Gerald Lee Staley (August 21, 1920 – January 2, 2008) was an American right-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 ...

. He was drafted by 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 ha ...

in the 1942 Minor League draft. He pitched regularly from 1947 on, then was traded to Cincinnati for the 1955 season. In 1955 and 1956, he pitched for three teams, including the Yankees, before ending up with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, whom he helped to 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 b ...

pennant as a reliever. Staley was named to the and

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 ...

All-Star teams and the American League All-Star team. He finished 28th in voting for the AL's 1959 Most Valuable Player Award after leading the league in games with 67 and games finished with 37, and had an 8–5 record, 14 saves in innings, 54 strikeouts, and a 2.24

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 ...

. He finished 23rd in voting for the 1960 Most Valuable Player Award for having a 13–8 record in 64 games and innings, with 10 saves, 14 blown saves, 52 strikeouts and a 2.42 earned run average. The 14 blown saves was a single-season record, matched by only four other pitchers. He led the National League in hits allowed per 9 innings pitched (8.09) in 1949, and led the National League in hit batsmen in (7) and (17). In 15 years, he had a 134–111 record in 640 games, 186 games started, 58 complete games, 9 shutouts, 246 games finished, 61 saves, innings, 2,070 hits allowed, 946 runs allowed (814 earned), 187 home runs allowed, 529 walks (37 intentional), 727 strikeouts, 63 hit batsmen, 27 wild pitches, 8,398 batters faced, 2 balks and a 3.70 earned run average. He died at his home in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

, of natural causes at the age of 87.All-Star pitcher Staley dies at 87
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Staley, Gerry 1920 births 2008 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Cardinals players Cincinnati Redlegs players New York Yankees players Chicago White Sox players Kansas City Athletics players Detroit Tigers players National League All-Stars American League All-Stars Baseball players from Washington (state) Boise Pilots players Sacramento Solons players Columbus Red Birds players Portland Beavers players Sportspeople from Vancouver, Washington