New Bio Published – Jim Rittwage

In September 1970, amid a woeful stretch for Cleveland baseball, a David and Goliath battle played out in front of 7,857 fans in Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. The 97-win Orioles, who had already clinched the American League East, started Dave McNally in pursuit of his 24th victory. Cleveland gave local flamethrower Jim Rittwage his first big-league start. Rittwage outpitched McNally and struck out Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to preserve a 4-2 Cleveland victory. The juggernaut Orioles began a 17-game winning streak the next day; their only other loss in 1970 would be Game Four of the World Series. Rittwage would never again win a major-league game.

My latest for SABR, a biography of Jim Rittwage, has been published. My father was at Bedford High with Jim in the mid-60s and always remembered him as the local legend who made it to the Bigs, though his stay was brief. My father and his friend helped me track Jim down for an interview, which helped me tell the story of his life before and after those eight games in 1970. Link below: