Hoyt Wilhelm

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James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 in Huntersville, North Carolina - August 23, 2002 in Sarasota, Florida) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Born in Huntersville, North Carolina, he was best known for his knuckleball, which enabled him to have great longevity – occasionally as a starting pitcher, but mainly as a specialist relief man (in which role he won 124 games, still the record for relief pitchers). He is recognized as the first pitcher to have saved 200 games in his career.

Much travelled, his clubs included the New York Giants (1952-56), Baltimore Orioles ('58-'62) – for whom he threw a no-hitter against the New York Yankees in 1958, Chicago White Sox ('63-'68), and spells with the St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, California Angels, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers, with whom he was playing when he eventually retired after the 1972 season.

Template:MLB HoF His success as a reliever helped the gradual change in usage patterns of pitchers, and the popularity of the concept of a "relief ace". Along with Phil Niekro, Wilhelm is considered by many one of the greatest knuckleballers to have played the game, and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.

Career statistics

W	L	PCT	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO
143	122	.540	2.52	1,070	52	20	227	2254.1	1,757	632	150	778	1,610

External links

• Baseball Hall of Fame
• Template:Baseball-reference
• Baseball Libraryde:Hoyt Wilhelm

ja:ホイト・ウィルヘルム