James Charles Bethke (born November 5, 1946) is an American former

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), ...

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 ...

. He was drafted by the

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 ...

in 1964. He only played one season in his career, which was 1965 with the Mets. His career statistics are 25 games played (all of which he entered in relief and 12 of which he finished), 19

strikeouts 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 ...

, a 4.28

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 ...

, and a 2–0 win–loss record. He was the youngest player in the major leagues at the time in 1965 at age 18.

External links

Jim Bethke's statistics and bio
at Baseball Reference.
Jim Bethke's statistics and bio
at Baseball Almanac. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bethke, Jim Major League Baseball pitchers Living people New York Mets players 1946 births Baseball players from Nebraska People from Falls City, Nebraska Cocoa Rookie League Mets players