Skip to main content

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 66

By
Ray Culp was a right-handed pitcher with the Phillies from 1963-1966. Culp was signed right out of high school in Austin, TX for $100,000. He struggled somewhat with his command through two seasons in the minors, but won 13 games for the Phillies A-Level team in Williamsport. The very next Spring, Culp landed in the Phillies' starting rotation when several other pitchers became sidelined with injuries.

In his second Major League start, Culp shut out Houston 7-0, allowing just 3 hits. In 6 June starts, Culp went 4-2. The wins included two shut outs, one each against the Metropolitans and the Cardinals. Culp had 10 wins by mid-season and he was honored as a National League all-star in his rookie season. Culp finished the year with a 2.97 ERA. He was also honored as The Sporting News Rookie of the Year, which is the same award J.A. Happ won in 2009.

In 1964, Culp posted a record of 8-7 in 30 games and his ERA shot up to 4.13 for the season. In June of that season, he threw a one-hitter against the Cubs. A heavy reliance on his breaking pitches strained Culp's elbow and he developed a sore arm. This contributed in Gene Mauch demoting Culp to the bullpen. In the midst of the notorious 1964 collapse, when the Phillies blew a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 games left in the season, Culp was part of the team's relief corp.

Culp rebounded in 1965 to rejoin the Phillies' rotation, won 14 games and improved his ERA to 3.22, throwing 11 complete games in the process. Unfortunately for Culp, in 1966, the sore arm returned and Culp's struggles were back with it. For the season, his ERA shot up to 5.04 and he was assigned to the bullpen for most of the year.

The Phillies grew frustrated with Culp's inconsistency and traded him to the Cubs, with cash, for Dick Ellsworth, who pitched with the Phillies for just one season.

Culp finished his 1967 season in Chicago with an 8-11 record and a 3.89 ERA. For the second straight off-season, Culp was traded, when Chicago sent him to the Red Sox, where, backed by a better team, he would excel. In his first season with Boston, Culp won a career high 16 games, including 6 shut outs- 4 of which occurred in succession. In each of the two seasons that followed, he won 17 games.


Culp retired from baseball following the 1973 season.

__________________________________________


Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Phillies look-alikes, Part 1

By
The Phillies are World Series Champions and, thus, are world wide celebrities. This recognition isn't enough, I tell you. Some of the champs could very well be confused with other major celebrities around the globe...or at least around my house. Let's dig in... Two look-alikes in particular have been widely discussed. Geoff Jenkins even made a sign on the table covering at his autograph station at last year's Phillies Phestival that he is not Brett Favre or phormer Phillie Randy Wolf. ------------------------------------------------------- Jayson Werth may be on his way to Wrestlemania. Jay-Dub is aware that he resembles Heavyweight wrestling champion Adam "Edge" Copeland. Are you? -------------------------------------------- Carlos Ruiz's fame was boosted by TBS during the playoffs, but he might be ready for his own Comedy Central sketch show, as he looks very much like Carlos Mencia. Dee dee dee! -------------------------------------------------- And whi...
4 comments
Read more

PhoulBallz Interview: Reading second baseman Jesmuel Valentin

By
Jesmuel Valentin, image- Jay Floyd Switch-hitting infielder Jesmuel Valentin has been a bit of an underrated contributor with the Double-A Reading Fightins. Heading into action on Friday, Valentin was batting .339 over his last 14 games. Overall this season, the 22-year-old is batting .282 with four home runs and 35 RBI in 64 games. Valentin, who plays mostly second base, but dabbles at shortstop a bit also, is the son of former big leaguer Jose Valentin . The Puerto Rico native was a supplementary round pick (51st overall) of the Dodgers in 2012. He was acquired by the Phils as part of the Roberto Hernandez trade in 2014. Recently, I spoke with Jesmuel about his team's success, growing up around the game and more. Read ahead for that full interview. -The Reading team has been great and you've contributed very nicely to the club's success. What are your thoughts on competition in the Eastern League this year? I just came here with the mindset that...
Post a Comment
Read more

PhoulBallz Interview: RHP Prospect Brody Colvin

By
Recently, right-handed pitcher Brody Colvin was promoted from Class A Advanced Clearwater to Double-A Reading. Prior to the 2012 season, Colvin, who turns 22-years-old on Tuesday, was ranked as PhilliesNation's 6th best prospect . This season, following some ups and downs, it's unclear where Colvin will rank next preseason. Earlier this year, Colvin, a Louisiana native, was removed from Clearwater's starting rotation and moved to the bullpen to relax and improve his mental approach. He did so and returned to starting after a brief time. Through his first two outings with the R-Phils, the 7th round draft choice from 2009 posted a 1-0 record while allowing five earned runs in 11 innings (4.09 ERA). In his last start on Saturday, however, Colvin allowed eight earned runs in 2 2/3 innings pitched in a loss to New Britain. In a recent interview with Brody, he spoke about the transition moving to the Eastern League, his brief bullpen stint, physical concerns from last season...
2 comments
Read more