.
Who would want this unreliable headache for 16M?
Bellinger to change bats.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ke4AAOSwTR1iSjAD/s-l500.jpg
Byron Buxton to change shoes:
Anyone old enough to remember swats? If that bat was made of wood, it would look very much like my 8th grade metal shop teacher’s custom made paddle. And yes, he used on me once or twice. Man’s name was Mr. Firm. It suited him.
It’s good to see Rios hitting today!
Dodgers (19-8)
Pirates (12-16)
SPTony Gonsolin R
2-0 1.64 ERA 18K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
SS Trea Turner R
2B Max Muncy L
3B J. Turner R
CF C. Bellinger L
DH Edwin Rios L
LF Gavin Lux L
C A. Barnes R
Clear-day
0% Rain
74° Wind 6 mph In
May 9: UTIL Chris Taylor exits game with left knee bone bruise
Taylor left Monday’s game vs. the Pirates after fouling off a ball into the inner part of his left knee in his sixth-inning at-bat. The utility man said X-rays came back negative postgame. Taylor was scheduled for a day off on May 10, and his injury will be considered day to day. — Juan Toribio
We’re willing to trade Price and the Reds are willing to trade Castillo. Sounds like the perfect trade, even up.
Or, we could pay Price’s entire 16 mil and throw in Pepiot, Miller, Vargas and Busch.
Does this give me membership in the LADT Trader’s Club?
Drugs are bad!
I beg to differ.
Depends on how you use them
why has Barnes been playing instead of Smith?
Because Barnes owns Wilson.
I made that up. I have no idea why.
Smith is most likely dealing with an unreported injury or illness.
Manager Dave Roberts should provide more clarity on the situation later Tuesday, but Austin Barnes will pick up another start in place of Smith.
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
Will Smith has been dealing with a right peck issue and that’s why Barnes gets back to back starts. Will Smith will start tomorrow’s day game per Dave Roberts.
AVF with the Scoop!
I am going to give him a raise for a great job.
Effective immediately, I am doubling your LADT Pay!
That’s very generous of you Mark. That’s way more than I expected. I’ll look for it in the mail.
Dodgers To Promote Ryan Pepiot
By Mark Polishuk and James Hicks | May 10, 2022 at 3:42pm CDT
3:42 PM: Right-hander Ryan Pepiot, selected by the Dodgers in the third round of the 2019 amateur draft, will indeed make his major league debut tomorrow, reports Juan Toribio of MLB.com (Twitter link). As noted below, the move had been widely speculated after Robbie Erlin — the most logical candidate on the active roster to start tomorrow afternoon’s game against the Pirates — worked in relief both Sunday and Monday.
It’ll be the first taste of the majors for Pepiot. After reaching Triple-A last year in his first full minor league season, the Butler product has cruised through 26 1/3 innings (over six starts) with a 2.05 ERA at Triple-A Oklahoma City. With no timetable set for Andrew Heaney’s return from the IL, it could be more than just a spot start for Pepiot should he find some success.
10:09 AM: The Dodgers have added right-handed pitching prospect Ryan Pepiot to their taxi squad, and manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett) that the move “just leaves the option” for the club to potentially start Pepiot for Wednesday’s game against the Pirates. If Pepiot does start, it will mark the 24-year-old’s MLB debut.
Boy, the catman sure is pitching an ugly shut out after 3. Good time for it.
The Edwin Rios Homerun had a 45° launch angle!
Fun game to watch. Nice to see some life in JT’s bat and Rios should play more. Belli got a hit and hit another bullet right at someone. Mookie is amazing and contributed with his arm if not his bat. Pepiot tomorrow. Cannot wait to see this kid.