Jim Rooker
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James Phillip Rooker (born September 23, 1942) is an American former
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 ...
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, ...
and broadcaster. A left-hander, Rooker pitched for the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
(1968),
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
(1969–1973) and
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
(1974–1980).


Early career

Signed as an amateur free agent by the Detroit Tigers, Rooker spent seven years in the Detroit
farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...
until he debuted in , pitching 4 innings in two games in
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
. After being selected by the Kansas City Royals in the October 1968 expansion draft he made the starting rotation. In he won only four games against 16 losses; however, in one of the losses, on July 7 against the
Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
, he became the first Royal to hit two home runs in one game. Both home runs were off Jim Kaat. Rooker improved his record to 10–15 in ; one of the losses came in a 12-inning game against the
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 ...
on June 4 after Horace Clarke broke up Rooker's bid for a
no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...
leading off the ninth with a single then came around to score after a Bobby Murcer double. After winning only seven games against 13 losses over the next two seasons Rooker was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Gene Garber.


Pittsburgh Pirates

Rooker enjoyed his best seasons in Pittsburgh, posting a 10–6 record in and a 15–11 record with a 2.78
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 . The wins and ERA were a career best, as was his
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 ...
total (139). The Pirates won the
National League East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central, it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. After having internal, informal divisions for ...
title the latter year, and Rooker pitched in Game 2 of the 1974 National League Championship Series against the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
. He gave up two runs in seven innings but was not involved in the decision; the Dodgers won the game, then went on to win the series. In Rooker went 13–11 with a 2.97 ERA as the Pirates won the NL East title again; once again, however, the Pirates were defeated in the 1975 National League Championship Series, this time by 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 ...
. In game 2 of that series Rooker gave up four runs in as many innings, including a two-run home run to Tony Pérez in the first inning. The Pirates did not win the NL East title in or (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 ...
won it in both seasons), but Rooker maintained his consistency during those two seasons, with a 15–8 and 14–9 record respectively. At the end of September in 1977, he broke his arm in a car accident. In he slumped to 9–11 and his ERA rose to 4.24—the highest it had been since 4.38 in . Rooker won the 1979 World Series with the Pirates. His career nearing the end, Rooker posted a 4–7 record in the regular season as a spot starter. Starting game 5 of the World Series with the Pirates trailing 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 ...
three games to one, Rooker gave up one run in five innings and left the game trailing by that 1–0 score. Pittsburgh rallied to score seven runs over the next three innings and got four shutout innings from Bert Blyleven to win the game 7–1, then won the next two games to take the Series. In his career Rooker won 103 games against 109 losses, with 976 strikeouts and a 3.46 ERA in 1810
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 ...
. A good hitting pitcher in his career, Rooker compiled a .201
batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
(122-for-606) with 54 runs, seven
home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...
and 56 RBI. In 1969 he hit four home runs for the Royals and in 1970 had 13 RBI. In 1974, he hit .305 (29-for-85) for the Pirates.


"If we don't win, I'll walk back to Pittsburgh"

After his playing career, Rooker, well known for speaking his mind as a player, joined the Pirates’ radio and television broadcast team, with whom he worked as a color analyst from 1981 (one year after he retired) through 1993. He also worked for
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
from 1994 to 1997. Rooker's most famous moment as a broadcaster came on June 8, 1989, during a Pirates’ road game against 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 ...
at
Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street (Philadelphia), Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating ca ...
. The Pirates scored 10 runs in the top of the first inning, including three on a
Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...
home run. As the Pirates' cross-state rivals came to bat in the bottom of the first, Rooker said on the air, "If we don't win this one, I don't think I'd want to be on that plane ride home. Matter of fact, if we lose this game, I'll walk back to Pittsburgh." Both Von Hayes and Steve Jeltz hit two home runs (the latter would hit only five during his Major League career) to trigger a Phillies comeback. In the eighth inning the Phillies, now trailing only 11–10, scored the tying run on a wild pitch, then took the lead on
Darren Daulton Darren Arthur Daulton (January 3, 1962 – August 6, 2017), nicknamed "Dutch", was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (, –) and Miami Marlins, Florida Marlins (199 ...
's two-run single and went on to win 15–11. Rooker had to wait until after the season to make good on his "walk home" promise, conducting a charity walk from
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
to
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 ...
. The entire event was documented by Jon Bois and Alex Rubenstein of Secret Base in 2022.


Personal life

Rooker loves dogs and is an avid dog trainer. Rooker went into
politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
after his baseball career. He ran for the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...
as well as the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
, but lost both races. Rooker writes
children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
. He has written three books with plots that combine reading and baseball. The books are titled ''Paul the Baseball'', ''Matt the Batt'', and ''Kitt the Mitt'', and were published by
Mascot Books Mascot Books is a full-service, multi-genre, independent book publisher and distributor. It is a hybrid publishing company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. The company publishes a variety of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, childre ...
in September 2009.


References


External links


Jim Rooker's Children's Books

Jim Rooker's career stats and analysis

www.booksbyrook.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooker, Jim 1942 births Living people American children's writers Baseball players from Oregon Detroit Tigers players High Point-Thomasville Royals players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball pitchers Omaha Royals players Pennsylvania Republicans People from Lakeview, Oregon Pittsburgh Pirates announcers Pittsburgh Pirates players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela 20th-century American sportsmen