1971 "BASEBALL'S GREATEST MOMENTS": JIM MALONEY

Today on the blog we celebrate Jim Maloney's 10-inning no-hitter of 1965 with a "missing" 1971 "Baseball's Greatest Moments" card:

The fire-balling Cincinnati Reds righty was truly a beast on the mound, and on August 19th of 1965 he was unstoppable when he tossed 10 innings against Chicago, keeping them hitless until his own team finally got him a run in the top of the 10th inning when shortstop Leo Cardenas homered of starter Larry Jackson. Yep, BOTH starters went the full distance that day, with Jackson on the short end of history.

For Maloney, he tossed 10 innings, allowed zero hits, while also (gulp!) walking TEN batters and striking out 12, facing 40 batters in his "masterpiece".

He also would put in a decent day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two singles to try and help his own cause.

Incredibly, earlier in the very same season Maloney held the New York Mets hitless through nine innings, only to lose in extra innings after striking out 18 Met batters before allowing a Johnny Lewis homer in the 11th frame to take the heartbreaking loss.

Four years later in 1969, Maloney would toss his second "official" no-hitter when he beat the Houston Astros 10-0 at Crosley Field, striking out 13 while walking five.

He tends to get overlooked as far as pitching stars of the 1960’s go.
Granted when you’re up against guys like Koufax, Marichal, Drysdale and Gibson, it’s easy to see why.
Nevertheless, in Maloney’s seven full seasons of Major League ball, he posted five seasons of sub-3.00 ERA, four 200+ strikeout years, and six 15+ win seasons, with two of them topping 20.
The guy was a machine! 29 of his 30 lifetime shutouts were in those seven years, with four seasons of five or more.
And consider this: until Major League officials changed the rules of what a no-hitter was years later, Maloney was considered as one of the few to throw THREE or more such gems.

By the time Maloney wrapped up his career after the 1971 season because of injuries at the young age of 31, he finished with a very nice 134-84 record, with a 3.19 ERA and 1605 strikeouts over 302 games and 1849 innings pitched, and a reputation as one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the game during the 1960’s.

 

GIMMIE A DO-OVER: 1972 JIM MALONEY

On the blog today, wanted to give former flame-thrower Jim maloney a do-over on his 1972 card, reflecting his time with the California Angels in 1971, the last season of his very nice 12-year career:

 

Maloney appeared in 13 games for the Angels in 1971, going 0-3 with a 5.04 earned run average over 30.1 innings of work.

He tends to get overlooked as far as pitching stars of the 1960’s go.
Granted when you’re up against guys like Koufax, Marichal, Drysdale and Gibson, it’s easy to see why.
Nevertheless, in Maloney’s seven full seasons of Major League ball, he posted five seasons of sub-3.00 ERA, four 200+ strikeout years, and six 15+ win seasons, with two of them topping 20.
The guy was a machine! 29 of his 30 lifetime shutouts were in those seven years, with four seasons of five or more.
And consider this: until Major League officials changed the rules of what a no-hitter was years later, Maloney was considered as one of the few to throw THREE or more such gems.
In 1965 Maloney not only threw a 10-inning no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs on August 19th, in which he became the first pitcher to go more than nine-innings and complete a no-hitter, he also, earlier in the season on June 14th against the New York Mets, LOST a no-hitter in the 10th inning when Mets player Johnny Lewis led off the 11th with a homer, thus handing Maloney a loss after going ten innings with a no-no.
Then, as if all of that wasn’t enough, Maloney went and threw a no-hitter on April 30th of 1969 against the Houston Astros, this time mercifully given a huge lead, eventually winning the game 10-0.
So while credited with two “official” no-hitters for his career, he came ever so close to three.
1963 can arguably be considered his best year on a big league mound, when he posted a 23-7 record with a 2.77 ERA and 265 K’s to go along with six shutouts over 33 starts and 250.1 innings pitched.
Sadly for him there was a guy named Koufax dominating the world of baseball that year, easily taking home not only a Cy Young Award but an MVP Award as well.
By the time Maloney wrapped up his career after the 1971 season because of injuries at the young age of 31, he finished with a very nice 134-84 record, with a 3.19 ERA and 1605 strikeouts over 302 games and 1849 innings pitched, and a reputation as one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the game during the 1960’s.eryone down.

He twice won 20+ games, with a high of 23 in 1965 when he posted a record of 23-7 with a 2.77 ERA and 265 strikeouts over 33 starts and 250.1 innings pitched.
Two seasons later, he pitched one “official” and one “unofficial” no-hitter, going 20-9 with an ERA of 2.54 (his career best), with 244 strikeouts over 33 appearances and 255.1 innings of work.

