Skip to main content

Sunday School: History Lesson 13

By
Jim Konstanty was a pitcher with the Phillies from 1948-1954. Early on, Konstanty, was assumed to have little shot at a real career in the Major Leagues. His scholarly appearance and small repertoire of pitches did little to instill confidence in the clubs he pitched for.

Konstanty, whose real first name was Casimir, was a 4-sport athlete at Syracuse University. He did not begin pitching till he had completed college. Konstanty pitched briefly for the Reds in 1944 but Navy service interrupted his progress and the next few seasons in the minors weren't great. Eddie Sawyer took over as manager of the Phillies' triple A team, Toronto, in 1948. Sawyer moved Konstanty to the bullpen, and when Sawyer got promoted up to manage the Phillies, he brought Konstanty up along with him.

In 1949, Konstanty had a break through season for the Phillies and went 9-5 with a 3.25 ERA. 1950, however, was the year that put Jim Konstanty in the history books. That season, the Phillies won their first National League pennant in 35 years, and Konstanty won the National League Most Valuable Player award. In 74 games, all relief appearances, Konstanty had 22 saves and a 16-7 record with a 2.66 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He pitched 152 innings that season.

Konstanty relied almost solely on two pitches. A slider and a change up was all he needed to baffle opposing batters. And unlike closers of today, Konstanty was frequently called upon to pitch an extended number of innings. In the second game of a double header on September 16th, 1950, the Phils trailed the Reds 5-0 in the 7th inning, prior to eventually tying the game in the 9th inning. Jim had entered the game in the 8th inning, and went on to pitch 9 scoreless innings before the Phillies won the game in the bottom of the 18th inning. That same season he also pitched 9 innings of relief against the Pirates. His 74 pitching appearances that season was the ML record, at the time.

By the end of his career in 11 seasons with 5 different clubs, Konstanty had posted a 66-48 record with 74 saves and a 3.46 ERA in 433 games.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stats to Ponder: Jimmy Rollins Edition

By
J-Roll has batted under .200 for a calendar month twice in his career. In April 2004, Rollins went 13-for-71, for a .183 average. The following month, Rollins went 30-for-107, which is a .280 average. And in August 2005, Rollins went 22-for-117, for a .188 average. The month that followed saw Rollins go 49-for-122 for a .402 average. Rollins is batting .171 so far in May 2009. Improvement is not far away for Jimmy. The Phillies are 10-2 in games this year which Rollins scores at least 1 run. The Phillies are 4-12 in games which Rollins does not score. Jimmy Rollins in 6 games against the Braves this year is batting .071 (2-for-28). In 2008 Rollins batted .284 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2007 Rollins batted .347 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2006 Rollins batted .367 against the Braves in 18 games. Jimmy Milestone Watch: 6 more RBI and Rollins will tie Scott Rolen for 25th all time in Phillies RBI leaders. 7 more triples and Rollins will tie Richie Ashburn for 4th all time i...
2 comments
Read more

Crawford's Chronicles: JP Crawford talks Spring Training

By
JP Crawford, image- Jay Floyd Entering this year as the widely regarded top prospect in the Phillies organization, J.P. Crawford will be taking time each week to provide insight directly from inside spring training in Clearwater, FL, right here on PhilliesNation.com. Crawford, 20, was named the top positional prospect in two leagues (Class A South Atlantic League and Class A Advanced Florida State League) last year, when he combined, in 123 games, to post a .285 average, 11 homers, 48 RBI and 24 stolen bases. He also represented the Phils organization in the MLB All-Star Futures Game last season. As the 2015 campaign approaches, the six-foot-two 180-pound lefty batter is expected to reach the Double-A level and continue to prove why the Phillies selected him in the first round of the 2013 draft. In this initial installment of our weekly check-in with J.P., he shares thoughts on a variety of topics, including his exclusion from big league camp, which member of the big leagu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Phreestyle Battle & Notes

By
Unrelated to baseball, really...but it's fun and our Phils are off today. This new kid on the hip hop scene, Charles Hamilton , whose single Brooklyn Girl is ripping up radio and video count downs, was at PSU for a performance recently. A freestyle battle ensued, and as you'll see, the Penn State student held his own. Stay tuned for the ending. It's the best part. Here are some random Phillies-in-idle baseball thoughts and notes- Colbert Hamels is slated to make his Grapefruit League debut tomorrow vs. Team Canada. Shane Victorino is going to wear #50 on his jersey for Team USA, a nod to Hawaii Five-O. Brad Lidge is likely to not see game action till next week, after he throws some more bullpen sessions and works out the tightness in his forearm. Albert Pujols is declaring "respect for his country" as reasoning for sitting out of the Cardinals' exhibition this week against Team Dominican Republic. He told reporters, "I don’t want to play against them...
2 comments
Read more