Billy Loes
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William (Billy) Loes (born December 13, 1929 in Astoria, New York) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1950 through 1961, Loes played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1950, 1952-56), Baltimore Orioles (1956-59) and San Francisco Giants (1960-61). He batted and threw right handed.
In an eleven-season career, Loes posted an 80-63 record with 645 strikeouts and a 3.89 ERA in 1190.1 innings pitched. He made the American League All-Star team in 1957.
Trivia
- The book (2004) includes short stories from former Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine. Loes is prominent in many of these stories.
- Loes was known for his sense of humor as much as his pitching prowess. One time, he booted a ground ball in a key situation. After the game, a reporter asked him the all-too-obvious question of what had happened. Instead of berating the reporter, Loes calmly responded, "I lost it in the sun!"
- Before the 1952 World Series, Brooklyn Dodgers' manager Charlie Dressen cornered pitcher Billy Loes.
- "I see in the paper where you picked the Yankees to beat us in seven games. What's wrong with you," Dressen said.
- "I was misquoted," Loes protested. "I picked them in six games." - Baseball Anecdotes [link]
- After being selected by the New York Mets in the 1961 expansion draft, was credited with this ungrammatical quotation: "The Mets is a good thing. They give everybody jobs. Just like the WPA." However, he never actually pitched a game for the Mets, his final game being with the Giants in 1961.
- Loes' Greek immigrant father originated from Peloponnese, he worked as a laborer in the fur industry and changed their family name from Semertzis to Loes when he arrived in the States.[link]
External links
- [Baseball Almanac] - Player page
- [Baseball Reference] - Career statistics
- [Answers.com] - References his WPA quote
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