Former Cleveland LHP Sam McDowell Passes Away

Former Cleveland left-hander Sam McDowell passed away on Monday, the team announced. He was 84 years old.

McDowell’s decorated career spanned 15 seasons, 11 of which were spent in Cleveland. He also pitched for the Giants, Yankees, and Pirates. McDowell was a six-time All-Star. He won the American League ERA crown in 1965.

“The Cleveland Guardians family is deeply saddened by the loss of one of the great pitchers in baseball history, Sam McDowell,” Guardians SVP/Public Affairs Bob DiBiasio said in a statement. “Sam spent eleven of his fifteen seasons in a Cleveland uniform as one of the game’s most feared hurlers. A strikeout king. He was a cherished member of our Alumni Ambassador program and loved sharing stories with our fans when he visited Progressive Field.”

Cleveland signed McDowell out of high school. He debuted with the club as an 18-year-old in 1961. The lefty would be a semi-regular member of the rotation over the next two seasons. He would soon blossom into an ace.

McDowell posted a 1.18 ERA over nine starts at Triple-A in 1964. It would be the last time he pitched in the minors. He delivered 173 1/3 innings of a 2.70 ERA with the big-league club that season. McDowell truly broke out the following year, tossing 273 innings with a league-leading 2.18 ERA. He earned his first All-Star selection that season, along with some down-ballot MVP votes.

The stellar 1965 campaign began a stretch of dominance for McDowell. He paced the American League in strikeouts in five of the next six seasons. The lefty led all pitchers in punchouts from 1968 through 1970.

McDowell was traded to the Giants after the 1971 season. He bounced around over the next few years before ending his time in the majors with the Pirates, a full-circle moment for the Pittsburgh native. McDowell finished his career with 141 wins and 2,453 strikeouts. He piled up 43.1 WAR (per Baseball Reference) across his 15 seasons.

We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to McDowell’s family, friends, and loved ones.