Claude Osteen
One of the slowest workers in the game, Claude Osteen lulled opposing batters (and fans) to sleep with his methodical pitching style. He hurled a shutout in Game Three of the 1965 World Series, and tossed 40 more shutouts in regular season play. Despite that impressive number of whitewashes, Osteen finished just a shade over .500 for his 18-year career, at 196-195. He won at least 10 games in ten straight seasons, and reached 15 victories eight times.
Played For
Cincinnati Reds (1957-1961)
Washington Senators (1961-1964)
Los Angeles Dodgers (1965-1973)
Houston Astros (1974)
St. Louis Cardinals (1974)
Chicago White Sox (1975)
Best Season: 1972
The lefty posted a 20-11 record with a career-low 2.64 ERA. He completed 14 games and tossed four shutouts, many of them in the last few weeks of the season, as he finished on a high-note.
Easy Money
The White Sox released Osteen so late into spring training in 1976, that they had to pay him two months' salary, or $18,000. Osteen never pitched in the big leagues again.
Born
Claude Wilson (Jr.) Osteen was born on August 9, 1939, in Caney Spring, TN.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
Primary Position: P
Primary Team: LAN
Major League Debut
July 6, 1957
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1957
Johnny Roseboro
Roger Maris
Jim Landis
Claude Osteen
Milt Pappas
Lenny Green
Tony Kubek
Jim Gentile
Juan Pizarro
Nicknames
Gomer
Osteen drew unfortunate comparisons to Gomer Pyle, the character played by Jim Nabors.
Related Players
Frank Howard... Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Don Sutton
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1981 |
BBWAA |
2 |
.5% |
1982 |
BBWAA |
1 |
.2% |
|
Post-Season Appearances
1965 World Series
1966 World Series
Notes
Osteen pitched five shutout innings in All-Star Game play, and won the 1970 game... For his career, Osteen was 99-89 with a 3.06 ERA in the months of April, May and June; 95-104 with a 3.54 ERA in July, August and September.
Transactions
July 2, 1957: Signed by the Cincinnati Redlegs as an amateur free agent out of Reading (Ohio) High School. Osteen was 17 years old when he was called up to the Reds on September 24.
September 16, 1961: Traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Washington Senators for a player to be named later and cash. The Washington Senators sent Dave Sisler (November 28, 1961) to the Cincinnati Reds to complete the trade.
December 4, 1964: Traded by the Washington Senators with John Kennedy and $100000 cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later, Frank Howard, Phil Ortega, Pete Richert, and Ken McMullen. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent Dick Nen (December 15, 1964) to the Washington Senators to complete the trade.
December 6, 1973: Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with Dave Culpepper (minors) to the Houston Astros for Jimmy Wynn.
August 15, 1974: Traded by the Houston Astros to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later and Ron Selak (minors). The St. Louis Cardinals sent Dan Larson (October 14, 1974) to the Houston Astros to complete the trade.
April 5, 1975: Released by the St. Louis Cardinals.
April 11, 1975: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.
April 5, 1976: Released by the Chicago White Sox.
Matchup Data
It would be hard for any batter to have more success against a pitcher, than Orlando Cepeda enjoyed against Osteen. The future Hall of Fame slugger hit .478 (32-for-67) with six homers and a .821 SLG percentage against the southpaw... Hank Aaron belted 14 homers off Osteen in 126 career at-bats... On the other hand, Willie Mays hit just .252 (26-for-103) against Osteen, though he did slug five homers and was walked 17 times... Osteen baffled left-handed slugger Willie McCovey, holding him to 10-for-67 (.149) with four homers.
All-Star Selections
1967 NL
1970 NL
1973 NL
Learn More about Claude Osteen
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