Hal Newhouser
Harold Newhouser, nicknamed "Prince Hal" and "Hurricane Hal," was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from 1939 to 1955, most notably for the Detroit Tigers, where he was selected for seven straight All-Star Games from 1942 to 1948. He became the first pitcher to win the Most Valuable Player Award twice in consecutive years, winning in 1944 and 1945. Newhouser was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1992 and his number 16 was retired by the Detroit Tigers in 1997.
Newhouser was highly regarded by Tigers scout Wish Egan, who ended up signing him for his hometown club for the 1939 season. Starting in the minor leagues that year, he was called up to the major league squad late in the season and made his first start on September 26, 1939. His initial years were rocky, failing to eclipse nine wins in a season from 1939 to 1943. His breakout year came in 1944, in which he totaled 29 wins, the highest mark for a pitcher since 1931, en route to an MVP award. He continued his stellar play in the 1945 season, in which he won another MVP Award, the Pitching Triple Crown, and was the winning pitcher of Game 7 of that year's World Series against the Chicago Cubs.
Newhouser continued to be a consistently solid pitcher in the post-war years, with no pitcher winning more games than Newhouser did in the 1940s. By 1950, problems with his throwing shoulder significantly decreased his effectiveness. He was released from the Tigers during the 1953 season and would've retired from baseball had it not been for former teammate Hank Greenberg, who was general manager for the Cleveland Indians. He signed for the Indians for the 1954 season and was a relief pitcher during their pennant-clinching campaign, retiring the following year.
Following his retirement as a player, Newhouser served as a scout for the Baltimore Orioles, with some of his notable player findings including Milt Pappas and Dean Chance. He then worked at a bank for twenty years before returning to scouting for the Houston Astros. He insisted that the Astros should draft shortstop Derek Jeter out of high school. When the Astros opted for Phil Nevin instead, he retired from baseball.
Early life
Harold "Hal" Newhouser was born on May 20, 1921, in Detroit, Michigan. He was the second son of Theodore and Emilie Newhouser. Theodore, originally from Czechoslovakia, worked as a drafter in the automobile industry and was a former gymnast, while Emilie was originally from Austria. Prior to Hal's birth, the Newhousers moved from Pittsburgh to Detroit. The Newhouser parents were largely indifferent about baseball, even after Hal's older brother of four years, Dick, was discovered by Detroit Tigers scout Wish Egan and spent a couple years for the team's minor league affiliates. During the Great Depression, Newhouser sold newspapers, set up pins at a bowling alley, and collected plastic bottles to recycle to save up money to attend trade school.As a teenager, Newhouser played in a fast-pitch softball league, but upon the Tigers' win in the 1935 World Series, Newhouser decided he wanted to pitch for his hometown major league team. At the age of fifteen, he started pitching in a sandlot ball league for the first time. Over the course of three seasons, he recorded 42 wins and 3 losses. While attending Wilbur Wright Vocational High School, he started off playing for the school's baseball team. Egan, who took notice of Hal's athletic ability while scouting Dick, convinced him to drop that team and play American Legion Baseball instead. Newhouser did well against the improved competition in Legion play. He recorded nineteen consecutive wins in one stretch, including striking out 20 or more hitters in a game five times.
While at Wilbur Wright Vocational High School in Detroit, Newhouser picked up machining. While he was a talented machinist, Newhouser found it too risky, especially after having to drive numerous classmates to the hospital due to injuries they had sustained. Instead, Newhouser studied to become a drafter at Chrysler, where his father worked. While pitching in the minor leagues, Newhouser would study for his exams, which he would take in September when the major league Tigers called him up. When he was invited to spring training for the team in 1940, he fell behind in his studies and was held back from graduating with the rest of his classmates in June 1940. Starting in September of that year, he would spend three hours each morning at school before reporting to Briggs Stadium, including prior to 1940 World Series games. He graduated in January 1941.
Professional career
Detroit Tigers (1939–1953)
1939–1943
Newhouser's talent had been noticed by teams across the MLB, most notably the Tigers and the Cleveland Indians. Soon after returning from a Legion ball tournament on the evening of August 6, 1938, Newhouser signed with the Tigers at the age of 17, thanks to Egan's early scouting efforts and the relationship they had formed. Egan was able to convince Newhouser to sign for the team with a $500 signing bonus. Upon signing, Newhouser, whom Egan deemed the "greatest left-handed pitcher ever saw," gave $400 to his parents while saving the other $100 for himself. Ten minutes later, Indians scout Cy Slapnicka arrived at the Newhouser house with a $15,000 check and a new car, offering both for Newhouser to sign with the franchise. Crushed, Newhouser told Slapnicka that he had already signed with Detroit.Newhouser started his career in 1939 with the Tigers' Class D affiliate, the Alexandria Aces of the Evangeline Baseball League. He won his first professional baseball game there, striking out eighteen batters in the effort, before winning seven more and earning a promotion to the Class A Beaumont Exporters of the Texas League. Newhouser started hot in Beaumont, winning his first four games before falling into a slump, losing thirteen straight during one particularly bad stretch. This string of performances, along with his notably poor temper, alarmed the Tigers front office. Egan, however, convinced them to call up Newhouser near the end of the season, in order to keep a better eye on him. He joined a pitching staff with the likes of veteran players Schoolboy Rowe, Tommy Bridges, and Bobo Newsom, along with younger players Dizzy Trout and Fred Hutchinson. Manager Del Baker wanted to include the young prospects in the rotation in the final games of the season and on September 26, 1939, Newhouser made his major league debut in the second game of a doubleheader against the Indians. In the game, Newhouser gave up three hits and four walks in five innings, when the game was called due to darkness. Newhouser was credited with the 0–3 loss.
