Casimir James Konstanty (March 2, 1917 – June 11, 1976) 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 ...

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 ...

and

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Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

of . He 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 ...

(1944),

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

(1946),

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 ...

(1948–1954),

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

(1954–1956) and St. Louis Cardinals (1956). Konstanty batted and threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed .

Early life

Originally from the New York hamlet of Strykersville, he was the son of a farmer. Konstanty starred in sports in high school in Arcade, New York, and also at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, where he earned a bachelor of science degree. He was a member of the university basketball team from 1936 to 1939. Konstanty was a physical education teacher in Saint Regis Falls, New York, before becoming a professional

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

. He pitched in semi-pro leagues for the Malone Maroons and the Massena Alcos (sponsored by the Aluminum Company of America) in 1940 and 1941. In one game he struck out 11 batters while playing for Massena.

Career

Konstanty began his pro career in 1941 at age 24. He pitched briefly with the Cincinnati Reds in and Boston Braves in , while spending 1945 performing

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service. Then he spent three seasons in the minors until , when the Phillies called him up. He became a relief specialist who employed a slider and a change-up with great effectiveness. In , when the Phils "Whiz Kids" won the

pennant, Konstanty was named the

; to date, he is the only National League relief pitcher to achieve such an honor. He appeared in 74 games (then a major league record), winning 16 games with a National League leading 22 saves. He made the NL All-Star team and received the

AP Athlete of the Year The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award to ...

and the ''TSN'' Pitcher of the Year awards. In a surprise move, he was named to

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Game 1 of the

1950 World Series The 1950 World Series was the 47th World Series between the American League, American and National League (baseball), National Leagues for the championship of Major League Baseball. The 1950 Philadelphia Phillies season, Philadelphia Phillies as ...

against the New York Yankees. Konstanty gave up only four hits in eight innings but lost 1–0, his efforts outdone by Vic Raschi's two-hit shutout. Konstanty lost some of his effectiveness after his spectacular 1950 season and was sent to the Yankees in the midseason of . He played two seasons in New York, half a season for the St. Louis Cardinals, and a few games for the San Francisco Seals before retiring in 1957. In his 11-season career, Konstanty posted a 66–48 record with 74 saves and a 3.46 ERA in 433

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

. In 945

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 ...

, he struck out 268 and allowed 957 hits and 269 bases on balls. In his 36

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 ...

, he amassed 14

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 and two shutouts.

Post-playing career

Konstanty lived in Worcester, New York. He opened a sporting goods store in

Oneonta, New York Oneonta ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in southern Otsego County, New York, Otsego County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is one of the northernmost cities of Appalachia. Oneonta is home to the State Un ...

in 1948, and he would operate that store until 1973. He served as a minor-league pitching coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. From 1968 to 1972 he was the director of athletics at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. He lived in Worcester until his death at the age of 59. In 2008, Casimir (Jim) Konstanty was elected into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* *
Jim Konstanty
at

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Konstanty, Jim 1917 births 1976 deaths American men's basketball players Baseball players from Otsego County, New York Cincinnati Reds players Major League Baseball pitchers National League All-Stars National League Most Valuable Player Award winners New York Yankees players People from Worcester, New York Philadelphia Phillies players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players St. Louis Cardinals players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Springfield Nationals players Syracuse Chiefs players Syracuse Orangemen baseball players Syracuse Orange men's basketball players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life

Career

Post-playing career

See also

References

External links