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Hoyt Wilhelm
Relief Pitcher, Brooklyn Superbas, San Francisco Spiders · 1952-1962

There haven't been many great closers in UL history.  There have been a few relief aces who have alternated between setup and relief, and a few swing men who have flourished in the bullpen for a few years before getting a shot at the rotation.  This lack of consistent closers helps frame the achievements of Hoyt Wilhelm, another vital part of the Brooklyn dynasty.

How exactly do we evaluate Wilhelm?  273 of his 297 career saves were recorded over nine years with the Brooklyn Superbas, at the height of his (and their) dominance.  After two good but not spectacular campaigns in 1952 and 1953 (although 1953 did bring him nine wins, a career high), Wilhelm thrived in limited usage in 1954, recording 26 saves in 36 innings with a 2.45 ERA.  In 1955 he proved he could do that over 50 innings (2.74 ERA), earning his first all-UL nomination.  But it was 1956 when it all came together:  a career high 42 saves, an amazing 1.61 ERA in 56 innings, and a second "Ullie", as Brooklyn rode his arm in late situations all the way to the World Series.  1957, by comparison, proved to be a disappointment -- Wilhelm moved to the rotation where he was substandard (a 4.20 ERA).  He returned to his top form over the next three years, adding another 80 saves to his resume.  In 1958 he had his best K/BB ratio (43:9), and in 1960 he posted the second lowest ERA of his career (2.06).

Wilhelm added two world championship rings as well.  When he pitched in the World Series (in 1957, 1958 and 1959), he was electric.  Although he threw only nine innings, he didn't give up a single run and recorded three saves, although two of those series ended in defeat for the Superbas. Interestingly, in 1960, Brooklyn's second triumph, Hoyt was overlooked in favor of Bob Miller in the closer role, as the Superbas wrapped up the Series against Louisville in 5 games.

In 1961, Hoyt again got off to a hot start with four saves in his first six innings, but a ruptured back muscle called an early end to his season and, it being his walk year, his career as a Superba.  1962 brought a trip to the West, as the San Francisco Spiders added the vet to their roster and put him in the closer role.  Although Wilhelm occasionally showed flashes of his old self, a terrible year (in which he gave up 26 runs in 36 innings for a 6.27 ERA) and seemed to lose control of the strike zone (14 walks, 17 strikeouts, 8 homers allowed) spelled the end of Wilhem's career.  On August 28, Wilhem pitched a scoreless inning in LA for his second save in three days, his last UL appearance.

In a few years, Wilhelm may not even be remembered as the greatest relief pitcher in UL history.  Guys like Ted Abernathy and Bob Chakales may both, by the time they retire, have better relief (if not closer) careers than Wilhelm.  For example, Wilhelm never led the league in saves, and it's hard to make the argument that at any time in his Superbas career he was any more than Brooklyn's fifth best arm (he did not even feature in the19'60 World Series), and his one attempt at starting in '57 saw a dip in form.  Essentially, his career consisted of five great years and one superlative one, but even in those six seasons, he only accumulated 291 innings, less than could be expected from a Gene Conley, Johnny Antonelli, Carl Erskine or Stu Miller.  Nonetheless, Wilhelm is the only true consistent closer in UL history: no one comes close to his number of saves, and it's unlikely any of the current batch of relief aces will either.  He finished with a 3.21 ERA in 533.1 innings in exactly 500 games, with 297 saves.  (Doug Aiton)


AWARDS & ACCOLADES
All-Decade Team (1951-60)
All-UL Team (1955, 1956)

 

Career Pitching Stats

Year/Team Age G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER HR BB K CG SHO WHIP   1952 Brooklyn 28 49 0 2 2 32 3.47 49.1 57 24 19 0 18 27 0 0 1.52   1953 Brooklyn 29 60 0 9 8 30 3.62 64.2 52 27 26 0 25 39 0 0 1.19   1954 Brooklyn 30 39 0 2 5 27 2.45 36.2 27 12 10 0 17 23 0 0 1.20   1955 Brooklyn 31 52 0 4 3 34 2.72 56.1 46 17 17 0 22 37 0 0 1.21   1956 Brooklyn 32 57 0 4 3 42 1.61 56.0 40 14 10 0 21 32 0 0 1.09   1957 Brooklyn 33 53 12 6 7 28 4.20 85.2 101 44 40 0 26 57 0 0 1.48   1958 Brooklyn 34 59 0 6 8 34 2.54 56.2 56 23 16 0 9 43 0 0 1.15   1959 Brooklyn 35 44 0 3 5 23 3.10 40.2 47 17 14 0 10 28 0 0 1.40   1960 Brooklyn 36 41 0 5 2 23 2.06 43.2 40 10 10 1 8 28 0 0 1.10   1961 Brooklyn 37 7 0 0 0 4 2.84 6.1 7 2 2 0 2 5 0 0 1.42   1962 San Francisco 38 39 0 3 3 20 6.27 37.1 43 29 26 8 14 17 0 0 1.53   Total UL 11 yrs. 500 12 44 46 297 3.21 533.1 516 219 190 9 172 336 0 0 1.29