Former Major League Pitcher Joe Coleman Passes Away at 78

“I Feel That I Saved People for Tomorrow”

Coleman’s biggest contribution to the 1979 Pirates came on a day when he put on one of the worst pitching performances of the season. On August 7 at Wrigley Field, the Cubs jumped on Pirates starter Jim Rooker for four runs. With two outs in the third inning, Tanner summoned the right-handed Coleman. The Cubs got four more runs that inning. Now facing an 8-1 deficit, it was time for the Pirates to wave the white flag. Despite not having his best game (although he insisted the Cubs weren’t hitting the ball hard), Coleman soldiered on until the end of the Cubs’ 15-2 victory. Several times, Tanner offered to take him out. Each time, Coleman passed. His pitching line for the day showed 5 1/3 innings, nine runs (eight earned), 13 hits, four walks, and four strikeouts.

“I feel that I saved people for tomorrow,” explained Coleman to Russ Franke of The Pittsburgh Press. Indeed, the Pirates had just completed a series with the Philadelphia Phillies that included five games in three days. The bullpen needed the break that Coleman provided. Pittsburgh went 34-17 the rest of the way and narrowly won the NL East Division over the hard-charging Montreal Expos. Surely, the fresh bullpen and Tanner’s frequent use of it played a role.

The Luxury

Coleman, who was picked up on a waiver claim in May after several teams passed, joined the team in late July as an 11th pitcher. Press columnist Bob Smizik groused that an 11th pitcher was a “luxury.” Baseball was different in 1979. Unlike today, there were no 13-man staffs, no shuttling of pitchers between the big club and Triple-A every time a reliever had to cover more than one inning. Coleman and the other relievers, all veterans with no minor league options, were it.

Coleman’s final stat line for the Pirates included a 6.10 ERA and 1.839 WHIP in 10 games. Take away that afternoon in Chicago, however, when most mortals wouldn’t have passed up the chance to exit the game early, and Coleman had a more reasonable 3.52 ERA and 1.369 WHIP.

The Pirates’ final World Series share amounted to $28,236.87 per player. (Why didn’t Major League Baseball just make it an even $28,237?) The players voted Coleman a one-half share.

More Famous Elsewhere

Coleman was better known for his time in Washington and Detroit. He was 43-50 with some bad Senators teams. After the 1970 season, he was part of one of the best or worst trades in baseball history, depending on your point of view. The Senators sent Coleman, shortstop Ed Brinkman, third baseman Aurelio Rodríguez, and pitcher Jim Hannan to Detroit. In return, the Tigers dispatched pitchers Denny McLain and Norm McRae, third baseman Don Wert, and outfielder Elliott Maddox to Washington.

McLain was 31-6 in 1968 and 24-9 in 1969, winning two American League Cy Young Awards. But his star dimmed quickly, and Senators manager Ted Williams hated the trade. In his book, My Turn At Bat, Williams wrote, “[A]fter [the Senators] moved to Texas, and traded away – against my wishes – the left side of our infield for a washed-up Denny McLain, the handwriting was on the wall for me. I managed out the contract, but it was over.”

McLain was 10-22 for the Senators in 1971, his only year there. Wert, too, only lasted one year in the nation’s capital. Meanwhile, with Brinkman and Rodríguez playing behind him, Coleman was 88-73 for the Tigers. From 1971 to 1973, he had 20-9, 19-14, and 23-15 records, respectively, for the Tigers. Their 1972 team won the AL East Division but succumbed to the eventual World Series champion Athletics in the AL Championship Series.

Now that Coleman has passed away, only McLain and Maddox are still alive from that infamous trade. During his playing days, the hard-living McLain drank a case of Pepsi per day. After he retired, he ballooned to over 300 pounds and needed bariatric surgery. He’s 81 years old today. Defying the odds, McLain is the Keith Richards of baseball.