Bobby Donald Bolin (born January 29, 1939) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who appeared 495 games in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

over 13 seasons (1961–1973) for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

(–), Milwaukee Brewers () and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

(1970–). A right-hander, Bolin was born in

Hickory Grove, South Carolina Hickory Grove is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 440 at the 2010 census. Geography Hickory Grove is located at (34.983982, -81.415899). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a tota ...

, and was listed as tall and . He entered pro ball after signing with the New York Giants on November 10, 1956, at the age of 17 out of Rock Hill High School. He spent four seasons moving up through the Giants' farm system until making the San Francisco roster in the spring of 1961. Bolin began and ended his 13-year career as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

, but from to 1970 he started for the majority of his appearances. He reached double figures in victories four times, and in strikeouts six times, as a Giant. In 1968, Bolin had the second-best earned run average (ERA) in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

, 1.99, behind only

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...

's record-setting mark of 1.12. Bolin finished in the NL's top ten three times for ERA, WHIP, and

hit batsmen In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

, and twice for

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

strikeouts per nine innings In baseball statistics, strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9, SO/9, or SO/9IP) is the mean of strikeouts (or Ks) by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of strikeouts by nine, and dividing by the numb ...

pitched,

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

and bases on balls allowed. As a relief pitcher, he set a career high with a club-leading 15 saves for the 1973 Red Sox, but Boston released him at the conclusion of spring training in , ending Bolin's career. In all, he pitched in 495

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

games (164 starts), with 32

complete games In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

, ten

and 161

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

. He posted a career won–lost mark of 88–75, with 50 saves and an ERA of 3.40, permitting 1,387 hits and 597 bases on balls (along with 1,175 strikeouts) in 1,576 innings pitched. As a member of the National League champion Giants (for whom Bolin went 7–3 with six saves), he appeared in two games of the

1962 World Series The 1962 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1962 season. The 59th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the defending American League (AL) and World Series champion Ne ...

against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, allowing four hits and two

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s in 2 innings pitched.

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major ...

1962 SF N World Series Pitching Log
/ref>

References

External links

Stolzenbach, Corey, ''Bobby Bolin,''

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

Biography Project 1939 births Living people Baseball players from South Carolina Boston Red Sox players Eugene Emeralds players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Michigan City White Caps players Milwaukee Brewers players People from York County, South Carolina Rio Grande Valley Giants players Rock Hill High School (South Carolina) alumni St. Cloud Rox players San Francisco Giants players Tacoma Giants players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1930s-stub