John Sheldon Cumberland (May 10, 1947 – April 5, 2022)John Cumberland obituary, Dignity Memorial.com
/ref> 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 ...

and

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. A

left-hander In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

, Cumberland appeared in 110

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

over all or parts of six

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seasons between 1968 and 1974 as a member of the

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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 Yor ...

, St. Louis Cardinals and

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.Career statistics and history
a
Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> He batted right-handed and was listed as tall and .

Pitching career

Born in

Westbrook, Maine Westbrook is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States and a suburb of Portland. The population was 20,400 at the 2020 census, making it the fastest-growing city in Maine between 2010 and 2020. It is part of the Portland– South Portla ...

, Cumberland played one season of

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at the University of Maine in Orono. He signed with 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 ...

as an undrafted

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before the 1966

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season, which he spent with the Eugene Emeralds of the Class A Short Season Northwest League, prior to his selection by the Yankees in the November draft. The Yankees advanced Cumberland all the way to Triple-A for his next three pro campaigns. He posted a 26–20

won–lost record 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 ...

in 76 games between 1967 and 1969 for the Syracuse Chiefs of the

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. He also made his

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), ...

debut as a Yankee, appearing in three games during the and campaigns. The season began with him on the New York roster. He appeared in 15 games through July 19, eight as a starter, before being traded on July 20 to the Giants for fellow southpaw Mike McCormick. Although Cumberland would be sent to Triple-A Phoenix for the month of August, the transaction led to his finest season-plus in the majors. When he was recalled to San Francisco in September 1970, he reeled off five stellar appearances 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 (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

, winning his only two decisions and allowing no earned runs in 9

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. Then, in , Cumberland set personal bests in most major pitching categories. Appearing in 45 games, 21 as a starter, and 185 innings, he compiled a 9–6 record, with five

complete game 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 ...

s, two

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 ...

, two saves, and 65

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s, with a 2.92

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 ...

, as the Giants won the 1971

National League West Division The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

championship. Taking a turn between

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hurlers Gaylord Perry, who started the opening game, and Juan Marichal, who would start Game 3, Cumberland started the second game of the

NLCS The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...

against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, but was relieved in the fourth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

with none

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, a runner on base, and the Giants trailing 3–2. They were not able to overcome the early deficit, and when the game ended 9–4 Pittsburgh, Cumberland was charged with the loss. He began in the Giants' starting rotation but was ineffective, compiling a 9.68 earned run average through June 7. On June 16, he was dealt to the Cardinals, where he worked in 14 games but continued to struggle, putting up a 6.65 ERA as a member of the St. Louis

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

. On November 29, he was traded along with

Larry Hisle Larry Eugene Hisle (; born May 5, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and hitting coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies (1968–71), Minnesota Twins (1973–77), and M ...

to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

for Wayne Granger. But the Twins released Cumberland on April 10, 1973, and he spent the early part of season back in the Giants' organization at Triple-A Phoenix. When San Francisco released him on June 30, he signed the following day with the Angels' Triple-A affiliate in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. He was able to return to the majors in with the Halos on May 29, and over the next two months, he worked in 17 games—all in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

—and posted a 3.74 ERA in 21 innings pitched. His nine-year professional pitching career ended that season. All told, Cumberland appeared in 110 MLB games, 36 as a starting pitcher. He compiled a 15–16 won–lost mark with six complete games, two shutouts and two saves. In 334 innings pitched, he permitted 312

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

(including 46

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

) and 103

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

and 142 earned runs, with 137 strikeouts. He career ERA was 3.82. In the postseason (the 1971 NLCS), he was 0–1 (9.00) in three full innings pitched, allowing seven hits and no bases on balls, with four strikeouts.

Coaching career

Cumberland began a 23-year professional baseball coaching career in the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

in 1982 as

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

of Class A Lynchburg of the

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. After three seasons, including 1983 when 18-year-old phenom

Doc Gooden Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the N ...

dominated the Carolina loop with a 19–4 (2.50) performance, Cumberland was promoted to Triple-A

Tidewater Tidewater may refer to: * Tidewater (region), a geographic area of southeast Virginia, southern Maryland, and northeast North Carolina. ** Tidewater accent, an accent of American English associated with the Tidewater region of Virginia * Tidewater ...

, spending another three years there before he was named the Mets' 1989 minor league pitching coordinator. Cumberland left the Mets after the 1990 season, and worked as minor league pitching coordinator or Triple-A pitching coach for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

and San Diego Padres. He then joined the

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 eight ...

organization in , serving as Boston's MLB pitching coach for the first three months of the 1995 season on the staff of Kevin Kennedy before becoming a Red Sox

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. He was pitching coach of Triple-A Pawtucket from 1996 to 1998, then rejoined the Red Sox' MLB staff as

bullpen coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

under Jimy Williams from to August 15, . He then briefly succeeded Joe Kerrigan (Williams' replacement) as pitching coach, before he was dropped from Kerrigan's staff on September 3 and left the Bosox' system for good. But he returned to 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 ...

the next season as pitching coach of the

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under skipper Tony Peña from June 18, , through June 29, .

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br>coach's page
/ref> Cumberland left baseball after departing Peña's staff in mid-2004. He died in Lutz, Florida, at 74, on April 5, 2022, survived by his wife of 52 years, three sons, a brother, a sister, and three grandchildren. A former member of the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

, he also was a member of the

Maine Sports Hall of Fame The Maine Sports Hall of Fame is sports hall of fame in the U.S. state of Maine. According to the hall, it was founded in 1972 to serve two main purposes: # "Appointing and bestowing recognition awards and scholarships to outstanding Maine high scho ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumberland, John 1947 births 2022 deaths Baseball coaches from Maine Baseball players from Cumberland County, Maine Boston Red Sox coaches Boston Red Sox scouts California Angels players Eugene Emeralds players Kansas City Royals coaches Maine Black Bears baseball players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minor league baseball coaches New York Yankees players People from Westbrook, Maine Phoenix Giants players St. Louis Cardinals players Salt Lake City Angels players San Francisco Giants players Syracuse Chiefs players