Good day all. On the blog today we have a 1970 "career-capper" for
long-time reliever Al Worthington, who wrapped up a nice 14-year Major
League career in 1969:
Worthington appeared in
46 games for the Minnesota Twins that year, a season that saw them
finish first in the newly configured West Division, before losing to the
Baltimore Orioles in the first ever American League Playoffs.
The
40-year-old posted a record of 4-1 over those games, with a 4.57 earned
run average in 61 innings, saving three and striking out 51 batters.
The
year prior he led the A.L. with 18 saves while posting a very nice 2.71
ERA over 54 games, striking out 57 in 76.1 innings of work.
Originally
up in 1953 with the New York Giants, he was generally used as a man out
of the bullpen, appearing in 602 games in his career, with only 69 of
them starts.
By the time he retired, he ended up with a record of 75-82 with 111 saves and a very respectable 3.39 ERA over 1246.2 innings.
His
finest season would have to be 1965 when he helped the Twins make the
World Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers, as he finished
the year 10-7 with a 2.13 ERA over 62 games, saving a career-high 21
games.
