James Clement McAndrew (January 11, 1944 – March 14, 2024) 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 pitched in

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 ...

for the

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 ...

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. ...

from 1968 to 1974. He was a member of the

1969 World Series The 1969 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1969 season. The 66th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Baltimore Orioles and the National L ...

champions.

Early life

James Clement McAndrew was born on January 11, 1944, in

Lost Nation, Iowa Lost Nation is a city in Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 434 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The area which would later formally become Lost Nation was known by that name as early as 18 ...

. He was the oldest of four, with three younger sisters. He grew up on a farm where his father raised chickens and grew corn. McAndrew graduated from Lost Nation High School and attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, where he played baseball and basketball for the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

. He gave up playing basketball during his sophomore year after suffering a knee injury. He earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in psychology from Iowa.

Career

The

selected McAndrew in the 11th round, with the 209th overall selection, of the 1965 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut on July 21, 1968, substituting for

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Ryan pitched for the New Yo ...

. He started twelve games for the Mets in 1968; the Mets had a 4–8 win-loss record in those games, and his record was 4–7. He had a 2.28

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) in 1968. McAndrew was a member of the

champions and the 1973 National League pennant winners. On September 10, 1969, he started and pitched 11 innings against the Montreal Expos in the first game of a double-header that the Mets swept to reach first place for the first time in franchise history. He did not pitch in the 1969 World Series as he was behind

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cin ...

, Jerry Koosman, and Gary Gentry on the Mets' depth chart. He also did not pitch in the

1973 World Series The 1973 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1973 Major League Baseball season, 1973 season. The 70th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American Leag ...

as the Mets relied on Seaver, Koosman,

Jon Matlack Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack (born January 19, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and Coach (baseball), coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through for the New York Mets and the Texas Rang ...

, and relief pitcher Tug McGraw. McAndrew appeared in 23 games during the 1973 season, but due to injuries, he was limited to

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 ...

. After the 1973 season, the Mets traded McAndrew to the

for Steve Simpson. He pitched in 15 games for the Padres before he was released. McAndrew pitched in 161 games in his career, starting 110 of them. He registered 20

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 six

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( 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 basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

. He retired with a 37–53 win-loss record and a 3.65 ERA.

Personal life

McAndrew and his wife, Lyn, had four children. His son,

Jamie McAndrew James Brian McAndrew (born September 2, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1995 and 1997. Early years McAndrew was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania,Baseball-Reference.com, Play ...

, also pitched in the major leagues. After retiring from baseball in 1974, McAndrew went to work at

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...

in Chicago. He then worked in the coal industry. He and Lyn retired to

Fountain Hills, Arizona Fountain Hills is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Known for its impressive fountain, once the tallest in the world, it borders the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and Scottsdale. Th ...

. McAndrew died following a brief illness at HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center, on March 14, 2024.

References

External links

Jim McAndrew at Society for American Baseball Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:McAndrew, Jim 1944 births 2024 deaths People from Lost Nation, Iowa Baseball players from Iowa Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball players Iowa Hawkeyes baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players San Diego Padres players Auburn Mets players Marion Mets players Williamsport Mets players Jacksonville Suns players Iowa Oaks players People from Fountain Hills, Arizona 20th-century American sportsmen