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Ryne Duren
Rinold George "Ryne" Duren (February 22, 1929 – January 6, 2011) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB).
He was known for the combination of his blazing fastball and his very poor vision. With his thick eyeglasses, few batters dared to dig in against Duren. Casey Stengel said, "I would not admire hitting against Ryne Duren, because if he ever hit you in the head you might be in the past tense."
Duren was born on February 22, 1929, in Cazenovia, Wisconsin. In 1945, he suffered an attack of rheumatic fever, which left him wearing thick eyeglasses for the rest of his life to compensate for his poor vision. He attended Cazenovia High School, but pitched only briefly for the school baseball team, as he injured a batter with one of his fastballs, and could not control his pitch location. He was moved to second base and would throw underhanded to the first baseman. He later pitched for the Cazenovia team in the amateur Sauk County League, averaging over 20 strikeouts per game; and once pitching 33 consecutive no-hit innings.
Duren was originally signed by the St. Louis Browns (later becoming the Baltimore Orioles in 1954) as a free agent before the 1949 season.
Other than playing one game for the Orioles in 1954, Duren played in the minor leagues from 1949 to 1957, before becoming a major league pitcher in the 1957 season. He pitched in 36 games for the Class-D Wausau Lumberjacks in 1949, going 85 innings. He had 145 strikeouts, averaging 15.4 strikeouts per nine innings; but also had 114 bases on balls, averaging 12.1 walks per nine innings. He hit over ten batters and had 18 wild pitches.
In 1950, he was promoted to the Class-C Pine Bluff Judges, where he had a 15–7 won–loss record, with a 3.17 earned run average (ERA). He had 157 bases on balls and 233 strikeouts in 190 innings pitched. The following year, he played Single-A baseball for the Dayton Indians, with a 17–8 record and 2.73 ERA. In 198 innings pitched, Duren had 238 strikeouts,194 bases on balls, 13 hit batsmen and 11 wild pitches. He played for the Double-A San Antonio Missions of the Texas League in 1953-54 and part of 1955, averaging at least 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings each year, and reducing his bases on balls per nine innings each year (7.1, 5.9, 5.4 respectively); though his ERA went up each year (2.63, 3.44, 3.98 respectively). Once, while pitching for San Antonio, he was so hungover that he threw a pitch that hit a player in the on-deck circle.
While the Texas League had started including a few black players in the 1950s, there was still considerable racial segregation and animosity. The Shreveport Sports manager had his pitchers throw at black players in the league, including Willie Tasby, a black player on the Missions. Duren would not tolerate this and so threw at the Shreveport batters in response. The fear of being hit by Duren ended pitches being thrown at Tasby.
He also pitched seven games in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) for the Seattle Rainiers in 1955, going 2–3 with a 3.71 ERA, and 38 strikeouts and 22 walks in 34 innings pitched. In 1956, he played for the Orioles' PCL affiliate, the Vancouver Mounties, with an 11–11 record and 4.13 ERA. His strikeouts per nine innings remained high (8.0), but his bases on ball per nine innings were a career low (3.8) at that point. Baltimore manager Paul Richards was unimpressed by Duren in 1955, after suffering elbow inflammation, and kept him in minor league baseball.
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Ryne Duren
Rinold George "Ryne" Duren (February 22, 1929 – January 6, 2011) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB).
He was known for the combination of his blazing fastball and his very poor vision. With his thick eyeglasses, few batters dared to dig in against Duren. Casey Stengel said, "I would not admire hitting against Ryne Duren, because if he ever hit you in the head you might be in the past tense."
Duren was born on February 22, 1929, in Cazenovia, Wisconsin. In 1945, he suffered an attack of rheumatic fever, which left him wearing thick eyeglasses for the rest of his life to compensate for his poor vision. He attended Cazenovia High School, but pitched only briefly for the school baseball team, as he injured a batter with one of his fastballs, and could not control his pitch location. He was moved to second base and would throw underhanded to the first baseman. He later pitched for the Cazenovia team in the amateur Sauk County League, averaging over 20 strikeouts per game; and once pitching 33 consecutive no-hit innings.
Duren was originally signed by the St. Louis Browns (later becoming the Baltimore Orioles in 1954) as a free agent before the 1949 season.
Other than playing one game for the Orioles in 1954, Duren played in the minor leagues from 1949 to 1957, before becoming a major league pitcher in the 1957 season. He pitched in 36 games for the Class-D Wausau Lumberjacks in 1949, going 85 innings. He had 145 strikeouts, averaging 15.4 strikeouts per nine innings; but also had 114 bases on balls, averaging 12.1 walks per nine innings. He hit over ten batters and had 18 wild pitches.
In 1950, he was promoted to the Class-C Pine Bluff Judges, where he had a 15–7 won–loss record, with a 3.17 earned run average (ERA). He had 157 bases on balls and 233 strikeouts in 190 innings pitched. The following year, he played Single-A baseball for the Dayton Indians, with a 17–8 record and 2.73 ERA. In 198 innings pitched, Duren had 238 strikeouts,194 bases on balls, 13 hit batsmen and 11 wild pitches. He played for the Double-A San Antonio Missions of the Texas League in 1953-54 and part of 1955, averaging at least 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings each year, and reducing his bases on balls per nine innings each year (7.1, 5.9, 5.4 respectively); though his ERA went up each year (2.63, 3.44, 3.98 respectively). Once, while pitching for San Antonio, he was so hungover that he threw a pitch that hit a player in the on-deck circle.
While the Texas League had started including a few black players in the 1950s, there was still considerable racial segregation and animosity. The Shreveport Sports manager had his pitchers throw at black players in the league, including Willie Tasby, a black player on the Missions. Duren would not tolerate this and so threw at the Shreveport batters in response. The fear of being hit by Duren ended pitches being thrown at Tasby.
He also pitched seven games in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) for the Seattle Rainiers in 1955, going 2–3 with a 3.71 ERA, and 38 strikeouts and 22 walks in 34 innings pitched. In 1956, he played for the Orioles' PCL affiliate, the Vancouver Mounties, with an 11–11 record and 4.13 ERA. His strikeouts per nine innings remained high (8.0), but his bases on ball per nine innings were a career low (3.8) at that point. Baltimore manager Paul Richards was unimpressed by Duren in 1955, after suffering elbow inflammation, and kept him in minor league baseball.