| Jim Willoughby | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1949-01-31)January 31, 1949 (age 76) Salinas, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 5, 1971, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 28, 1978, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 26–36 |
| Earned run average | 3.79 |
| Strikeouts | 250 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
James Arthur Willoughby (born January 31, 1949) is a formerpitcher inMajor League Baseball who played from 1971 through 1978 for theSan Francisco Giants,Boston Red Sox andChicago White Sox. Listed at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) and 185 lb (84 kg), he batted and threw right handed.[1]
In his entire career from therotation to thebullpen, Willoughby was aground ball pitcher who relied on asinker ball and aslider, which he consistently threw from a three-quarters arm slot with a high leg lift. Eventually, he used a slowcurveball, low and just off the outside of the plate.[2]
"Willow", as he was often called, was the only son of three children born to James Roger Willoughby and Marlene Dickinson Willoughby. He hadPottawatomi heritage in addition to his British ancestry, as his great-aunt Mamie Echo Hawk[3][better source needed] served as the tribe’schief lobbyist inWashington DC office for many years.[2]
Born inSalinas, California, Willoughby was raised and attended high school in the town ofGustine inSan Joaquin Valley.[2] While attendingGustine High School, he played four years of varsity baseball as well as basketball and football, eventually participating in track events. He then was selected by the Giants in the 11th round of the1967 MLB Draft, being assigned immediately to the rookie classSalt Lake City Giants. Willoughby later pitched for other teams in the Giants minor league system, as well as pursuing a degree inelectrical engineering as part of his scholarship plan signed with San Francisco. As a result, he spent the 1967–1968 offseason atUC Berkeley and also attendedFresno State,Phoenix College, and theCollege of San Mateo.[2]
Willoughby debuted with the Giants intheir 1971 season during a game against theHouston Astros on September 9. Hestarted the game and lasted only three innings, allowing three runs on six hits and onewalk with threestrikeouts, being credited with the loss. He finished the year with one inning ofrelief.[1]
Back to the minors in 1972, Willoughby was recalled on August 3 to replace injured starterSam McDowell. Three days later, Willoughby avenged on the Astros for the loss in his debut the year before by earning his first career win against them with a 6–2,complete game victory atCandlestick Park.[4] He finished the season with a 6-4 record and a 2.36ERA in 11 starts, striking out 40 and walking 14 in87+2⁄3 innings while completing seven games.[1] He then was used as long reliever and spot starter in 1973, and went 4-5 with a 4.68 ERA in 39 games. Furthermore, he accomplished his only careershutout against theSt. Louis Cardinals on April 28, limiting them to four hits and one walk, while striking out six in the 1–0 victory.[5]
Following a subpar season in 1974, Willoughby was traded to the Cardinals in exchange for second basemanTom Heintzelman. Then St. Louis sent him to the Boston Red Sox in July 1975 to complete an earlier deal made for shortstopMario Guerrero.[1]
By 1975, Boston was on the way to its first pennant since the1967 "Impossible Dream" season, and Willoughby helped the team win the title when the bullpen was short handed and plagued by injuries of late.
Willoughby had never been a full-time reliever before, but he responded with a very solid season, as he made 24 appearances and went 5-2 with eightsaves and a 3.54 ERA in48+1⁄3 innings of work,[1] but was not used in the1975 ALCS against the three-time defending World ChampionOakland Athletics, which was swept by Boston in three games. Nevertheless, he assumed relief duties in three crucial games of the1975 World Series against theCincinnati Reds.[1]
InGame 3 of the Series, Willoughby relieved in the bottom of the seventh inning with the score tied at 5–5 and retired nine consecutive hitters. He returned in the bottom of the tenth inning, only to set the stage for a wild and controversial finish.
Willoughby gave off a leadoff single toCésar Gerónimo. After that,Ed Armbrister attempted asacrifice bunt that bounced high near the plate toward the first-base line. And Armbrister hesitated before running, apparently thinking theball would go foul, while Boston catcherCarlton Fisk appeared to collide with him as he was retrieving the ball. In a controversial decision, the umpiring crew did not call Armbristerout for interference. Amid the confusion, Fisk attempted to force out Gerónimo, but his throw sailed high over shortstopRick Burleson. This allowed Gerónimo to advance to third and Armbrister to advance to second. Both Fisk and Red Sox managerDarrell Johnson argued that Armbrister should have been ruled out for interference, but home plate umpireLarry Barnett ruled otherwise. Johnson then brought inRoger Moret, and elected to load the bases with anintentionally walk toPete Rose and set up aforce play situation. And that move failed. Moret struck outpinch hitterMerv Rettenmund, butJoe Morgandrove in Gerónimo with the winning run by hitting a deepsacrifice fly to center field, while Willoughby was tagged with the loss.[6]
In his next Series appearances, Willoughby hurled two scoreless innings inGame 5 and was called on to calm things down in decisiveGame 7. The score was tied, 3–3, in the top of the seventh inning, andJohnny Bench stepped to the plate with thebases loaded andtwo outs. Willoughby took care of the situation and easily retired Bench on afoul pop to catcher Fisk. He then pitched a clean 1-2-3 eighth inning. In the bottom of the eight, though, with two outs, none on base, and the score still tied, manager Johnson pulled Willoughby in favor of pinch-hitterCecil Cooper. Cooper was retired on a pop out to third baseman Rose in foul territory. Afterwards, rookie left-handedJim Burton came on to pitch the top half of the ninth for the Red Sox. Burton was selected by Johnson because the Reds were expected to send up three left-handed hitters in a row. But the strategy did not work, because Burton gave up two walks sandwiched around two outs and surrendered a single to Morgan, allowingKen Griffey to score the go-ahead and eventual winning run of the Series.[7] Overall, Willoughby allowed anunearned run, three singles and one walk, while striking out three in6+1⁄3 innings.
