Claiborne Henry Bryant (November 16, 1911 – April 9, 1999) was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

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) ...

who played from 1935 through 1940 for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

. Listed at , , Bryant batted and threw right handed. He was born in

Madison Heights, Virginia Madison Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in Amherst County, Virginia, United States. The population was 10,893 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Fort Riverview (44AH91 and 44AH195), ...

. Bryant spent parts of six seasons in the Minor Legues before joining the Cubs in 1935. His most productive season came in 1938, when he won 19 games with a 3.10

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 ...

and led the National League with 135 strikeouts, while pitching seven consecutive

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pit ...

s, winning six of them in the first 25 days in September, to help the Cubs erase a nine-game deficit and capture an unlikely pennant. Bryant went 32–20 with a 3.73 ERA in parts of six seasons for the Cubs. He began to experience elbow and shoulder pain, and this led to his retirement from baseball in 1940. Bryant was an exceptionally good hitting pitcher in his six-year major league career, posting a .266

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 i ...

(51-for-192), scoring 48 runs, with 5

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 is ...

and 28

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

. Afterwards, Bryant was a longtime

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

in the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system, and also served as a

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the Dodgers in 1961 and the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

in 1967 and 1974. He also was a roving pitching instructor in the Cleveland organization.

Ned Garver Ned Franklin Garver (December 25, 1925 – February 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns (1948–1952), the Detroit Tigers (1952–1956), the Kansas City Athlet ...

said he learned the fundamentals of pitching from Bryant when he managed the

Newark Moundsmen Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-t ...

. Bryant managed winter ball for the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

club of the Venezuelan League, guiding his team to the 1956–1957 pennant while advancing to the 1957 Caribbean Series. Bryant died in 1999 in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, at the age of 87.

References

External links

, o
SABR Biography Project
* : {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Clay 1911 births 1999 deaths Asheville Tourists managers Baseball players from Virginia Birmingham Barons players Burlington Bees players Caribbean Series managers Chambersburg Young Yanks players Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians coaches Keokuk Indians players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) managers Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Montreal Royals managers National League strikeout champions New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players People from Madison Heights, Virginia Portland Beavers managers Springfield Senators players St. Paul Saints (AA) managers Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Zanesville Cubs players Zanesville Greys players American expatriate baseball people in Venezuela Zanesville Dodgers players

See also

References

External links