The 1940 campaign saw Newhouser become a much more active part of the rotation. He started in 20 games and posted a 9–9 record with a 4.86 earned run average. On May 2, Newhouser recorded his first ever win when he allowed only six hits in a 5–3 victory against the Washington Senators away. Detroit went on to win the American League pennant, finishing one game over Cleveland and two over the New York Yankees, earning a 1940 World Series appearance against the Cincinnati Reds. Newhouser, the youngest player on the Tigers roster, did not make an appearance in the Series. He instead watched from the dugout as the Reds won in seven games. Newhouser continued to be an active part of the Tigers rotation in 1941, this time posting a 9–11 record with a 4.79 ERA.
During the 1942 season, Newhouser succeeded against the reduced offensive talent in the league as a result of many players serving in the armed forces during World War II. He finished the season with a 2.45 ERA with eleven complete games and five saves and was an All-Star Game selection for the first time in his career. Despite the positive pitching performance, Newhouser had inconsistent run support from his offensive counterparts and finished the season 8–14. In June, Newhouser planned on being sworn into the Army Air Corps during a game in order to serve in World War II. However, due to a congenital heart defect, he was deemed unfit for service following his physical examination in July.
The 1943 season saw a couple of changes in the Tigers lineup. Firstly, former catcher Steve O'Neill became the new manager of Detroit. Replacing him at the catcher spot would be Paul Richards, who last played for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1935. Richards was largely tasked with bringing Newhouser and his young compatriots to their full potential. At the start of the season, he had proven successful in doing this, as Newhouser credited Richards for his hot start. His 14 strikeouts on May 27 against the New York Yankees were the most a pitcher had put up in a single game since Bob Feller threw 18 in 1938. Through the beginning of June with 50 innings pitched, his earned run average was 0.90, 0.19 lower than Dutch Leonard's full season record. Once again, Newhouser was selected for an All-Star Game, recording a strikeout in three innings of work in the Midsummer Classic. Despite the initial success, Newhouser lost nine straight games from late July to September and finished the season with a dismal 8–17 record and a league-leading 111 walks. Following a September in which he posted a 5.19 ERA, he likely would have been let go had the wartime league talent not been so thin.
1944–1947
During the offseason prior to the 1944 season, Newhouser was offered a full-time job at Chrysler. His family implored him to take the position, as they viewed it as much more secure than a career in baseball, especially with his dismal 34–52 record in his first four years. Newhouser, however, decided to take one more chance at baseball. At that year's wartime spring training in Evansville, Indiana, Richards told Newhouser: "You've been a thrower. I'm going to make you a pitcher." Originally possessing just a fastball, curveball, and changeup, Richards taught Newhouser how to throw a slider. He also taught Newhouser to control his emotions, although it remains unknown exactly what teaching method he used.The training worked, as 1944 proved to be Newhouser's breakout year. He posted a 29–9 record with a 2.22 ERA en route to his first Most Valuable Player Award. His season started shaky, as he gave up five runs in just two innings of work during his first start, causing manager Steve O'Neill to send him to the bullpen for a week. On April 27 against the Chicago White Sox, Newhouser was given the start, in what O'Neill told him was his "last chance" to remain in the starting rotation. Newhouser made good of his chance, pitching a twelve-inning complete game shutout. This success continued and he was selected to his third-straight All-Star Game on July 11, where he gave up two runs in one and two-thirds innings of work.
The late season pennant race of 1944 was incredibly competitive, with the Tigers, Yankees, and the St. Louis Browns all in contention within the final week. After the Yankees lost a late-season series to the Browns, they were eliminated from contention. With just two days to go, Detroit and St. Louis were tied at the top of the standings. Newhouser pitched win number 29 against the Washington Senators the following day, but the Browns also won their game, meaning the result of the next game would decide who wins the pennant. Detroit lost their final regular season game to the Senators, while St. Louis defeated the Yankees in a comeback fashion to secure the pennant. The MVP award voting between Newhouser and teammate Dizzy Trout was extremely tight. In fact, Trout won ten first-place votes compared to Newhouser's seven. However, Newhouser's 236 votes were four more than Trout's 232 and he took the title, largely due to his league-leading 187 strikeouts. Years later, Newhouser expressed disappointment that he was unable to reach the 30-win mark, which at the time was last achieved in the American League by Lefty Grove in 1931. He attributed the fact that he didn't reach the mark to two factors: the fact that in his final start prior to the playoffs, the game ended in a 1–1 tie against the Red Sox after getting called off due to weather, and the fact that in the final game of the season, when a win was needed, the Tigers decided to send Trout to the mound rather than Newhouser on short rest.
