Wyatt: Harvey Haddix and his perfect loss
From Daniel Wyatt at The National Pastime Museum on December 20, 2017:
It was a cool, damp, windy day in Milwaukee on Tuesday, May 26, 1959, for the first of a three-game set between the Milwaukee Braves and the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. Southpaw pitcher Harvey Haddix took a well-deserved nap that afternoon, hoping that his head cold would improve once he got up. A couple hours later, however, no such luck.
At his hotel, he kept up his chain-smoking habit (three packs a day), then ate a hamburger, downed a milkshake, threw a couple packages of throat lozenges in his suit jacket, and hailed a cab for County Stadium, determined not to miss his starting assignment that evening, despite his nagging cold and some light rain throughout the day.
Pittsburgh was Haddix’s fourth team since breaking into the Majors with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1952 on a 42-inning stint. In 1953, his first full season, he showed great promise winning 20 games, recording a 3.06 ERA, and notching a league-leading six shutouts. Then, the following year, his knee was shattered by a liner off the bat of Milwaukee’s first baseman Joe Adcock. The little 5-foot, 9-inch, 165-pound lefty hurler nicknamed “The Kitten” was never quite as effective again.
Read the full article here: https://www.thenationalpastimemuseum.com/article/harvey-haddix-and-his-perfect-loss
Originally published: December 28, 2017. Last Updated: December 28, 2017.