In 1976, Willoughby posted an unfortunate record of 3-12 in 54 relief appearances, but he pitched well enough to post a 2.86 ERA in 99 innings while saving 10 games.[1] But his role with the 1977 Red Sox team was reduced, as he spent time on thedisabled list for the first time in his major league career. On May 22, Willoughby broke his right ankle when he slipped on the grass during a pregame warm up.[2] He returned in the month of August, but was ineffective for the rest of the season, ending with a 6-2 record and two saves in 31 games. Moreover, he recorded an ERA of 4.94, his highest ever in a regular season.[1]
The Red Sox sold Willoughby to the Chicago White Sox at the end of the 1978 spring training. At Chicago, he was used exclusively as a middle reliever andsetup man for closerLerrin LaGrow. Willoughby pitched 59 games, going 1-6 with a 3.86 ERA and 13 saves in 93⅓ innings, during what turned out to be his final Major League season.[1]
In October 1978, Chicago had sent Willoughby to theSt. Louis Cardinals in exchange for outfielderJohn Scott.[1] But Willoughby was released during the 1979 spring training, and he decided to sign a Double-A contract to play with theWichita Aeros in theChicago Cubs system. His contract allowed him to request his release if he was not called up to Chicago by the trade deadline. Then, when the Cubs declined to promote him, he made a deal with thePittsburgh Pirates and joined the Triple–APortland Beavers.[1] Finally, he was included on the active roster of the eventual World Series champion Pirates as bullpen insurance but never appeared in a game. Nevertheless, he received a $250 World Series share from the'We Are Family' Bucs that defeated theBaltimore Orioles in seven games.[2]
In between, Willoughby played in the winter for theTigres de Aragua andTiburones de La Guaira clubs of theVenezuelan League in the 1973-74 and 1979-80 seasons, respectively.[8] In 1979, Willoughby played the entire minor league season with undiagnoseddiabetes mellitus type 1, but was unaware of it until he went to Venezuela late in the year and suffered adiabetic coma. It was neither lengthy nor deep, but he was briefly in the hospital. At this point, he decided to retire for good from playing.[2]
Following his playing retirement, Willoughby moved toMassachusetts and briefly hosted a radio talk show inWaltham. He then was namedbaseball head coach atSuffolk University in December 1980, but resigned four months later after being suspended for a bat-throwing incident during practice. Subsequently, he returned to his native California, where he worked as a construction contractor and developed a career building houses on the western slope of theSierra Nevada.[2]
In 1989, Willoughby was working as a carpenter in California and received an invitation to play in the recent foundedSenior Professional Baseball Association, where he joined theWinter Haven Super Sox pitching staff.[9] Apparently, the team's owners wanted to put the old Red Sox team on the field. There, he also had a chance to reunite with some of his former 1970s teammates, who, like Willoughby, were dubbed the 'Buffalo Heads' for theircounterculture behavior while playing at Boston.[10] Consequently,Bill Lee pitched and managed the Super Sox,Ferguson Jenkins served as their pitching coach,Bill Campbell andRick Wise pitched,Butch Hobson was the regular third baseman, andBernie Carbo contributed as a part-timeDH and pinch-hitter.[9] Willoughby spent one more season in the league while pitching for theSan Bernardino Pride in 1990, completing a professional baseball career for 15 years spanning four different decades from 1967–1990.[2]
Married three times, Willoughby had two sons by his second wife: Trevor, who played baseball atCal State Fullerton, and Ryan, who played basketball in high school.
Willoughby later became a resident ofPollock Pines in California, where he continued working as a painting and decorating contractor.[11]
| Years | League | W | L | W-L% | ERA | GP | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | HA | RA | ER | SO | BB | IBB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971–1978 | MLB | 26 | 36 | 4.19 | 3.79 | 238 | 28 | 8 | 1 | 34 | 550+2⁄3 | 558 | 266 | 232 | 250 | 145 | 29 |
| 1975 | WS | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+1⁄3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967–1972; 1974–1975; 1979 | MiLB | 73 | 55 | .570 | 3.79 | 217 | 151 | 52 | 12 | 12 | 1153 | 1164 | 587 | 478 | 806 | 344 | 27 |