Former Big League Pitcher Dave Boswell Dead At 67
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Former Baltimore Oriole Dave Boswell, who won 20 games for the Minnesota Twins in 1969 despite missing a couple of weeks after a fight with manager Billy Martin, has died. He was 67.
He died in his home in Joppa, Md., on Monday, said the Baltimore Orioles, his last major league team.
The right-hander had a colorful, albeit short, career and participated in a great pitching duel with Baltimore's Dave McNally in Game 2 of the 1969 AL championship series.
The Twins signed Boswell, a native of Baltimore, in 1963 and he sped through the system to make his debut as a 19-year-old in 1964.
He pitched for Minnesota in the 1965 World Series.
Boswell spent seven seasons with the Twins and finished his career with short stints with Detroit and his hometown Orioles in 1971. He was 68-56 overall.
Boswell may have had as many memories off the diamond as he did on it. Known in Twins lore for his adventures out on the town, perhaps his most infamous night came in August 1969 when he received 20 stitches after being punched by Martin, the Twins' irascible manager, during a fight in a parking lot in Detroit.
The two exchanged apologies shortly after, and Boswell played a key role in helping the Twins win the AL West.
Boswell threw 256 1/3 innings that season, going 20-12 with a 3.23 ERA and 10 complete games. He then locked up with McNally in a tense playoff matchup featuring future Hall of Fame hitters Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew.
A day after the Orioles squeaked past the Twins in the first ALCS game ever played, Boswell and McNally took their scoreless duel into extra innings. On a late Sunday afternoon at old Memorial Stadium, it was still 0-0 in the bottom of the 11th when Boswell was pulled with two outs and a runner on second.
The Baltimore crowd gave Boswell an ovation as he left the mound, having followed his career since he was a prep star.
Reliever Ron Perranoski gave up a single to pinch hitter Curt Motton, with Boog Powell lumbering home for the winning run.
Boswell worked around seven hits and seven walks, striking out four. McNally went the distance, allowing three hits while striking out 11 and walking five.
The Orioles went on to sweep the best of five series, and Boswell never again was the same pitcher. He went 3-7 for Minnesota the next year, and was out of baseball after going a combined 1-2 for Detroit and the Orioles in 1971.
Boswell pitched in 205 games, 151 of them starts. The Baltimore native threw 37 complete games, including six shutouts, and finished with a 3.52 ERA.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
