Edward Oliver Bowsfield (born January 10, 1935) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. A

left-handed 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 ...

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 ...

born in

Vernon, British Columbia Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former MLA of British Columbia who helped establish the Coldstream Ranch in nearby ...

, and raised in

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration The ce ...

, he appeared in 215

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

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 seven seasons (1958–1964) for 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 ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

and

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

. He was listed as tall and .

Professional career

In his seven-year big league career, Bowsfield went 37–39 with six saves and a 4.35

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). Of his 215 career appearances, 86 were starts, 12 of which were

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, including four shutouts.

Boston Red Sox

Bowsfield made his major-league debut with the

on July 20, 1958. That season he went 4–2 with a 3.84 ERA in 16 games, 10 of which were starts. Three of Bowsfield's wins as a rookie came against 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 ...

. Yankee Manager

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New York ...

described Bowsfield as "that fella that throws them ground balls." Although he had some success in 1958, he struggled the following season by going 0–1 with a 15.00 ERA in five games, two of which were starts. In nine innings of work in 1959, Bowsfield yielded 15 earned runs on 16 hits and nine walks. Working primarily out of the bullpen, he rebounded a bit in 1960, going 1–2 with a 5.14 ERA in 17 games, including a pair of starts.

Cleveland Indians

Bowsfield's

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 ...

career came to an end on June 13, 1960, when he and

Marty Keough Richard Martin Keough (born April 14, 1934) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox (1956–60), Cleveland Indians (1960), Washington Senators (1961), Cincinn ...

were traded to the

for

Russ Nixon Russell Eugene Nixon (February 19, 1935 – November 8, 2016) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1957 to 1969. A veteran of 55 years in professional basebal ...

and

Carroll Hardy Carroll William Hardy (May 18, 1933 – August 9, 2020) was an American professional athlete who played in the National Football League for the San Francisco 49ers (1955) and in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians (1958–1960), Bost ...

. Working out of the bullpen and in the starting rotation, Bowsfield went 3–4 with a 5.09 ERA in 11 outings, six of which were starts.

Los Angeles Angels

As the expansion

filled its roster through the

1961 MLB expansion draft The 1961 MLB Expansion Draft was held by Major League Baseball on October 10, 1961, to fill the rosters of the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s, the new franchises which would enter the league in the 1962 season. The pool of players out of w ...

, the new organization turned to the Indians' Bowfield as a key member of its pitching staff. At age 26, Bowsfield had the best season of his career in the Angels' inaugural season. He posted a record of 11–8 with a 3.73 ERA in 41 games, including 21 starts. Bowsfield put together another winning record in 1962, going 9–8 with a 4.40 ERA in 34 games, 25 of which were starts, for the Angels.

Kansas City Athletics

After the most successful seasons of his career, Bowsfield was sent to the

to complete a July 21 trade for

Dan Osinski Daniel Osinski (November 17, 1933 – September 13, 2013), nicknamed "The Silencer", was an American Major League Baseball relief pitcher. The , right-hander was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before the 1952 season. H ...

. In his two seasons with the A's, he worked primarily out of the bullpen, although he would make 20 starts during his time in Kansas City. Bowsfield went 5–7 with three saves and a 4.45 ERA in 41 games, 11 of which were starts, during the 1963 season. In 1964, he posted a 4–7 record with a 4.10 ERA in 50 games, including nine starts. On May 11, 1963, during an away game against 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 ...

, Bowsfield took a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

through nine innings. Leading 5-0 into the bottom of the ninth, Vic Power singled to third registering the first hit of the game against Bowsfield.

Post-playing career

Bowsfield was briefly a member of the Angels' front office after his playing career came to an end.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowsfield, Ted 1935 births Living people Baseball people from British Columbia Boston Red Sox players Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Cleveland Indians players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Athletics players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball players from Canada Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Oklahoma City Indians players Rapiños de Occidente players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players San Jose Red Sox players Spokane Indians players Sportspeople from Vernon, British Columbia Vancouver Mounties players