Jack Edward Baldschun (October 16, 1936 – June 6, 2023) was an American 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, ...

. He was a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

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 all or part of nine seasons (1961–67; 1969–70), for 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 ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, and

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. Baldschun threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

, and was listed as tall, weighing .

Personal life

Baldschun was a graduate of Greenville High School in his native

Greenville, Ohio Greenville is a city in Darke County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is near Ohio's western edge, about northwest of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton. The population was 12,786 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Indigenous ...

. He was originally signed by the Washington Senators out of

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...

, in 1956. Baldschun spent only one year in the Washington organization before he was acquired by Cincinnati and assigned to their Class C affiliate in

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Wisconsin River and had a population of 39,994 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the core city of the Wausau ...

. In 1957, while playing

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

for the Lumberjacks, he met his future wife, Charlotte Kolbe. They were married on April 10, 1958, and had two children, Kim and Brad.

Baseball career

Baldschun was selected by the Phillies in the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

on November 28, 1960. After learning how to throw the

screwball A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...

, Baldschun made it to the majors as a 24-year-old

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

in 1961. Baldschun made his major league debut on April 28, 1961, in relief of Chris Short in a 10-9 Phillies road loss 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. Baldschun pitched one inning, allowing no runs, one hit and one walk. That season. the Phillies endured their fourth straight last-place finish with a major league-worst 47–107 mark and a 23-game

losing streak In sports, a losing streak (a.k.a. a cold streak, losing skid, slide, schneid, or losing Slump (sports), slump) is an uninterrupted string of contests (games, matches, etc.) lost by a team or individual. A losing streak is thus the opposite of a ...

in August that still stands as a record. Baldschun led all

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

pitchers with 65 appearances and was the only Phillies pitcher with a winning record (5–3). Baldschun established himself as the closer by leading the team in saves in each of the next three years (13 in 1962, 16 in 1963, 21 in 1964). During the Phillies' "September swoon" of 1964, Baldschun was used in relief but not as a closer because

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Gene Mauch believed he was not going after hitters aggressively enough and was going too deep in the counts. Baldschun continued to fall out of favor with Mauch in 1965, registering only six saves due to a failure to hold leads. His five-season record in Philadelphia was 39–34 with 59 saves. Baldschun was among the

leaders in several categories during his career, including leading the league in games pitched with 65 in 1961. He was also in the league's top 10 in games pitched in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1969 and in saves in 1961, 1962 and 1964. Baldschun was traded to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

for Jackie Brandt and Darold Knowles on December 6, 1965. Baldschun was originally expected to strengthen a bullpen that featured aging veterans Dick Hall and Stu Miller and lost Harvey Haddix to retirement. Instead he drew the interest of the Reds which acquired him,

Milt Pappas Milton Steven Pappas (May 11, 1939 – April 19, 2016) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Nicknamed "Gimpy", the 17-year veteran pitched for the Baltimore Ori ...

and Dick Simpson from the Orioles for

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019), nicknamed "the Judge", was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams over 21 seasons: the Cincinnati Reds (1956–196 ...

three days later on December 9. Baldschun went 9–7 with one save for the remainder of his major league career. Over nine major league seasons, Baldschun had a 48–41 record with 60 saves, 555

strikeout 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 ...

s and a 3.69

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 ...

in 457 games. He had 704

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, allowing 687

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 ...

, 45

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 298 walks (including 67 intentional), 23

hit batsmen In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter (baseball), batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded f ...

and 49

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third st ...

es.

After baseball

Immediately after his playing career ended, Baldschun and his wife Charlotte moved to

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

, and Jack joined his brother-in-law in a carpentry business. Three years later, he became a salesman for a lumber company. In retirement, Baldschun became a grandfather and lived in Green Bay. He died of leukemia on June 6, 2023, at the age of 86.Jack Baldschun death notice
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References

External links

Jack Baldschun
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Jack Baldschun
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldschun, Jack 1936 births 2023 deaths Albuquerque Dukes players 20th-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Darke County, Ohio Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cincinnati Reds players Columbia Reds players Deaths from leukemia in Wisconsin Hawaii Islanders players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami RedHawks baseball players Nashville Vols players Sportspeople from Greenville, Ohio Philadelphia Phillies players Salt Lake City Bees players San Diego Padres players Savannah Redlegs players Sportspeople from Green Bay, Wisconsin Thibodaux Senators players Topeka Hawks players Visalia Redlegs players Wausau Lumberjacks players