Duane Xavier "Dee" Pillette (July 24, 1922 – May 6, 2011) was an American

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 played all or part of eight seasons 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), ...

(MLB) for four different teams from 1949 through 1956. Listed at , , Pillette batted and threw right-handed. He attended

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

. Born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, Duane Pillette was a second-generation major league pitcher as his father,

Herman Pillette Herman Polycarp Pillette (December 26, 1895 – April 30, 1960), nicknamed "Old Folks" in the later part of his career, was an American right-handed professional baseball pitcher, who played in 29 seasons (1917–1945). During his playing days, ...

, hurled for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

between the 1917 and 1924 seasons. Herman won a career-high 19 games in 1922, the year Duane was born. Pillette entered the majors in 1949 with the

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

, playing for them for two years. In his rookie season, he posted a 2–4 record and a 4.34

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 12 games for the World Champion Yankees. During the 1950 midseason, New York sent Pillette to the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

along with

Jim Delsing James Henry Delsing (November 13, 1925 – May 4, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder who is most remembered for having been the pinch runner for -tall Eddie Gaedel on August 19, 1951. He also was the centerfielder replaced by ...

Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Em ...

Snuffy Stirnweiss George Henry "Snuffy" Stirnweiss (October 26, 1918 – September 15, 1958) was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1943 and 1952, spending most of his MLB career with the New York Ya ...

,and cash considerations in exchange for

Tom Ferrick Tom Ferrick, Jr. (1949) is an editor, reporter and columnist long active in print and web journalism in Philadelphia. Until 2013, he was senior editor of Metropolis, a local news and information Web site based in Philadelphia that he founded in 20 ...

Joe Ostrowski Joseph Paul Ostrowski (November 15, 1916 – January 3, 2003) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played all or part of five seasons in the majors, from 1948 to 1952, for the St. Louis Browns and New York Yankees. After graduating from the ...

, and Leo Thomas. In 1951, while pitching for the Browns, Pillette led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) in losses with 14, joining his father Herm, who also led the league with 19 losses while pitching for the 1923 Tigers. Pillette pitched for the Browns until 1953, and was part of the

Orioles Oriole or Orioles may refer to: Animals * Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae * New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae Music * The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and early ...

from 1954 to 1955 after the franchise moved to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He was the last

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

in the final Browns game, suffering the loss in an eleven-inning pitching duel against

Billy Pierce Walter William Pierce (April 2, 1927 – July 31, 2015) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball between 1945 and 1964 who played most of his career for the Chicago White Sox. He was the team's star pitcher in the decade from 19 ...

and the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, when

Minnie Miñoso Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso (, ; born Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arrieta; November 29, 1923 – March 1, 2015), nicknamed "The Cuban Comet" and "Mr. White Sox", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He began his baseball career in the Neg ...

knocked in the winning run in the top of the eleventh in a 2–1 game. Then, in 1954 he became the first winning pitcher in Orioles history after throwing a complete game, 3–2 victory against the

. Pillette opened 1956 with the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

, being traded to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

late in the season. After that, he pitched in the minors until 1960. Pillette was a longtime resident of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

; on May 6, 2011, he died at the age of 88. Pitching statistics

References

External links

Duane Pillette
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pillette, Duane 1922 births 2011 deaths Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Detroit Baseball players from San Jose, California Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins (International League) players Newark Bears (International League) players New York Yankees players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Philadelphia Phillies players Portland Beavers players St. Louis Browns players Salt Lake City Bees players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Santa Clara University alumni Seattle Rainiers players

See also

References

External links