File:Hal Newhouser, Steve O'Neill and Hank Greenberg 1945.jpg|thumb|Newhouser with manager Steve O'Neill and teammate Hank Greenberg during the 1945 season
He followed that up with a league-leading 25 wins and a 1.81 ERA, with only 9 losses in his 1945 campaign, also leading the league with 313 innings pitched, 29 complete games, 212 strikeouts, and 8 shutouts, en route to his second consecutive MVP award and the Pitching Triple Crown. This made him the first ever pitcher to win the MVP award twice in consecutive seasons. Although no All-Star Game was held this season due to wartime travel restrictions, Newhouser made the hypothetical list of All-Stars compiled by the Associated Press.
Late in the season, Newhouser was suffering from back spasms and was allowed to stay in Detroit while the team traveled east. During a series against the Yankees, however, Newhouser was asked to travel to New York and pitch by manager Jack Zeller, as the Tigers pitching staff was exhausted. Despite being unable to throw his curveball due to severe pain, Newhouser leaned on his fastball and changeup to shutout the Yankees. His back continued to cause problems for him, however, as he was only able to pitch the first inning of a doubleheader against the Senators, who were just a half-game behind Detroit, before being relieved. The Senators finished the season with 87 wins, a game behind the Tigers, who with four consecutive games rained out, were unable to clinch the pennant right away. When the rain finally let up, the Tigers played their final regular season game against the St. Louis Browns. Virgil Trucks, who was medically discharged from the Navy at Norman, Oklahoma for a knee problem just five days prior, started the game. After 5 1/3 innings, Trucks was relieved by Newhouser, who inherited a bases loaded situation with only one out and a 2–1 lead. Newhouser was able to escape the inning without allowing a run, but gave up one run in the seventh and eighth innings to allow the Browns a 2–3 lead. In the top of the ninth, however, slugger Hank Greenberg hit a grand slam to give the Tigers a 6–3 lead, which would hold, giving Newhouser the pitching win and clinching the pennant for Detroit.
Detroit faced off against the Chicago Cubs in the 1945 World Series. Newhouser pitched the opening game, giving up seven runs before being pulled in the third inning as the Cubs routed Detroit, 9–0. Tied up at two games apiece, Newhouser was given the nod to pitch game five, improving upon his initial start by tossing a complete game in which the Tigers won 8–4. Three days later, Newhouser was chosen to pitch game seven. The Tigers offense gave him a five-run cushion in the first inning, but Newhouser only allowed three runs in nine innings, striking out ten in a 9–3 Tigers win, claiming the world title.
In the offseason prior to the 1946 season, Mexican League president Jorge Pasquel offered Newhouser, the biggest name in baseball at the time, $200,000 to pitch three seasons in Mexico, with a $300,000 signing bonus. While tempting, Newhouser feared being banned from baseball if the Mexican League didn't survive. Newhouser instead accepted a $10,000 signing bonus to stay with the Tigers and a promise that he would be given a raise when his new contract was due. However, before signing, trade rumors between the Yankees and the Tigers involved a deal between Newhouser and Joe DiMaggio. It was further rumored that Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams could also have been dealt for Newhouser and Dick Wakefield. Ultimately, no such trade ever occurred and Newhouser remained a Tiger. While the league was dominated by the Boston Red Sox, led by returning star Ted Williams, Newhouser remained one the AL's best pitchers. He was selected to that year's All-Star Game and pitched four strikeouts in three innings of work. In total, he tossed a league-best 26 wins with a league-leading 1.94 ERA. While Williams won the MVP award, Newhouser finished close behind him to claim second place in the voting.
The 1947 season for the Tigers was largely characterized by good pitching play, but a lack of solid batsmen following the departure of Hank Greenberg. Without solid run support, Newhouser posted a 17–17 record with a 2.87 ERA and 176 strikeouts, although he was selected the starter for this year's All-Star Game, where didn't allow a run in three innings of work. On August 28, during a game with the Red Sox, Newhouser was fined $250 by manager Steve O'Neill for a lack of effort after giving up five runs in the third inning, as well as for refusing to leave the mound after being summoned to the dugout. Newhouser claimed that he never talked back to O'Neill and felt confident that he could deliver a quality performance, insisting that he was trying. In response, O'Neill said that "it didn't look like it to me. He certainly was playing inferior ball." It was both O'Neill's first fine given as a manager and Newhouser's first received as a player. Towards the end of the campaign, Newhouser engaged in film review, comparing his 1947 pitching to that of his big mid-1940s years. In doing so, he corrected a flaw in his follow-through. He won three of his last four decisions.