NO-HITTERS SPECIAL SUB-SET: JIM MALONEY APRIL 30TH 1969

The next no-hitter on my new thread showcasing the gems through custom cards is the second no-no thrown by former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jim Maloney, who also threw a 10-inning no-hitter before losing it in the 11th:

Maloney’s second “official” no-hitter came on April 30th, 1969 when he kept the Houston Astros line-up that included Joe Morgan and Jim Wynn without a knock, while striking out 13 batters on his way to a 10-0 win.
Funny enough, the very next day, Don Wilson returned the favor and threw a no-hitter of his own against the Reds on behalf of the Astros.
Needless to say, expect THAT no-hitter to be profiled next on the blog!
For Maloney, he’d go on to post a record of 12-5 with an ERA of 2.77 in 1969, which would tunr out to be that last productive season of his 12-year career.
He would play 1970 and 1971 but be limited to only 20 games combined, finally retiring for good after 13 games with the California Angels in 1971 when he went 0-3 with a 5.04 ERA.
He twice won 20+ games, with a high of 23 in 1965 when he posted a record of 23-7 with a 2.77 ERA and 265 strikeouts over 33 starts and 250.1 innings pitched.
Two seasons later, when he pitched one “official” and one “unofficial” no-hitter, he went 20-9 with an ERA of 2.54 (his career best), with 244 strikeouts over 33 appearances and 255.1 innings of work.
Definitely one of the forgotten power-arms of the decade with four straight 200+ seasons between 1963 and 1966.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK-1969: BACK TO BACK NO-HITTERS BY JIM MALONEY & DON WILSON

Just one season after the Major Leagues saw opponents no-hit each other when Gaylord Perry and Ray Washburn pulled off the trick during the “year of the pitcher”, the improbable happened when two pitchers managed to do the very same in 1969, Jim Maloney of the Cincinnati Reds and Don Wilson of the Houston Astros.
Here’s a 1979 “Turn Back the Clock” celebrating that feat:

On April 30th, Reds fireballer Jim Maloney pitched what was considered then his third career no-hitter, beating the Astros 10-0 after striking out Doug Radar for the last out & his 13th strikeout of the day.
This was an Astros team that had Joe Morgan and Jimmy Wynn in the line-up, so it wasn’t exactly a piece of cake, though Maloney was credited with facing only 26 official batters after the Reds pulled off a double-play to erase of of five walks the hurler issued that game.
Now, years later in 1991 when baseball changed the rules, Maloney had one of his no-hitter taken away when it was now not considered a no-no if you eventually gave up a hit in extra-innings, which is exactly what Maloney did against the Mets in June of 1965 when Johnny Lewis tagged Maloney for a homer in the 11th inning of what was, up to that point, a no-hitter.
Nevertheless, Maloney went down in history as a two-time no-hit pitcher, three if you want to count that Mets game, and wouldn’t you know it, the very next day the Astros would send to the mound a guy who would also end up with multiple no-hitters during his strong, though tragic career, Don Wilson.
Facing a strong Reds line-up that included Johnny Bench, Tony Perez and the eventual N.L. batting champ that season, Pete Rose, Wilson would fan 13 and walk six, but keep Cincinnati hitless for the no-hitter, and baseball history in the Astros 4-0 win.
Wilson would also finish his career with two no-hitters, famously losing a possible third when his manager, Preston Gomez, took him out for a pinch-hitter on September 4th 1974 with the team trailing 2-1 to the very same Reds, eventually losing the no-hitter and the game.
Sadly, however, just a few months later on January 5th 1975, Wilson was found dead behind the wheel of his car in his garage, overcome by exhaust fumes, which also tragically killed his five-year-old son who was sleeping in a bedroom above the garage.

THEN AND NOW: 1972 JIM MALONEY "SPECIAL REQUEST"

Today’s “Then and Now Super Veteran” is a special request for reader Tony, who asked me to create one for the former fire-baller a while back.
Well, here you go Tony!
Take a look:

Maloney tends to get over-looked as far as pitching stars of the 1960’s go.
Granted when you’re up against guys like Koufax, Marichal, Drysdale and Gibson, it’s easy to see why.
Nevertheless, in Maloney’s seven full seasons of Major League ball, he posted five seasons of sub-3.00 ERA, four 200+ strikeout years, and six 15+ win seasons, with two of them topping 20.
The guy was a machine! 29 of his 30 lifetime shutouts were in those seven years, with four seasons of five or more.
And consider this: until Major League officials changed the rules of what a no-hitter was years later, Maloney was considered as one of the few to throw THREE or more such gems.
In 1965 Maloney not only threw a 10-inning no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs on August 19th, in which he became the first pitcher to go more than nine-innings and complete a no-hitter, he also, earlier in the season on June 14th against the New York Mets, LOST a no-hitter in the 10th inning when Mets player Johnny Lewis led off the 11th with a homer, thus handing Maloney a loss after going ten innings with a no-no.
Then, as if all of that wasn’t enough, Maloney went and threw a no-hitter on April 30th of 1969 against the Houston Astros, this time mercifully given a huge lead, eventually winning the game 10-0.
So while credited with two “official” no-hitters for his career, he came ever so close to three.
1963 can arguably be considered his best year on a big league mound, when he posted a 23-7 record with a 2.77 ERA and 265 K’s to go along with six shutouts over 33 starts and 250.1 innings pitched.
Sadly for him there was a guy named Koufax dominating the world of baseball that year, easily taking home not only a Cy Young Award but an MVP Award as well.
By the time Maloney wrapped up his career after the 1971 season because of injuries at the young age of 31, he finished with a very nice 134-84 record, with a 3.19 ERA and 1605 strikeouts over 302 games and 1849 innings pitched, and a reputation as one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the game during the 1960’s.