Truman Eugene "Tex" Clevenger (July 9, 1932 – August 24, 2019) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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), ...

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, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

and

spot starter S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an ...

who played 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 ...

, Washington Senators,

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 h ...

and

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 of ...

from 1954 to 1962. He was tall and , and threw and batted right-handed. He attended

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

Career

Clevenger began his pro career in the Red Sox organization in 1953. In the minors that year, he went 16–2 for the Class C

San Jose Red Sox The San Jose Red Sox were a Boston Red Sox affiliate from 1947 to 1955, located in San Jose, California. They competed in the California League and they played at San Jose Municipal Stadium and won league championships in 1949 and 1953. After the ...

, which was good enough to earn him the 1953 California League MVP Award. On April 18, 1954, at the age of 21, Clevenger made his MLB debut with the Boston Red Sox. His first season was no more than mediocre, as he went 2–4 with a 4.79

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 ...

. Overall in his career, he compiled a 36–37 record with a 4.18

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 ...

, 298 walks and 361

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. Oddly enough, perhaps his best season was his last—in 21 games with 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 ...

champion Yankees in 1962, he had an ERA of 2.84 and a record of 2–0. As a hitter, he

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

.157, with the highlight of his hitting career being a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

in 1958. He had a .961 career fielding percentage. He did not appear for the Yankees in either the 1961 or 1962 World Series.

After baseball

After leaving baseball, Clevenger worked as an insurance underwriter and owner of a car dealership. In 1987, he was inducted into the

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

Athletic Hall of Fame. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2008, and died August 24, 2019.

Transactions

*On November 8, 1955, Clevenger was sent with Al Curtis (a minor leaguer),

Dick Brodowski Richard Stanley Brodowski (July 26, 1932 – January 14, 2019) was a professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, and Cleveland Indians in 1952 and from 1955 to 1959. He b ...

Neil Chrisley Barbra O'Neil Chrisley (December 16, 1931 – May 18, 2013) was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1957 to 1961 with the Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Braves. He was tall and weighed , batted left-handed and t ...

, and

Karl Olson Karl Arthur Olson (July 6, 1930 – December 25, 2010) of Kentfield, California, was a backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1951, 1953–55), Washington Senators (1956–57) and Detroit Tigers (1957). He ...

from the Red Sox to the Washington Senators for

Bob Porterfield Erwin Coolidge "Bob" Porterfield (August 10, 1923 – April 28, 1980) was a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for twelve seasons between 1948 and 1959 for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh ...

Mickey Vernon James Barton "Mickey" Vernon (April 22, 1918 – September 24, 2008) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who played for the Washington Senators (1939–1948, 1950–1955), Cleveland Indians (1949–1950, 1958), Boston Red ...

Johnny Schmitz John Albert Schmitz (November 27, 1920 – October 1, 2011) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who worked in 366 games over 13 seasons as a member of the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Se ...

and

Tom Umphlett Thomas Mullen Umphlett (May 12, 1930 – September 21, 2012) was a center and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from to with the Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators. His 21-year professional baseball career as a player and m ...

. *On December 14, 1960, the Los Angeles Angels drafted Clevenger in the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansio ...

. *On May 8, 1961, Clevenger was traded with

Bob Cerv Robert Henry Cerv ( ; May 5, 1925 – April 6, 2017) was an American professional baseball left fielder. Prior to his professional career, he was a collegiate baseball and basketball player at the University of Nebraska. He was born in Weston, Ne ...

by the Angels to the New York Yankees for

Ryne Duren Rinold George "Ryne" Duren (February 22, 1929 – January 6, 2011) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was known for the combination of his blazing fastball and his very poor vision. With his thick eyeglasses, few batters ...

, Lee Thomas and Johnny James.

References

External links

Tex Clevenger
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Clevenger, Tex 1932 births 2019 deaths Baseball players from California Boston Red Sox players Fresno State Bulldogs baseball players Los Angeles Angels players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players San Jose Red Sox players Sportspeople from Visalia, California Washington Senators (1901–1960) players