James Wesley Hook (born November 18, 1936) is an American former

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

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 ...

. From 1957 through 1964, Hook played for the

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 ...

(1957–61) 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 ...

(1962–64). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. In an eight-season career, Hook posted a 29–62 won-loss record with 394

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 5.23

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 ...

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 ...

. Jay attended high school at Grayslake Community High School (now Grayslake Central High School). A

bonus baby The bonus rule was a contractual rule affecting major league baseball intermittently between 1947 and 1964, meant to prevent teams from assigning certain players to farm teams. The rule stipulated that when a major-league team signed a player to ...

signed by the Cincinnati Reds out of

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, Hook made his major league debut with Cincinnati in 1957. He joined the Reds regular pitching rotation in 1960 and had an 11–18 mark, including a two-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

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 ...

. Before the 1962 season, Hook was acquired by the New York Mets in the

1961 MLB Expansion Draft The 1961 MLB expansion draft was held by Major League Baseball on October 10, 1961, to fill the rosters of the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s, the new franchises which would enter the league in the 1962 season. The pool of players out o ...

, along with

Hobie Landrith Hobert Neal Landrith (March 16, 1930 – April 6, 2023) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1950 through 1963 for the Cincinnati Reds, Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs, Chicago Cubs, St. Loui ...

Elio Chacón Elio Chacón Rodríguez (October 26, 1936 – April 24, 1992) was a Venezuelan Major League Baseball second baseman and shortstop who played in the National League from 1960 to 1962. He was the seventh baseball player from Venezuela to play ...

, Roger Craig,

Gil Hodges Gilbert Raymond Hodges (born Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Broo ...

Don Zimmer Donald William Zimmer (January 17, 1931 – June 4, 2014) was an American infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Zimmer was involved in professional baseball from 1949 until his death, a span of 65 years, across 8 d ...

and

Gus Bell David Russell "Gus" Bell Jr. (November 15, 1928 – May 7, 1995) was an American professional baseball player and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1950 to 1964, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds ...

, among others. On April 23, 1962, Hook became the first winning pitcher in Mets franchise history, tossing a complete-game, five-hitter in New York's 9–1 win over

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the fir ...

, giving the team its first regular-season victory after nine defeats. In that season he compiled an 8–19 mark for the Mets, and led the team in

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—pitche ...

s with 13 and

games started In baseball statistics, games started (denoted by GS) indicates the number of games pitched, games that a pitcher has starting pitcher, started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he throws the first pitch to the first opp ...

with 34. Those 1962 Mets had a record of 40–120, still the most losses for any major league team in a single season since the 19th century. The Mets traded Hook, cash, and a minor leaguer named later to the Milwaukee Braves for

Roy McMillan Roy David McMillan (July 17, 1929 – November 2, 1997) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1951 to 1966, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, wh ...

on May 8, 1964. The Braves then sent Hook to their minor league team in Denver where he pitched a nine inning no-hitter that he lost in the 10th inning. Towards the end of the 1964 season he was called up to the parent team but did not appear in any games for them. After receiving a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed b ...

, Hook retired in 1964 at age 28 to take a job with the

Chrysler Corporation FCA US, LLC, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of ...

. He then worked in senior management positions at

Rockwell International Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avioni ...

and at Masco, and later became a professor of industrial management at

. Hook and his wife Joan resided in Maple City, Michigan.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hook, Jay Living people 1936 births Cincinnati Reds players New York Mets players Nashville Vols players Seattle Rainiers players Denver Bears players Northwestern Wildcats baseball players Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Waukegan, Illinois People from Leelanau County, Michigan 20th-century American sportsmen