Clay Carroll--1973
While most of the sports world was
focused on the Indianapolis 500 on
May 30, 1969;lost in the day was
Cincinnati hurler Clay Carroll’s
special moment.
Picked up from the Braves early in
1968, Carroll would pitch eight
seasons for the Reds and finish with
119 saves, presently third all-time for
the historic franchise. Nicknamed
“The Hawk” for his beak of a nose
and beady eyes, Carroll handled the
closers role during the early days of
the Big Red Machine.
With the Reds battling the Atlanta
Braves and San Francisco Giants in
the National League’s newly created
Western Division; Cincinnati was
paired against 1968 NL champion St.
Louis for the Memorial Day
weekend. It was a Friday at Busch
Stadium and Cardinal right-hander
Bob Gibson faced off against two-
time 20-game winner Jim Maloney for
the Red Legs.
Maloney didn’t make it out of the first
inning; however the Reds and Cards
found themselves knotted at three
when Carroll took the mound in the
bottom of the eighth. Carroll
responded with two innings of no-hit
ball, which forced Cincinnati skipper
Sparky Anderson to decide on
whether to pinch-hit for Carroll or to
try to squeeze another inning out of
his closer. Anderson chose the later,
as the chunky reliever went to plate
with two outs in the top of the tenth to
face a tiring Gibson.
The pride of Clanton, AL took the
future Hall of Famer Gibson out of
the yard, then proceeded to throw
one more hitless inning to notch the
4-3 victory for the Reds.
The Sporting News captured the
jubilation of the moment the shortly
thereafter (6/14/69) as writer Earl
Lawson reported:
“You should have seen the smile on
Carroll’s face when he returned to the
dugout,” said manager Dave Bristol. “It
looked like a cut watermelon.”
“And just think,” exclaimed the Red relief
ace. “I hit it off a super-star.”
For Carroll, it would be the only long
ball of his career, as the reliever
would hit .130 in 208 at-bats.
However the day would be even more
special as Tony Perez related in his
broken English to the press:
“What a day for Carroll,” chirped Tony
Perez, the Reds’ slugging third baseman.
“First he win the player pool on the
Indianapolis 500. Then he hit a homer and
win a game.”
While May 30, 1969 will be mostly be
remembered for Mario Andretti’s
victory at Indianapolis, baseball fans
of Cincinnati will remember the day
for Clay Carroll’s story-book clout.
(10/27/08)
focused on the Indianapolis 500 on
May 30, 1969;lost in the day was
Cincinnati hurler Clay Carroll’s
special moment.
Picked up from the Braves early in
1968, Carroll would pitch eight
seasons for the Reds and finish with
119 saves, presently third all-time for
the historic franchise. Nicknamed
“The Hawk” for his beak of a nose
and beady eyes, Carroll handled the
closers role during the early days of
the Big Red Machine.
With the Reds battling the Atlanta
Braves and San Francisco Giants in
the National League’s newly created
Western Division; Cincinnati was
paired against 1968 NL champion St.
Louis for the Memorial Day
weekend. It was a Friday at Busch
Stadium and Cardinal right-hander
Bob Gibson faced off against two-
time 20-game winner Jim Maloney for
the Red Legs.
Maloney didn’t make it out of the first
inning; however the Reds and Cards
found themselves knotted at three
when Carroll took the mound in the
bottom of the eighth. Carroll
responded with two innings of no-hit
ball, which forced Cincinnati skipper
Sparky Anderson to decide on
whether to pinch-hit for Carroll or to
try to squeeze another inning out of
his closer. Anderson chose the later,
as the chunky reliever went to plate
with two outs in the top of the tenth to
face a tiring Gibson.
The pride of Clanton, AL took the
future Hall of Famer Gibson out of
the yard, then proceeded to throw
one more hitless inning to notch the
4-3 victory for the Reds.
The Sporting News captured the
jubilation of the moment the shortly
thereafter (6/14/69) as writer Earl
Lawson reported:
“You should have seen the smile on
Carroll’s face when he returned to the
dugout,” said manager Dave Bristol. “It
looked like a cut watermelon.”
“And just think,” exclaimed the Red relief
ace. “I hit it off a super-star.”
For Carroll, it would be the only long
ball of his career, as the reliever
would hit .130 in 208 at-bats.
However the day would be even more
special as Tony Perez related in his
broken English to the press:
“What a day for Carroll,” chirped Tony
Perez, the Reds’ slugging third baseman.
“First he win the player pool on the
Indianapolis 500. Then he hit a homer and
win a game.”
While May 30, 1969 will be mostly be
remembered for Mario Andretti’s
victory at Indianapolis, baseball fans
of Cincinnati will remember the day
for Clay Carroll’s story-book clout.
(10/27/08)
