Jim Palmer

Quotes About Palmer
"See those gray hairs? Every one of them has number 22 on it." — Earl Weaver, speaking of his tumultuous relationship with pitcher Jim Palmer

"Jim's a perfectionist. he thinks he can go the whole nine innings without making a bad pitch." — teammate Mark Belanger

"The Chinese tell time by the Year of the Dragon, The Year of the Horse. I tell time by Palmer - Year of the Shoulder, Year of the Elbow, The Year of the Ulna Nerve." — on dealing with his "fragile" star pitcher, Jim Palmer

Quotes From Palmer
"I'll probably have my best year in '83" — when told that Earl Weaver planned to retire after the 1982 season.

Played For
Baltimore Orioles (1965-1984)

Minor League Experience
Pitching for Rochester in 1967, Palmer walked the bases loaded. Manager Earl Weaver stomped out to the mound and growled, "Throw this next pitch right down the middle to this hamburger." Palmer did as instructed and the batter launched a grand slam. Palmer was furious at his little manager. The batter's name was Johnny Bench.

All-Time Rankings
Jim Palmer ranks #24 among the Top 50 all-time at SP. Rankings ⇒

Best Season: 1975
Palmer was at his peak in '75, winning 23 games, throwing 10 shutouts, and fashioning a 2.09 ERA, all tops on the American League. He completed 25 games and even saved one. His hit ratio was the lowest of his career, and he fanned 193 batters. Working every fourth day, the right-handed ace allowed the opposition a miniscule .216 batting average. He walked off with his second Cy Young Award

Factoids
In his Hall of Fame Career, Jim Palmer never allowed a grand slam.

Full Bio
James Alvin Palmer was born in New York City and was adopted as an infant. The family later moved to California and Arizona. He starred for Arizona State and was signed by the Orioles in 1964. In 1965 he was on the Oriole pitching staff, with fellow youngsters Dave McNally and Wally Bunker. In May he started his first game, in Detroit, battling Denny McLain, and leaving after seven innings tied 4-4.

In 1966 he joined the starting rotation, with McNally, Bunker, and Steve Barber. The O�s rolled to the pennant, behind Frank Robinson�s MVP season. Palmer won his 15th and final game, against the A�s to clinch the flag. In the World Series the Orioles faced the Dodgers. For Baltimore�s young pitching staff it was a chance to test themselves against Sandy Koufax. Palmer started and won Game Two, shutting out LA, and the O�s went on to sweep the Dodgers.

The next two years were frustrating for the right-hander, as arm troubles shelved him. He threw just 49 innings in 1967 and was limited to minor league rehabilitation in 1968. In �69 he returned healthy (16-4, 2.34 ERA), re-joining the O�s rotation that included twenty-game winners McNally and Mike Cuellar. Baltimore won their division and pummelled Minnesota in the playoffs, with Palmer winning a game. In the Series the O�s were huge favorites over New York, but fate intervened as the Mets won an improbable title.

When Earl Weaver was named manager of the Orioles in 1968, Palmer's career took a turn. The two were polar opposites. Weaver was fiesty, foul-mouthed, stubborn, short, and he looked like a fisherman. Palmer was cool, articulate, tall, and looked like a swimsuit model. They clashed, but proved to be good for each other. According to teammate

The next two years saw two more flags as the Orioles took their place among the great teams of all-time. Palmer went 20-10 and 20-9, joining McNally and Cuellar in one of the finest starting staffs ever. The trio had eight 20-win seasons in the three seasons (1969-71), racking up a combined 188-72 (.723) record, while the rest of the team was 130-92 (.586).

In the 1970 playoffs Palmer won Game Three, the clincher, 6-1. In the Series against the Reds, the O�s won in five games, Palmer notching a victory in two starts. The next fall Palmer again won the pennant, beating the A�s in Game Three of the playoffs, 5-3. In the World Series against the Pirates, Palmer was stellar, winning Game Two and gaining a no-decision in Baltimore�s Game Six must-win. But the Pirates, behind Roberto Clemente, won Game Seven and the series.

Palmer established himself as the best pitcher in the AL in the 1970s, winning 20 games on eight occasions. For the decade he was 188-103, throwing at least 270 innings eight times. In 1973 (22-9, 2.40) he won his first Cy Young award. In 1975 he won again, behind a 23-11 record and 2.09 ERA. That season he threw ten shutouts, allowing just 44 hits in those games. Poor luck in six games, where his teammates failed to score as many as three runs, cost him a run at thirty wins. He backed up that performance with another Cy Young in 1976, winning 22 games to top Detroit's Mark Fidrych.

