Up on the blog today, we feature a 1971 "Career-Capper" for
one-time phenom Bo Belinsky, who wrapped up a Big League career as a
member of the Cincinnati Reds in 1970:
Belinsky
made a huge splash back in 1962 as a member of the Los Angeles Angels,
tossing a no-hitter in his fourth start, allowing him to start his
career 4-0.
He was an instant "player" of another sort in
L.A., known for his night-life action and dating of a handful of
Hollywood starlets like Ann Margaret, Mamie Van Doren, Connie Stevens
and Tina Louise.
He didn't exactly finish his rookie year as a
star himself however, going 10-11 with a 3.56 ERA over 33 games and
187.1 innings, while leading the league in walks.
The
following year, his star fell even further as injuries limited his
season to just 13 games, going 2-9 with a 5.75 ERA over 76.2 innings,
completing two games.
1964 saw him bounce back a bit, arguably
posting his best season as a Big Leaguer when he went 9-8 over 23
games, 22 of them starts, with a nice 2.86 ERA over 135.1 innings,
striking out 91 while tossing a shutout.
It would give the
Angels a promising two-man punch along with their Cy Young winner Dean
Chance, who had a monster year that season.
Sadly, that was
all short-lived as Belinsky would come back in 1965, now a member of the
Philadelphia Phillies, and go 4-9 over 30 games, only 14 of them
starts, finishing with an ERA of 4.84 in 110 innings.
Turns out the Angels would trade Belinky to Philly for Rudy May and Minor Leaguer Costen Shockley.
He
would never again find that "spark" in the remaining parts of four
seasons left in his career, as he would go on to pitch for the Houston
Astros in 1967, Pittsburgh Pirates in 1969 and Reds in 1970, never
winning more than three games in any season, reaching 100 innings once.
By the time he was done, he finished with a record 28-51 over 146 games, with an ERA at 4.10 in 665.1 innings pitched.
The white-hot start way back in 1962 now a long-ago memory.
