Sam McDowell, the fireballing lefty, passed away Sunday at the age of 84. Here’s his obituary from The New York Times by Richard Goldstein.
McDowell was one of the most intimidating pitchers during the 1960s, mostly with the Cleveland Indians where he made his debut at the age of 18.
He was a six-time All-Star, racking up six consecutive seasons with 225+ strikeouts, including two of 300 or more. He also led the AL in walks five times yet hit just 59 batters over his 12 seasons, finishing with a so-so W-L record of 141-134 and a 3.17 ERA.
McDowell also played for the Giants, Yankees, and Pirates before leaving the Majors at just 32, his career cut sort no doubt by substance abuse.
He published The Saga of Sudden Sam: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of Sam McDowell with Martin Gitlin in 2025.
Fred Claire, the long time executive who coined the famous phrase for the LA Dodgers, died Monday at the age of 91. Here’s the Times obit via The Athletic, by Patrick Mooney. Ironically, he passed away on his birthday.
The Dodger stalwart published Fred Claire: My 30 Years in Dodger Blue with Steve Springer in 2004. He was also the subject of Extra Innings: Fred Claire’s Journey to City of Hope and Finding a World Championship Team by Tim Madigan in 2020.
So here’s my obituary rabbit hole.
Goldstein, to put it politely, is man of a certain age. Mooney looks substantially younger from his thumbnail photo on the site. I wonder if the difference in the age and experience of an older obit writer makes any difference? After all, Goldstein at least had the opportunity to experience McDowell “in real time”; I doubt you could say that for Mooney. Would that influence Goldstein at all, that personal experience?
is available on Amazon.com,
