Ralph Michael Caldwell (born January 22, 1949) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

left-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 ...

Career

Caldwell was drafted in the 12th round of the 1971 amateur draft by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

after graduating from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The univers ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the Wolfpack. He made his major league debut on September 4, 1971 against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

. His Padres won‐lost record of 13–25 included a second full major‐league season in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

in which he was mostly a

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 ...

who went 5–14 with a 3.74

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 ...

(ERA). He was traded from the Padres to 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 Yo ...

for Willie McCovey and

Bernie Williams Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. (born September 13, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and a musician. He played his entire 16-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees from 1991 through 2006. ...

on October 25, 1973. The Giants were desperate for more left‐handed pitchers beyond

Ron Bryant Ronald Raymond Bryant (born November 12, 1947) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from to . Bryant's career record was 57 wins and 56 losses with a 4.02 earned run average (ERA), mostly with the San Francisco Giants. He had 519 strikeouts ...

."Padres Get McCovey," ''The New York Times'', Friday, October 26, 1973.
Retrieved November 28, 2020 Caldwell was traded again in 1976, this time to 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 ...

with John D'Acquisto and Dave Rader for

Willie Crawford Willie Murphy Crawford (September 7, 1946 – August 27, 2004) was a professional baseball outfielder. He played with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1964–1975), St. Louis Cardinals (1976), Houston Astros (1977) and Oakland Athletics (1977) of Major ...

, Vic Harris and John Curtis. Before the start of the 1977 season, Caldwell was traded for the third time, going 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

Pat Darcy Patrick Leonard Darcy (born May 12, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds from through . Darcy was a member of the Reds te ...

. After just 14 games, the Reds traded him to the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

for minor leaguers

Dick O'Keefe Richard Thomas O'Keefe (September 29, 1923 – December 17, 2006) was an American professional basketball player. After serving as captain of the St. James High School basketball team in his hometown of San Francisco, California, O'Keefe began his ...

and Garry Pyka. Caldwell had his best season in 1978 when he went 22–9 with a 2.36 ERA and led the AL in complete games with 23. Caldwell was named the

AL Comeback Player of the Year The Major League Baseball Comeback Player of the Year Award is presented by Major League Baseball (MLB) to the player who is judged to have "re-emerged on the baseball field during a given season." The award was developed in 2005, as part of a sp ...

by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' and finished second in the

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...

balloting to Ron Guidry. Caldwell finished in double figures in victories for six consecutive seasons for the Brewers (1978–1983) and won two games in the 1982 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in a losing effort. Caldwell was given his unconditional release by the Brewers organization in 1985. Caldwell, as of 2019, is still the Brewers' all-time leader in wins by a left-handed pitcher, with 102. In 1978, he was one of the three left-handed pitchers named "Mike" (the others being Mike Flanagan and Mike Willis) to hand the New York Yankees' Ron Guidry a loss in his 25–3 season. He and the Brewers shut out 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 ...

and Guidry 6–0 on July 7, . During his prime years in Milwaukee, Caldwell was known as a "Yankee killer", and proved to be very successful against them. From 1977 to 1982, Caldwell was 12-5 with a 2.66 ERA against the Yankees.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Mike Patrick 1949 births Living people People from Tarboro, North Carolina Baseball players from North Carolina Campbell Fighting Camels baseball coaches Major League Baseball pitchers San Diego Padres players San Francisco Giants players Cincinnati Reds players Milwaukee Brewers players NC State Wolfpack baseball players Minor league baseball managers Tri-City Padres players Lodi Padres players