The Greatest Lefty of All-Time

By Lou Parrotta

Last week, the baseball world suffered the loss of yet another icon. Hall of Famer Warren Spahn died at age 82 at his home in Oklahoma. His legacy will always be the tremendous statistics he put up while pitching for the Braves, Mets and Giants. He is being remembered as the greatest left handed thrower to ever suit up for a major league team and rightfully so.

To recall some of his amazing feats, he finished his career with 363 wins (despite not having a win until age 25) and an amazing 382 complete games. He won 20 games a total of 13 times, notching his 13th at the tender age of 42. He pitched 63 shutouts in his career which attested to his sheer dominance over hitters.

Spahn was so "automatic," to borrow a term of the 1990s, in his career, that when he pitched on one day and his teammate Johnny Sain on the next, the Braves fans let out a rallying cry of "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain!" The Braves fans knew that their two best shots at victories were when Spahn and Sain pitched.

While Spahn's career numbers will solidify his legacy in baseball history, the memories I have are of the times I met him. On one occasion, I waited in line on a Tuesday afternoon to get his autograph on a baseball. He was kind, cordial and pleasant to all who were waiting for him, and he smiled for countless photographs. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word.

The following year, I saw Warren get into a SUV while eating an ice cream. I stopped him to give him copies of the photos I took of him the previous year. He rolled down the window, refused the photos classically by saying "I don't want them. They look like me," and rolled the window back up. A young woman in the back of the SUV scolded him politely with a smile and asked for the photos thanking me with a "Can you believe him?" smile.

I next saw Spahn at the Hall of Fame with Phil Rizzuto, Dobby Doerr, Ralph Kiner and Bob Feller when the Hall unveiled a monument in the plaque gallery honoring all veterans in the Hall. He was very proud to have served his country for four years during World War II and made sure all in attendance knew that. (Imagine how much greater his numbers would have been had he not missed those four years at the beginning of his career). When Phil Rizzuto came to the microphone, he gushed over the fact that Spahn was there and then made a perfectly Rizzuto-esque comment when he said "Spahnny, it is great to see you here; of course, at your age, it's great you're anywhere!" The funny thing was they were the same age!

My last encounter with Spahn was this past summer when I saw Spahn wheeled onto the dais in a wheel chair with the other 40+ Hall of Famers there to celebrate the 2003 inductions. He looked like a shell of the 6'1" lanky pitcher he once was. He looked tired and gaunt and was only there for a portion of the ceremonies. I was saddened to see him in this way as he was the same man who would show up two days ahead and leave two days after the rest of the Hall of Famers in order to play golf and jaunt about town; but at least I got to see him one more time. The baseball world has lost a true giant, and he will be missed.