Thomas Edgar Cheney (October 14, 1934 – November 1, 2001) was a

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), ...

player. Cheney, a right-handed pitcher from

Morgan, Georgia Morgan is a city in Calhoun County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,741 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Calhoun County. History Morgan was founded in 1854 as seat of the newly formed Calhoun County. It was incorpo ...

, played for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

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 ...

and Washington Senators in a span of eight seasons from 1957 to 1966. Cheney is most notable for striking out the highest number of batters in a Major League Baseball game. He did so on September 12, 1962, when as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, struck out 21

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in 16 innings en route to a 2–1 victory.

Professional career

St. Louis Cardinals

Cheney was signed as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

prior to the start of the baseball season. After spending a few years in the minor leagues, he was called up by the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

in , and made his

debut with the team on April 21, 1957. Cheney pitched in four games during the season, starting in three of them. He posted an 0–1 record with a 15.00

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 ...

in 9 innings of work, giving up 6

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 ...

, while walking 15 batters and striking out 10. The following year, , Cheney did not play in baseball, as he was serving in the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

. Cheney returned to baseball for the season with the

, primarily serving as a relief pitcher in the 11 games he pitched during the season. Cheney again had issues with his control and accuracy. He walked 11 men in just innings of work. He was 0–1 for the season, with a 6.92

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

, along with giving up 17 hits and striking out 8 batters.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On December 21, 1959, in the midst of the off-season, Cheney was traded by the

with his teammate,

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Gino Cimoli Gino Nicholas Cimoli (December 18, 1929 – February 12, 2011) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh ...

, to the

in exchange for

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 ...

Ron Kline Ronald Lee Kline (March 9, 1932 – June 22, 2002) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher over parts of seventeen seasons (1952, 1955–1970) with the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Lou ...

. The

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

hoped to make Cheney the starting pitcher with control and accuracy that they could depend on. Cheney progressed as a pitcher that season, and put up improved stats that season, pitching a 2–2 record in eleven games (eight as

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 ...

) with a decent 3.98

. Cheney only gave up 44

while walking 33 men and striking out 35 in 52 innings of work. As a pitcher, Cheney improved remarkably in his transition from the

to the

. The

team went on to the

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 World ...

after posting an impressive 95–59 record in the regular season. The

defeated 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 ...

four games to three games, winning the franchise's 3rd overall

, and first since . The series was decided by a walk-off home run in the 9th inning of Game 7, when

Bill Mazeroski William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936), nicknamed "Maz" and "The Glove", is an American former second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956 to 1972. A 7-time All-S ...

took a 1–0 pitch and crushed it over the left-field fence, giving Pittsburgh the championship. Cheney served as a relief pitcher in the

and pitched four innings in three games (Game 2, 3, and 6), giving up four hits and two

earned runs 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 err ...

while only walking one batter and striking out six. In , Cheney started off with a terrible performance, giving up 4 earned runs and walking 4 batters in less than a third of an inning.

Washington Senators

Cheney was traded to the Washington Senators on June 29, 1961, in exchange for pitcher

Tom Sturdivant Thomas Virgil Sturdivant (April 28, 1930 – February 28, 2009), nicknamed "Snake", was an American pitcher who played for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators (1961–71), Washington Senators, Pittsbu ...

. He served as both a starting pitcher and relief pitcher for the remainder of the season with the Washington Senators. He did not fare well, and he again showed signs of lack of control with his pitching. He posted a 1–3 record in 10 games, 7 of which he started. He put in innings of work and gave up 32 hits and 29 earned runs. He walked 26 batters and struck out 20. His

ballooned to 8.79, giving him an

of 10.00 for the season. Nonetheless, Cheney was on the roster for the Washington Senators in . Cheney pitched in 37 games in total, starting 25 of them. He pitched to a 7–9 record with four

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 and three

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 ...

and showed drastic improvement in all aspects of his pitching. He pitched stellarly in innings, giving up only 134 hits while walking 97 and striking out 147. His

for the season was a career-best 3.17. Cheney finished second in 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 ...

in both

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 ...

and hits allowed per nine innings. was perhaps Cheney's best remembered season. On September 12, 1962, Tom Cheney set the

record for strikeouts in a regular-season game. Cheney pitched brilliantly in 16 innings of work, giving up only one run while striking out a record 21

. Cheney had 13 strikeouts through nine innings. Senators manager Mickey Vernon later wanted to make a change, reportedly asking the pitcher: "Your arm okay? You sure you don't want me to take you out?", to which Cheney replied . . "I told him I didn't want to come out", Cheney said. "Back in those days, you finished what you started." Cheney wound up pitching eight straight hitless innings near the end. With his 228th and final pitch, he slipped a called third strike past pinch-hitter Dick Williams, who went on to become a major league manager. It was not until the bottom of the 16th inning that teammate Bud Zipfel hit the game-winning home run off

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 earl ...

pitcher Dick Hall giving the Senators a hard-fought 2–1 victory and Cheney a win and a major league record that still stands.

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

Kerry Wood Kerry Lee Wood (born June 16, 1977) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees. Wood first came to prominence as a 20-year-old rooki ...

, and

Max Scherzer Maxwell Martin Scherzer (born July 27, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, and L ...

came close to Cheney's record, but all three failed, each striking out 20 men in their respective 9-inning regulation games. Teammate

Don Lock Don Wilson Lock (July 27, 1936 – October 8, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1962 to 1969 for the Washington Senators (1962–66), Philadelphia Phillies (1967–69), and Boston Red ...

says of his gifts: Six days after his great performance, on September 18, 1962, Cheney suffered a setback at

D.C. Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the w ...

. Cheney gave up two home runs to

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

and lost the game 7–1 to

Ralph Terry Ralph Willard Terry (January 9, 1936 – March 16, 2022) was an American baseball player who played as a right-handed starting pitcher for twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, ...

and the

(who would go on to win 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 There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in spor ...

).Tom Cheney
- Baseballbiography.com Cheney again pitched skillfully in , a season that is probably considered his best season during his 8-year major league career. Cheney only pitched half the season, but finished with career-bests in wins,

, and

. Cheney pitched in a total of 23 games that season, serving as the starting pitcher in 21 of them. He posted an 8–9 record, a 2.71 ERA along with 7 complete games and 4 shutouts. Tom gave up just 99 hits in innings of work and dominated batters by walking only 40 and striking out 97. However, in July 1963, Cheney suffered a devastating elbow injury that played a major role in prematurely ending his major league career just after he was starting to appear as one of the premier pitchers in the

. Cheney played minimally with the Washington Senators in and . He pitched in his last game on May 9, 1966. His daughter Terri Cook says of his career:

Career stats and death

In his career, Cheney started 71 games and came in for relief in 44 more. He finished with a 19–29 record, a 3.77

, 13 complete games, 8 of which were shutouts. He picked up 2 saves, once in and again in . Tom Cheney pitched in a total of 466 innings, giving up just 382 hits, while walking 245 and striking out 345. Tom Cheney died at the age of 67 on November 1, 2001, in

Rome, Georgia Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statisti ...

.Record-holder Cheney dies at 67
/ref>

References

External links

Tom Cheney
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Tom Cheney
at Baseballbiography.com

at Historic Baseball

at The Deadball Era * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheney, Tom 1934 births 2001 deaths Albany Cardinals players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Columbus Cardinals players Columbus Jets players Fresno Cardinals players Hawaii Islanders players Major League Baseball pitchers Omaha Cardinals players People from Calhoun County, Georgia Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Cardinals players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players York White Roses players