Joseph Francis Page (October 28, 1917 – April 21, 1980), nicknamed ''Fireman'' and ''The Gay Reliever'', 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

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 ...

. Page, who was left-handed, 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 (A ...

with the

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 ...

from to and 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 .

Professional career

Page was signed by the

as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

in . After spending time in the

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 ...

farm system, Page made his

debut on April 19, where he began his career as a starter. In his rookie season (starting 16 games, and relieving in three others), Page was voted to play in the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

and ended his season with over 100 innings pitched and a 4.56 ERA. The next season, Page suffered a shoulder injury, which led him to start only nine of the twenty games he pitched. That season, Page improved his ERA to 2.82, along with a 6–3 record. In , Page split his time between closing and starting games, and he picked up three saves while posting a 3.57 ERA and a 9–8 record. In , Page spent practically the whole season in the bullpen and only started twice. He was voted to play in the

once again, because of his 2.48 ERA and a 14–8 record. He also led 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 ...

with 17 saves this season. (Note that the save statistic was not an official baseball statistic until 1969, and had not even entered common usage until well after Page did this; this feat is something that is only retroactively appreciated. However, it was certainly appreciated at the time that Page played a greater than average role as the Yankees relief pitcher, at a time when there was no generally acknowledged "closing pitcher" role in baseball, and when starting pitchers were more often expected to finish complete games.) His fourteen relief wins in 1947 was an

record until

Luis Arroyo Luis Enrique "Tite" Arroyo, (February 18, 1927 – January 13, 2016) was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1955 to 1963. Arroyo was the first Puerto Rican player to appear for the New York Yankees and was a key part of their pennant winning s ...

broke it in . He was fourth in the league in American League MVP voting. In the seventh game of the 1947 World Series he earned the save by inducing

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

hitter

Eddie Miksis Edward Thomas Miksis (September 11, 1926 – April 8, 2005) was an American professional baseball infielder and outfielder. He played fourteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1944 and 1958 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, St ...

to hit into a series-ending double play. In , Page finished second in the

in saves. He also struck out 77 in 107.2

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s, pitched in the All-Star game for the third time, and led the league with 55 appearances. The following season, Page had a 13–8 record and a 2.59 ERA. He finished first in the

in saves with 27, again with no fanfare at the time because the save was not a recognized baseball statistic. He gave up 103

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

in 135.1

s and struck out 99 batters. He was again named to play in the

, and finished first in the league in three categories:

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although excep ...

, and saves. Page won the inaugural

Babe Ruth Award The Babe Ruth Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player with the best performance in the postseason. The award, created in honor of Babe Ruth, was first awarded in 1949 to New York Yankee pitcher, Joe Page, the MVP of the W ...

for his performance in the

1949 World Series The 1949 World Series featured the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games for their second defeat of the Dodgers in three years, and the 12th championship in team history. This victory would start a record ...

against the

, winning game three of the Series. He also finished third in the American League MVP voting. Page struggled during the season and was not part of the Yankee playoff roster. He was sent to the minors for the season, and was released on May 16. He spent in the minors, and was out of baseball altogether in 1953. On April 12, , Page was signed as a

by the

, appearing in seven games, posting an 11.17 ERA. Page was released by the Pirates on June 1, one week after his final appearance. Page finished his eight-year career in the majors with a career record of 57–49, a 3.53 ERA, 76 saves, and 519

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 ...

in 790.0

s pitched.

Alvin Dark Alvin Ralph Dark (January 7, 1922 – November 13, 2014), nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager. He played fourteen years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston/Milwaukee Bra ...

, a player in Page's day and later a big-league manager, credits Page's success as a relief pitcher in bringing greater attention to the role. Page was a competent hitter for a pitcher, posting a .205

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(47-for-229) with 20 runs, 2

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 26 RBI.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Page, Joe American League All-Stars New York Yankees players Pittsburgh Pirates players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Pennsylvania Deaths from esophageal cancer 1917 births 1980 deaths Butler Yankees players Augusta Tigers players Newark Bears (IL) players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Syracuse Chiefs players

Professional career

See also

References

External links