Jimmie Le Roy McDonald (May 17, 1927 – October 23, 2004) was an American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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 attempts to e ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

who played for five different teams between

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

and 1958. Listed at tall and , he batted and threw right-handed. The native of

Grants Pass, Oregon Grants Pass is the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, along the Rogue River. The population was 39,189 at the 2020 census. History Early Hudson's Bay Company hun ...

, had a 16-year career (1945–1960) in

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

. In the major leagues, McDonald worked a spot starter and filled various roles coming out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

as a middle reliever and set-up man. He debuted in the midst of the season with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

, then joined the St. Louis Browns (1951),

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

(1952–1954),

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles 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 American League's eight charter ...

(1955) and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

(1956–1958). He went 3–4 with a 3.50

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Com ...

in 26 appearances for the Yankees champions, including five starts, but did not pitch during the

1952 World Series The 1952 World Series featured the 3-time defending champions New York Yankees beating the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games. The Yankees won their 4th consecutive title, tying the mark they set in 1936–1939 under manager Joe McCarthy, and Ca ...

. In , he posted career-highs in wins (9),

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—pit ...

s (6),

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

(2), and

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

(). He also was the starter and winning pitcher in Game 5 of the

1953 World Series The 1953 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1953 season. The 50th edition of the World Series, it matched the four-time defending champions New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in a rematch of the ...

over the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five p ...

. In that game, McDonald allowed only two runs, both earned, over his first seven innings pitched, as the Yankees built a 10–2 advantage. McDonald faltered somewhat in the eighth, permitting four runs (three of them on a home run by Billy Cox) before he was relieved by left-hander

Bob Kuzava Robert Leroy "Sarge" Kuzava (May 28, 1923 – May 15, 2017) was an American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher for the Cleveland Indians (1946–1947), Chicago White Sox (1949–1950), Washington Senators (1901–60), Washington S ...

. But the Yankees prevailed, 11–7, and won the Series in six games the following day. In a nine-season MLB career, McDonald posted a 24–27

record A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

with a 4.37 ERA in 136 games, including 55 starts, 15

s, three

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s, 30

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 one save. He allowed 489

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 ...

and 231

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Sec ...

, with 158 strikeouts, in 468 career innings pitched.

Transactions

*Before the 1945 season was signed by the Boston Red Sox as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. *During the 1951 midseason, McDonald was sent by Boston, along with

Matt Batts Matthew Daniel Batts (October 16, 1921 – July 14, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 1947 through 1956 for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, Chicag ...

and

Jim Suchecki James Joseph Suchecki (August 25, 1927 – July 20, 2000) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1950 through 1952 for the Boston Red Sox (1950), St. Louis Browns (1951) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1952). Listed at 5' 11", 185 lb ...

, to the St. Louis Browns in exchange for Les Moss. *Before the 1952 season was traded by St. Louis to the Yankees for

Clint Courtney Clinton Dawson Courtney (March 16, 1927 – June 16, 1975), nicknamed Scrap Iron, was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1951), St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (1952 ...

, who was the first catcher to wear glasses in major league history. *In a 17-player trade before the 1955 season, the Yankees sent McDonald, Harry Byrd, Don Leppert, Bill Miller, Willy Miranda, Kal Segrist, Hal Smith,

Gus Triandos Gus Triandos (July 30, 1930 – March 28, 2013) was a Greek American professional baseball player and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher and a first baseman for the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and the Detroit Tigers ...

, Gene Woodling, and a minor leaguer
�
Ted Del Guercio
played 12 years in the minor leagues and was the only member of the group not to make the majors to the Baltimore Orioles, in exchange for Mike Blyzka, Jim Fridley, Billy Hunter, Darrell Johnson, Dick Kryhoski,

Don Larsen Don James Larsen (August 7, 1929 – January 1, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched from 1953 to 1967 for seven different teams: the St. Louis Browns / Baltimore O ...

and Bob Turley. *In the 1955 midseason, was returned by Baltimore to the Yankees for

Ed Lopat Edmund Walter Lopat (originally Lopatynski) (June 21, 1918 – June 15, 1992) was a Major League Baseball pitcher, coach, manager, front office executive, and scout. He was sometimes known as "The Junk Man", but better known as "Steady Eddie", ...

, but did not play for them. *In 1956, he was dealt by New York to the Orioles, then purchased by the Chicago White Sox from Baltimore.

References

External links

Retrosheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Jim 1927 births 2004 deaths Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Oregon Birmingham Barons players Boston Red Sox players Charleston Senators players Chicago White Sox players Denver Bears players Indianapolis Indians players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Lynn Red Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins (IL) players New York Yankees players St. Louis Browns players Scranton Miners players Scranton Red Sox players Sportspeople from Grants Pass, Oregon Vancouver Mounties players