In both 1977 and 1978 he won twenty games, with an ERA under three. In 1979 the Orioles won another flag, facing the Pirates in the World Series. Leading three games to one, Baltimore failed to win that fourth game, losing in seven games as Palmer lost Game Six to John Candelaria. Palmer turned in a fine �82 season (15-5, 3.13), and at the end of the regular season was involved in one of the most climactic games of the decade. The Brewers and Orioles finished in a dead-heat after 162 games, so a one-game playoff was scheduled. Palmer faced Don Sutton, another Hall of Fame righty, in that game. In a game he desperately wanted, Robin Yount rocked Palmer for two homers and nearly blasted another as Milwaukee took the division title.

Age caught up with Palmer�s arm in 1983 as he started just 11 games, winning five. The Orioles though, behind Cal Ripken Jr., won the pennant, and the veteran hurler won a game in the World Series triumph. After struggling in 1984, Palmer was released and never earned a spot on a major league team again, despite several comeback attempts (including an unprecedented attempt after he had been inducted into the Hall of Fame).

His many comeback attempts were fueled by his intense drive and desire to win 300 games, a mark that eluded him because of those two lost seasons early in his career. He retired with 268 wins, a 2.86 ERA, and a .638 winning percentage. In his long career he had never allowed a grand slam.

Spit and Polish
From 1975 to 1977, two Hall of Fame right-handers, Jim Palmer and Gaylord Perry, faced off three times in dazzling fashion. On June 13, 1975, 36-year old Gaylord Perry, less than three years removed from his 1972 Cy Young award winning season, was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Texas Rangers in a blockbuster deal. The Rangers sent three pitchers, Jim Bibby, Jackie Brown, Rick Waits AND $100,000 to the Indians for Perry�s services. Perry got off to a rocky start with the Rangers, going 7-6, but he was riding a four game winning streak into a Thursday night, August 21 matchup against Jim Palmer and the Orioles.

Palmer, who would win his second Cy Young Award in 1975 and finish sixth in the MVP voting, was looking for his 20th win that night. The Orioles were in second place in the American League East seven games behind the front running Red Sox. The Rangers were stuck in fourth. Each pitcher excelled over the first three innings. Perry faced one batter over the minimum, with Paul Blair getting picked off after a first inning single, and Ken Singleton being erased after a Jim Northrup double play. Palmer retired the first nine Rangers. Texas began the scoring when Cesar Tovar, who singled, stole second and advanced to third on Dave Duncan�s thowing error, was driven in by Jeff Burroughs for an unearned run. The Orioles answered in their fifth with Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson doubling to right and scoring on a Bobby Grich double.

The back and forth trading of single runs continued in the Rangers� sixth, and the Orioles� seventh, with Baltimore�s tally scoring on a Robinson single. That was all of the runs for quite some time. From the seventh inning until the twelfth when he departed, Jim Palmer faced 20 batters over six innings. Perry, keeping pace through the Orioles eleventh, gave up no more runs.

Ultimately, the game was decided by the heroics of another Hall of Famer. Brooks Robinson, who had already contributed to the first two Oriole runs, drove in the deciding run on a double to center off reliever Steve Foucault in the top of the twelfth and scored the fourth and last run when Elrod Hendricks singled to right. The game ended 4-2, with Palmer going 12 innings and giving up one unearned run, while striking out six. Perry, while giving up 13 hits, went 11 innings giving up two runs and also striking out six. Both pitchers ended up with no decisions.

A paltry crowd of 6,418 fans were sitting in Memorial Stadium for a Friday night game between the Rangers and Orioles on August 27, 1976. Once again, the O�s were in second place in the East, this time 11.5 games behind the Yankees. The Rangers were mired in fourth, 19 games in back of the division leading Royals. Perry, looking for win 13, was pitted against Palmer, already at 17 wins on his way to his third Cy Young Award. Al Bumbry scored for the Orioles in the bottom of the first and, for the rest of the game, goose eggs were put on the board, until the bottom of the ninth. Gaylord went eight innings in a complete game loss, walking one and striking out a season high 11 batters. Palmer, also in a complete game performance, went nine innings, walking zero and striking out ten. The 2:36 long contest saw both hurlers at the top of their games for the second time in a row against each other.

The last time Perry would face Palmer as a member of the Rangers came in a nationally televised Game of the Week on Saturday July 23, 1977. For the third year in a row, the Orioles were in second place, this time just � game behind the Red Sox. Again the Rangers were in fourth, but closer, at eight games behind of the White Sox. This game was the pinnacle of the three confrontations between the future Hall of Famers. For nine innings, these legendary hurlers shut out their opposition. Perry, two months shy of his 39th birthday, pitched nine scoreless innings, striking out nine, while allowing four hits and three walks. Palmer did even better, going 11 innings striking out nine and walking zero. The game ended in the thirteenth inning, with Mike Hargrove singling in Bump Wills, who had led of the top of the inning with the only extra base hit of the game, a double to center. Again, a no decision was the result of a hard day�s work for the two starting pitchers.

