Eddie Watt

Eddie Watt
Pitcher
Born:(1941-04-04)April 4, 1941 Lamoni, Iowa,U.S.
Batted:Right Threw:Right
MLB debut
April 12, 1966, for the Baltimore Orioles
Last MLB appearance
June 14, 1975, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	38–36
Earned run average	2.91
Strikeouts	462
Saves	80
Teams
Baltimore Orioles(1966–1973) Philadelphia Phillies(1974) Chicago Cubs(1975)
Career highlights and awards
World Serieschampion (1970) Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame

Eddie Dean Watt(born April 4, 1941) is an American former professionalbaseballplayer. He played inMajor League Baseballas a right-handedrelief pitcherfrom1966through1975,most prominently as a member of theBaltimore Oriolesdynasty that won three consecutiveAmerican League pennantsfrom 1969 to 1971 and, won theWorld Seriesin 1970. He also played for thePhiladelphia Philliesand theChicago Cubs.In 2000, Watt was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.

Baseball career

Watt started just 13 out of the 411 games he appeared in, all during hisrookieseason. He was 2–5 as a starter and 7–2 with 4savesas a reliever for the1966 World SeriesChampion Orioles. He did not appear in any of the fourWorld Seriesgames against theLos Angeles Dodgers.Jim Palmer,Wally Bunker,andDave McNallyall pitched complete games, and the team needed only one relief appearance, provided in record fashion byMoe Drabowsky.

In 1969 the Orioles won theAmerican Leaguepennant and were upset in theWorld Seriesby theNew York Mets.Watt contributed to Baltimore's 109–53 regular season record with a career-high 16 saves and a career-low 1.65earned run averagein 71 innings.

Watt was an important part of Baltimore's 1970 Championship season though it was not one of his best seasons statistically. He won 7 games and saved 12 with a 3.25 ERA in 53 appearances. He was the losing pitcher in the Orioles' 6–5 defeat to theCincinnati Redsin Game 4 of the1970 World Series.With the Orioles leading 5–3, he entered the contest in relief ofJim Palmerwho had allowed awalktoTony Pérezand asingletoJohnny Benchto open the top of the eighthinning.His first pitch toLee Mayresulted in a three-runhomerto left field that prevented the Orioles from sweeping the Series which it would eventually win the following day. Watt had not pitched in any match during the previous two weeks.

Watt in 2014

In Game 1 of the 1971 American League Championship Series versus the Oakland Athletics, Watt relieved starter Dave McNally, blanking the A's for the last two innings, earning a save. The Orioles would go on to sweep the Athletics, eventually facing the Pittsburgh Pirates in that year's Fall Classic, where Watt would make relief appearances in Games 3 and 4.

He was consistently effective during seven seasons of pitching exclusively in relief for Baltimore. From 1967 to 1973 he averaged 46 appearances, 67 innings, and 10 saves with an ERA of 2.40.

On December 7, 1973 Watt was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies for an estimated $70,000. In 1974 he appeared in 42 games for the Phils, going 1–1 with 6 saves and a 3.99 ERA. He was released by Philadelphia just beforeOpening Dayin 1975, and he hooked on briefly with the Chicago Cubs, making his lastmajor leagueappearance on June 14, 1975. He spent most of the season with theWichita Aerosof theAmerican Association.

Career totals include a record of 38–36 in 411games pitched,13games started,1complete game,240games finished,80 saves, and an ERA of 2.91. In 659.2 innings he gave up just 37home runs,an average of about one per 18 innings, and had a very lowWHIPof 1.188. He had abatting averageof.190 in 100at batswith 3 home runs, hit againstJohnny Podres,Frank Kreutzer,andSam McDowell.

External links

• Career statistics and player information fromMLB,orBaseball Reference,orBaseball Reference (Minors),orRetrosheet
• Eddie Wattat SABR (Baseball Bioproject)
• Eddie Wattat Baseball Library
• Eddie Wattat Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)
• Klingaman, Mike. "Catching up with...former Oriole Eddie Watt,"The Toy Department(The Baltimore Sunsports blog), Monday, May 2, 2011.