John Joseph Podres (September 30, 1932 – January 13, 2008) was an American left-handed

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 dr ...

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 (A ...

(MLB). He played in the majors from 1953 to 1969, spending most of his career with the

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

. Podres won four

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

titles with the Dodgers. He is best known for pitching a

shutout 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 ...

in game 7 of the 1955 World Series to give the Dodgers their first championship.

Professional baseball career

Podres was born in

Witherbee, New York Witherbee is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Moriah in Essex County, New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 347 at the 2010 census. Prior to 2010 the hamlet was part of the Mineville-Witherbee CDP. Geo ...

, in 1932."Johnny Podres Stats"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2021. He was of Lithuanian-Polish descent. Podres was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before the 1951 season. He started his professional baseball career that year with the Hazard Bombers of the Mountain States League."Johnny Podres Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2021. With the Bombers, he had a 21–9

win–loss 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 ...

and a 1.67

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 numb ...

(ERA), leading the league in wins and ERA. After spending one more season in the minors in 1952, Podres made his major league debut with the Dodgers in 1953. He went 9–4 and helped the Dodgers win 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 s ...

(NL) championship. In the 1953 World Series, he made one start, taking the loss, and the Dodgers lost the series. Podres then went 11–7 in 1954. In 1955, Podres went 9–10, and the Dodgers won the NL pennant. After the Dodgers lost the first two games of the 1955 World Series to 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 ...

, Podres pitched a

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 ...

, seven-hit victory on his 23rd birthday in game 3. The series went to a deciding seventh game, with Podres getting the start. Considered one of the most unlikely game 7 starters in World Series history because of his regular season record, Podres pitched a 2–0 shutout to help the Dodgers win their first and only World Series title in Brooklyn. For his performance in the World Series, he was given the first-ever World Series Most Valuable Player Award and was presented with a red two-seater

Corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

. He also won the

Babe Ruth Award The Babe Ruth Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player with the best performance in the postseason. The award, created in honor of Babe Ruth, was first awarded in 1949 to New York Yankee pitcher, Joe Page, the MVP of the W ...

and was later named the Sportsman of the Year by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

''. Podres was out of baseball in 1956 due to military service. He returned to the Dodgers in 1957 and had his best season, going 12–9 and leading the NL with a 2.66 ERA, 155 ERA+, 1.082

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

, and six shutouts. In 1958, after the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, Podres went 13–15 and was an All-Star for the first time. In 1959, he went 14–9, helping the Dodgers win the NL. He made two starts in the

1959 World Series The 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox, 4–2. Each of the three games played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum drew record crowds, Game 5's atte ...

, going 1–0, and the Dodgers won the series. In 1960, Podres went 14–12 and made both of the All-Star teams that year. In 1961, he went 18–5, setting his major league career-high in wins. In 1962, Podres went 15–13 and was an All-Star for the fourth and final time. In 1963, he went 14–12, and the Dodgers won the NL. He made one start in the

1963 World Series The 1963 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1963 season. The 60th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American League (AL) champion and two-time defending World Se ...

, winning it, and the Dodgers won the series. From 1957 to 1963, Podres pitched over 180 innings and won over 10 games every year. Podres' play then started to decline. He went 0–2 in limited action in 1964. In 1965, he went 7–6, and the Dodgers won the NL. Podres did not play in the

1965 World Series The 1965 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1965 season. The 62nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the Ame ...

, which the Dodgers won. In 1966, the Dodgers traded Podres to the

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 ...

, for whom he played through the 1967 season. He spent 1968 in the minors and then came back for one season with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

in 1969 before retiring as a player. In his 15-year MLB career, Podres had a 148–116 record, a 3.68 ERA, 1,435

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 den ...

s, and a 105 ERA+. He was at his best in the World Series; in four World Series, he went 4–1 with a 2.11 ERA and 18 strikeouts. As a hitter, Podres had a .190 career regular season batting average and a .313 batting average in the World Series.

Later life

After his playing career ended, Podres served as the

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 ...

for the Padres,

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

for 23 seasons between 1973 and 1996. Among the pitchers he worked with were

Frank Viola Frank John Viola Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–1991), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995), and To ...

and

Curt Schilling Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance ...

. In 2002, Podres was inducted into the

National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1973. The mission of the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize and preserve outstanding achievement by individuals of Polish heritage in the field o ...

. Podres later settled in Queensbury, New York. He died in

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a City (New York), city in Warren County, New York, Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls, New York metropolitan area, Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,7 ...

, in 2008 at age 75 after being hospitalized for heart and kidney ailments and a leg infection. Podres was survived by his wife of 41 years, the former Joni Taylor of

Ice Follies The Ice Follies, formerly known as the Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies, is a touring ice show featuring elaborate production numbers, similar in concept to Ice Capades. It was founded in 1936 by Eddie and Roy Shipstad, and Oscar Johnson. In later ...

fame, and his two sons, Joe and John Jr. He is interred at St. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Moriah, New York, which is in the

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park ...

References

External links

Johnny Podres
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Johnny Podres
at Baseball Almanac *Johnny Podres at Baseball Biography:
Johnny Podres Baseball Biography

SABR Bibliography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Podres, Johnny 1932 births 2008 deaths American people of Lithuanian descent American people of Polish descent Arizona Instructional League Dodgers players Arizona Instructional League Pilots players Baseball players from New York (state) Boston Red Sox coaches Brooklyn Dodgers players Detroit Tigers players Hazard Bombers players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minnesota Twins coaches Montreal Royals players National League All-Stars National League ERA champions Newport News Dodgers players People from Moriah, New York People from Queensbury, New York Philadelphia Phillies coaches San Diego Padres coaches San Diego Padres players World Series Most Valuable Player Award winners

Professional baseball career

Later life

See also

References

External links