Woodrow Thompson Fryman (April 12, 1940 – February 4, 2011), 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 ...

who played in

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), ...

(MLB) for six teams, across 18 seasons (–). A two-time

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) All-Star, he helped 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 ...

reach the

1972 American League Championship Series The 1972 American League Championship Series was held October 7–12, and matched the Oakland Athletics () and Detroit Tigers () for the right to go to the 1972 World Series. The first two games were played at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseu ...

and the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

reach the 1981 National League Championship Series.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Fryman was 25 years old when he signed with 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 ...

in . He debuted out of the

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 ...

for the Pirates in , however, made more appearances as a starter, and was used pretty evenly in both roles throughout his career. He went 12–9 with a 3.81

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 ...

his rookie season, including three

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 ...

s in a row against 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 ...

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 ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, respectively. His shutout against the Mets was nearly a perfect game, as

Ron Hunt Ronald Kenneth Hunt (born February 23, 1941) is a former professional baseball second baseman. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1974 for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos and ...

led off the Mets' half of the first inning with a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, and was immediately caught trying to steal second. Fryman retired the next 26 batters he faced without allowing another baserunner all game. His record dipped to 3–8 with a 4.05 ERA in . Following the season, he was dealt to the

with

Bill Laxton William Harry Laxton (born January 5, 1948) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Laxton pitched in all or part of five seasons in the majors between 1970 and 1977. Early career Laxton grew up in Audubon, New Jersey and attended Audubon H ...

Don Money Donald Wayne Money (born June 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Kintetsu ...

and Harold Clem for

Jim Bunning James Paul David Bunning (October 23, 1931 – May 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher and politician who represented Kentucky in both chambers of the United States Congress. He was the sole Major League Baseball athlete to ha ...

Philadelphia Phillies

After a complete-game victory against the

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 ...

on June 18, Fryman's record stood at 10–5 with a 1.61 ERA, and he was named the Phillies' sole representative at the 1968 All-Star Game. He dropped his next five decisions, and ended the season with a 12–14 record and 2.78 ERA. Fryman was used almost exclusively as a starter his first two seasons in Philadelphia, but began being used more and more in relief in and . In , Fryman was 4–10 with a 4.36 ERA for the 34–61 Phillies when the club placed him on waivers at the end of July.

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers were battling 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 ...

for first place in the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

when they claimed Fryman off waivers on August 2, 1972. Fryman turned his season around with the Tigers, and was 9–3 with a 2.21 ERA when the Red Sox came to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

for a three-game set to end the season a half game up on the Tigers. Manager

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

handed the ball to

Mickey Lolich Michael Stephen Lolich (born September 12, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1963 until 1979, almost entirely for the Detroit Tigers. A three-time All-Star, ...

for the first game of the set. Lolich pitched a complete-game victory to put the Tigers up a half game on the Red Sox as Fryman took the mound for the second game of the set. The Red Sox scored an

unearned run 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 ...

in the first, and held onto a 1–0 lead until the Tigers clawed out a

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

off

Luis Tiant Luis Clemente Tiant Vega () (born November 23, 1940) is a Cuban former Major League Baseball (MLB) right-handed starting pitcher. He pitched in MLB for 19 years, primarily for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox. Tiant compiled a 22 ...

in the sixth. They followed that up with two more runs in the seventh. Fryman, meanwhile, only allowed two hits after the first inning. After giving up a lead-off single in the eighth, he retired the next two batters he faced before turning the game over to

Chuck Seelbach Charles Frederick Seelbach (born March 20, 1948) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Detroit Tigers between 1971 and 1974. Amateur career In 1967, Seelbach played collegiate summer baseball with the Orlea ...

. Seelbach struck out two of the four batters he faced as Detroit beat the Red Sox 3–1 to clinch the division. Fryman's .769 win percentage was tops 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 1972, and his ERA+ of 154 is one of the highest in Detroit franchise history.

1972 ALCS

The Tigers lost the first game of the ALCS with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

3–2 in 11 innings. Fryman did not have his best stuff as he made the start in game two of the ALCS. He left them in the fifth inning behind 1–0 and the bases loaded. The bullpen allowed all three inherited runners to score as the A's cruised to a 5–0 victory, and a 2–0 lead in the ALCS. Detroit came back to win the following two games in Tiger Stadium to take the series to five games. Fryman took the mound for the deciding game, as did his opponent from game two,

Blue Moon Odom Johnny Lee "Blue Moon" Odom (born May 29, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from through , most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won t ...

