Craig Anderson (1960s Pitcher)
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Norman Craig Anderson (born July 1, 1938) is an American former professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), 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 played
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) for 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
and
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
for all or parts of four seasons (1961–1964). A native of
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, he threw and batted right-handed and was listed as tall and .


Scholastic career

Anderson attended Anacostia High School from 1953 to 1956. He played football, basketball, and baseball. Anderson attended
Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...
, playing both varsity football and varsity baseball. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1960 and then went on to earn an M.Ed. in Business Education from
Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 sta ...
in 1966.


Playing career

Anderson signed with the Cardinals as an amateur free agent prior to the season. He made his MLB debut on June 23, 1961. Anderson was selected by the Mets in the 1961 MLB Expansion Draft, on October 10, 1961. He played – with the Mets. Anderson led the 1962 Mets in appearances and saves. It was a team that ended up with a record of 40–120, the most losses by any Major MLB team in one season. On May 12, 1962, Anderson was the winning pitcher on both ends of the first double-header the Mets ever won. After winning those two games against the
Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...
, he lost his last 16 decisions that season. (The losing streak would end at 19 games when Anderson's big league career ended, on May 31, 1964.) In that twin-bill, he became the first Mets pitcher to record two wins in a single day; only two other Mets pitchers since have accomplished this: Willard Hunter and
Jesse Orosco Jesse Russell Orosco (born April 21, 1957) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball from 1979 to 2003 for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimor ...
. On September 18, 1963, Anderson was the losing pitcher in the last baseball game ever played at the
Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...
, when the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
, behind lefty
Chris Short Christopher Joseph Short (September 19, 1937 – August 1, 1991), nicknamed "Styles", was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1959–1972), and Milwaukee Brewers (19 ...
, beat the Mets 5–1. In 82 games (17 starts), Anderson finished with a career record of 7 wins, 23 losses, 94
strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...
, 192.1
innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...
, 34
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 the ...
, and an
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 ...
(ERA) of 5.10.


References


External links


Craig Anderson
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Craig Anderson
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Craig Living people 1938 births Baseball players from Washington, D.C. Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Lehigh Mountain Hawks baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players People from Southeast (Washington, D.C.) Portland Beavers players St. Louis Cardinals players Southern Illinois University alumni Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Williamsport Mets players Anacostia High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen