#264 Bob Buhl

Bob Buhl (rhymes with "mule") does not look like a man to be trifled with.

Fun facts about Bob Buhl:

-Born in Saginaw, MI, Bob signed with the White Sox as a teenager in 1947.

-Chicago let him go after his first pro season and he signed with the Braves.

-After serving in the military for two years (1951-1952), during which time he was a paratrooper in the Korean War, he finally debuted in Milwaukee in 1953 and went 13-8 with a 2.97 ERA that was third in the National League. He would go on to six top-ten finishes in ERA in his career.

-In 1956, Bob set a major league record by beating the eventual pennant-winning Dodgers eight times in one season. In nine games (eight starts) vs. dem Bums, he was 8-1 with a 2.42 ERA. He completed four of his starts, including a six-hit shutout on July 12.

-He posted double-digit wins in nine of the ten seasons in which he was healthy and starting full-time. His career year was 1957, when he went 18-7 (a league-leading .720 win percentage) with a 2.74 ERA and 14 complete games for the World Champion Braves. He was hit hard in two abbreviated World Series starts, but his teammates picked him up and downed the Yankees in seven games.

-His lone All-Star appearance was in 1959, when he was 15-9 with a 2.86 ERA and a league-best four shutouts.

-Bob was traded to the Cubs in 1962 and set a record for offensive futility by going 0-for-70 on the season. His 0-for-87 skid that spanned two seasons is another record. For his career, he had the most at-bats of any player with a sub-.100 average (76-for-857, .089).

-In 1966, Chicago dealt the 37-year-old pitcher to the Phillies along with Larry Jackson for three players, including a 23-year-old rookie named Fergie Jenkins. Buhl had a 4.93 ERA in 35 games for the Phils. Jackson had a 2.95 ERA and won 41 games over three seasons, but Jenkins won 282 more games en route to the Hall of Fame.

-Philadelphia released Buhl in 1967, capping his 15-year career. Overall he was 166-132 with a 3.55 ERA and 111 complete games.

-Bob passed away in Titusville, FL, in February 2001. He was 72 at the time. Former Braves roommate Eddie Mathews died just two days later.