Two future Hall of Famers, three outstanding matchups. In the three head to head duels between Jim Palmer and Gaylord Perry, their stats were:

...........IP....H....R....ER....BB....K
Perry......28...24....5.....5.....5...26
Palmer.....32...19....2.....1.....0...25

Perry�s ERA for these games was 1.60, but Palmer�s was a mesmerizing 0.28. Plus, Palmer walked ZERO batters over the equivalent of three-and-a-half games.

� Jeff Katz

Palmer's Record with the Bases Loaded
Stats guru (and home run expert) David Smith offers these nuggets about Palmer's record with the bases loaded. It's been well-publicized that Palmer never allowed a grand slam, and a close look at the figures shows that he pitched well in situations with the bags full.

First, Smith looked at how often Palmer was removed from the game with the bases loaded. Perhaps the tall, lanky right-hander was spared having to pitch very often in those situations?

Smith found out that Palmer was removed from a game 16 times with the bases loaded. That's just about 5% of the times he was removed from a game. The league average during his career was 7.4%, so he wasn't taken out of an unusual amount of those games.

How did Palmer do when the bases were loaded? The answer is that he did pretty well. In 184 at-bats with the bases loaded, batters hit .196 with a .230 slugging percentage and a .234 OBP.

Born
James Alvin Palmer was born on October 15, 1945, in New York, NY.

Batted:  Right
Threw:  Right

Primary Position:  P

Primary Team:  BAL

Major League Debut
April 17, 1965 ... Palmer relieved Robin Roberts in the third inning of a wild 12-9 Baltimore loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. He was the second of eight pitchers used that day by the Orioles. The first batter he faced was Tony Conigliaro, who struck out.

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1965
Lee May
Mark Belanger
Bobby Murcer
Roy White
Steve Carlton
Tug McGraw
Fergie Jenkins
Jim Palmer
Catfish Hunter

Nicknames
Cakes

Uniform Numbers
#22 (1965-1967, 1969-1984)

Similar Players
Bob Gibson, Rick Sutcliffe, Mike Mussina

Related Players
Mike Flanagan, Scott McGregor, and Earl Weaver

Hall of Fame Voting Year Election Votes Pct 1990 BBWAA 411 92.6%

No-Hitter
8/13/1969: For BAL (A) vs. OAK (A), 8-0 at BAL. 9 innings pitched.

Post-Season Appearances
1966 World Series
1969 American League Championship Series
1969 World Series
1970 American League Championship Series
1970 World Series
1971 World Series
1971 American League Championship Series
1973 American League Championship Series
1974 American League Championship Series
1979 World Series
1979 American League Championship Series
1983 American League Championship Series
1983 World Series

Post-Season Notes
In the 1979 AL Playoffs, Palmer was named to start Game One by Earl Weaver. Palmer disagreed. "[Eventual Cy Young Award winner Mike] Flanagan is our best pitcher," Palmer explained, "he should start the first and fifth games."

"There's no reason Jim can't pitch the first game," Weaver barked. "If he can't, he's not healthy, and we'll have to disable him [place him on the disabled list]. But he's going to make a fool of himself. He's second-guessed me for a long time."

Palmer asked for a meeting with Baltimore GM Hank Peters, who was used to arbitrating feuds between his star pitcher and manager. Peters convinced Palmer to accept the assignment. Palmer defeated the Angels in Game One and the O's won the series in four games.

Awards and Honors
1973 AL Cy Young
1975 AL Cy Young
1976 AL Cy Young
1976 AL Gold Glove
1977 AL Gold Glove
1978 AL Gold Glove
1979 AL Gold Glove

Notes
On Father's Day 1979, in the wake of a report that Palmer wanted more money from the Orioles, manager Earl Weaver posted a sign above Palmer's locker that read "Grow Up." Predictably, Palmer was incensed. Weaver and Palmer engaged in another of their famous shouting matches, but, as usual, quickly made up.

All-Star Selections
1970 AL
1971 AL
1972 AL
1975 AL
1977 AL
1978 AL

Replaced
Palmer took over the starting rotation slot that had belonged to Milt Pappas, who was traded in December of 1965 in a deal that brought Frank Robinson to Baltimore.

Replaced By
In 1983, under new manager Joe Altobelli, young right-handers Storm Davis and Mike Boddicker were inserted into the Baltimore starting rotation. Palmer, who struggled with injury and ineffectiveness that season, was the odd man out.

Best Strength as a Player
Palmer was masterful at locating his pitches.

Largest Weakness as a Player
Palmer was an excellent athlete, and on the mound and in the field he really had no glaring weaknesses.

Learn More about Jim Palmer
Search Amazon.com for Books about Jim Palmer ⇒
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View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒

Sources used for the Jim Palmer Player Page:
David Smith of Retrosheet.org provided the data on Palmer's record with the bases loaded.