Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Ken Holtzman--Pitching Ace


 Former MLB pitcher Ken Holtzman has died.  He was 78. 

Holtzman played from 1965 to 1979. He retired as a Baltimore Oriole.  

Holtzman is a three time world series winner, and pitched 2 no-hitters.  Because of his Jewish faith, became known as "the next Sandy Koufax".  In a rather odd category, he was listed as the winningest Jewish Major League pitcher of all time.   

I had Holtzman's baseball card as a child in the late 1960s and he became a favorite of mine, just as all the Cubs had.  Finding out that he  was left-handed and Jewish became "icing on the cake". 

Holtzman was, in 1971, traded to the Oakland A's who proceeded to win the World Series in three consecutive seasons, from 1972-1974.

Holtzman was a native of St. Louis.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I remember this guy. He was good luck for any team he was on.