. Fryman pitched well, allowing two runs and just four hits over eight innings. One run was scored on a steal of home by

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cali ...

, and the other was an unearned run, the result of a

Dick McAuliffe Richard John McAuliffe (November 29, 1939 – May 13, 2016) was an American professional baseball shortstop / second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers (1960–73) and Boston Red Sox (1974–75). He was a ...

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

in the fourth. However, Oakland pitching was even better, as Odom and

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

combined to allow just one unearned run to send the A's to the 1972 World Series.

Montreal Expos

Fryman spent two more seasons with the Tigers before being dealt to the

for

Terry Humphrey Terryal Gene Humphrey (born August 4, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. A catcher, he appeared in 415 games played over all or parts of nine Major League Baseball seasons for the Montreal Expos (1971–1974), Detroit Tig ...

and Tom Walker on December 4, . Along with

Dave McNally David Arthur McNally (October 31, 1942 – December 1, 2002) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1962 through 1975, most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dyn ...

from the

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 ...

, he was the second left-handed pitcher acquired that day by the Expos which was devoid of southpaws for all but three weeks of the 1974 campaign. Fryman's record stood at 8–6 with a 3.74 ERA when he earned his second All-Star nod in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

. As with his first selection in , he was his team's lone representative, and he did not appear in the game. He was the Expos Player of the Year in 1976.

Cincinnati Reds

Fryman was traded with

Dale Murray Dale Albert Murray (born February 2, 1950) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Career Montreal Expos He was drafted by the Montreal Expos out of Blinn College in Brenham, Texas in the eighteenth round of the 1970 Major League Baseball Dr ...

to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

for

Tony Pérez Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member of the ...

and

Will McEnaney William Henry McEnaney (February 14, 1952) is a former professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher over parts of six seasons in Major League Baseball (1974–79) with the Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. ...

on December 16, . He and Reds manager

Sparky Anderson George Lee "Sparky" Anderson (February 22, 1934 – November 4, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third t ...

did not get along, and Fryman's record stood at 5–5 with a 5.38 ERA when he announced his retirement midway through the 1977 season. Following the season, he was lured back out of retirement, and dealt with

Bill Caudill William Holland Caudill (born July 13, 1956) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Caudill was one of the top closers in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to . Early years Caudill attended Aviation High School in Redondo Beach, C ...

to the Chicago Cubs for

Bill Bonham William Gordon Bonham (born October 1, 1948) is a retired former pitcher for the Chicago Cubs (1971–77) and Cincinnati Reds (1978–80). He played for the UCLA Bruins and was a member of the 1969 College World Series team with Chris Chambliss. ...

Return to Montreal

Fryman made just 13 appearances and was 2–4 with a 5.17 ERA for the Cubs when he was dealt to the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later ( Jerry White) midway through the season. Turning 39 at the start of the season, Fryman was converted into a full-time

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 ...

by manager

Dick Williams Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 – July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967 to 1 ...

. He made the postseason for the second time in his career following the strike shortened 1981 season. In the 1981 National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, he pitched 1 inning, and gave up one earned run. In the 1981 National League Championship Series, he gave up four earned runs to the

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) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in one inning pitched. Fryman was 24–17 with 46 saves and a 2.73 ERA as a full-time reliever entering the season. He made one appearance in April before going on the disabled list. Fryman recalled: "It was early in the 1983 season and my arm just popped and I couldn't even raise it." He returned to the club in July, but after going 0–3 with a 21.00 ERA, and blowing his only save opportunity, he retired.

Personal life

After his playing days, Fryman retired to his tobacco farm in Kentucky. Fryman was inducted into the Montreal Expos' Hall of Fame in 1995, and the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. On February 4, 2011, Fryman died in his hometown of Ewing, Kentucky.

Career stats

References

*Bob Dunn (June 30, 1975). “The Agony and the X Rays”. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018.

External links

Woodie Fryman
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fryman, Woodie 1940 births 2011 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Kentucky Batavia Pirates players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Jets players Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars People from Fleming County, Kentucky Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players