| Vito Tamulis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1911-07-11)July 11, 1911 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| Died: May 5, 1974(1974-05-05) (aged 62) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 25, 1934, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 25, 1941, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 40–28 |
| Earned run average | 3.97 |
| Strikeouts | 294 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Vitautis Casimirus Tamulis (July 11, 1911 – May 5, 1974) was an American left-handedpitcher inMajor League Baseball who played for theNew York Yankees,St. Louis Browns,Philadelphia Phillies andBrooklyn Dodgers from 1934 to 1941.
A native ofCambridge, Massachusetts ofLithuanian descent,[1] Tamulis attendedThe English High School, where he led the school's baseball team to the 1930Boston city championship.[2] While still in high school in 1929, he played for theOsterville andHyannis teams in theCape Cod Baseball League.[3][4][5]
Tamulis was signed by theNew York Yankees as an 18-year-old,[2] and began his professional baseball career in 1930 with theChambersburg Young Yanks of theBlue Ridge League. He worked his way through the minor league system, and was called up by New York late in the1934 season. Tamulis made his major league debut on September 25, getting the start on the mound for the Yankees against thePhiladelphia A's atShibe Park. The A's countered with hurlerJoe Cascarella, and featured a lineup that includedBaseball Hall of FamerJimmie Foxx batting cleanup. Tamulis pitched brilliantly, tossing a complete-game shutout, scattering seven hits (two to Foxx), and striking out five. Yankees Hall of Fame sluggerLou Gehrig homered, and Tamulis himself singled and scored onRed Rolfe's triple. New York came away with a 5–0 win in Tamulis' only appearance of the season.[6]
Tamulis became a Yankee regular in1935, posting a 10–5 record with a 4.09 ERA over 160.2 innings. Highlights of his 1935 season included a complete-game shutout of theCleveland Indians atYankee Stadium on May 16,[7] and a 10-inning complete game performance in a hard-luck 2–1 loss to theSt. Louis Browns in the second game of adoubleheader in the Bronx on July 21, with Tamulis yielding the game-winning homer toMoose Solters in the 10th.[8] Tamulis himself clouted his only major league four-bagger on June 11, a two-run homer off Browns hurlerRuss Van Atta atSportsman's Park. Tamulis had three RBI on the day, and went the distance on the mound in the Yankees' 9–3 victory.[9]
After the 1935 season, Tamulis was weakened by a prolonged bout ofpleurisy,[2] and as a result spent the 1936 and 1937 seasons with theNewark Bears of theInternational League. After the 1937 season, he was traded to the St. Louis Browns forHarry Davis. Tamulis appeared in only three games for the Browns early in their1938 season, taking losses in all three appearances with a 7.63 ERA.
He was claimed off waivers by theBrooklyn Dodgers, and turned his season around, posting a 12–6 record in 159.2 innings with a 3.83 ERA for the1938 Dodgers. He appeared in 39 games for Brooklyn in 1939, and 41 games in 1940. After the 1940 season, the Dodgers traded Tamulis to thePhiladelphia Phillies, who traded him back to the Dodgers after six lackluster performances early in the 1941 season. He appeared in 12 more games for the Dodgers that season, before being shipped off to theNashville Volunteers of theSouthern Association in July. He never made another big-league appearance.
Tamulis posted an impressive 20–8 record for Nashville in 1942, and entered military service after the season.[2] WithWorld War II over, Tamulis returned to Nashville for the 1946 season, and in 1948 became player-manager of theHopkinsville Hoppers of theKentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League,[2] posting a 17–3 record on the mound in 1948. His last playing season for the Hoppers was 1951. At Hopkinsville, Tamulis was particularly renowned for hisEephus pitch, which he had used with success in the big leagues against sluggers such asJohnny Mize.[2]
Tamulis remained in theNashville area after his baseball career,[2] and died there in 1974 at age 62.