Michael Francis McCormick (September 29, 1938 – June 13, 2020) was an American

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, ...

who played 16 seasons 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 ...

(MLB). He played for the New York/San Francisco Giants,

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 ...

, Washington Senators,

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 ...

and

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 ...

from 1956 to 1971. He batted and threw left-handed and served primarily as a

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 ...

. Signed by the Giants as 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 ...

, McCormick went directly to the major leagues and made his debut on September 3, 1956. After spending seven seasons with the organization, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles and played two years there before being dealt again, this time to the Washington Senators. He returned to the Giants in 1967 and in his first season back with the team, he became the first pitcher in Giants franchise history to win the

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

(from 1956 to 1966, the Award was only given out to one pitcher rather than one from each of the two leagues). In the middle of the 1970 season, he was traded to the New York Yankees, who released him before the start of the next season. He then signed with the Kansas City Royals, with whom he played his last game on May 22, 1971.

Early life

McCormick was born on September 29, 1938, in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

. He studied at

Mark Keppel High School Mark Keppel High School (MKHS) is a four-year California Distinguished School located in the city of Alhambra, California, in the Alhambra Unified School District. The school is in a residential neighborhood, directly south of the abutting Inters ...

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately east from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11, 190 ...

. During this time, he played in

American Legion Baseball American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by 13-to-19-year-olds in fifty states in the U.S. and Canada. More than 3,500 teams participate each year. The American Legion Department of South Dakota established the program in 1 ...

, where he won 49 out of the 53 games he pitched, threw four

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 ...

s and struck out 26 batters in a game. After he graduated from high school, he married Carolyn Koehler on August 2, 1956. Several weeks later, on August 31, the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

signed him as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

. Although McCormick was committed to attending college at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, the Giants offered him a signing bonus of $50,000 to forego university and join the organization. Because of the

Bonus Rule 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 ...

, he could not be placed in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

for two years. As a result, he went directly to the major leagues and immediately began training with the first team the day after he signed.

Professional career

McCormick made his major league debut for the Giants on September 3, 1956, at the age of 17, relieving Rubén Gómez in the ninth inning and retiring all three batters he faced in a 5–1 loss 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 ...

. He made two starts later in the season, and finished with a 0–1

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

and a 9.45

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

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 ...

. McCormick threw a five-inning rain-shortened no-hitter against the

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 ...

on June 12, 1959, allowing one walk. The Phillies were able to secure 1 hit (and 1 run) in the bottom of the 6th inning, but the game was called because of the rain. As the 6th inning was never finished, the game statistics reverted to the completion of the last full inning, securing his no-hitter. However, due to a statistical rule change in 1991, no-hitters must last at least nine innings to count. As a result of the retroactive application of the new rule, this game and thirty-five others are no longer considered no-hitters. He was acquired along with

Stu Miller Stuart Leonard Miller (December 26, 1927 – January 4, 2015), nicknamed The Butterfly Man, was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1952–56), Philadelphia Phillies (1956), New York/San Francisco Giants ( ...

and John Orsino by the Orioles from the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

for Jack Fisher, Billy Hoeft and Jimmie Coker on December 15, 1962. At the end of the 1966 season, McCormick returned to the Giants in a trade that brought Cap Peterson and

Bob Priddy Robert Priddy may refer to: * Robert L. Priddy, American co-founder of several airline companies * Bob Priddy (baseball) (1939–2023), American baseball player from 1962-71 * Bob Priddy (basketball) (1930–2021), American basketball player fo ...

to the Senators. The 1967 season saw McCormick churn out one of the best statistical years in his career. He led the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL) in wins with 22, and defeated every NL team other than the Giants that year. At the end of the season, McCormick won the

, garnering 90% of the vote and 18 out of 20 first place votes. In doing so, he became the first Giants pitcher to win the award, and was the only one to do so for 41 years until

Tim Lincecum Timothy Leroy Lincecum ( ; born June 15, 1984), nicknamed "the Freak", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the San Francisco Giants. A two-time Cy Young Award ...

won it in 2008. McCormick was described, apparently in good faith, as the player who hit the 500th

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

by an MLB pitcher. However, it is unclear how this was calculated, in an age without baseball encyclopedias, and it appears to have been a considerable under-estimate. In contrast, the claim that he was responsible for giving up

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...

's 500th home run is undoubtedly correct. Because of these two reports, he personalized his license plate with the words "Mr. 500".

Personal life

After retiring from baseball, McCormick went on to pursue a career in

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

business that he himself established over several MLB offseasons. After three years in that field, he switched to office machines and copiers, working for

Ricoh is a Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company. It was founded by the now-defunct commercial division of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) known as the ''Riken Concern'', on 6 February 1936 as . Ricoh's hea ...

and then Danka, before retiring in 2002. He served annually as a guest instructor for the San Francisco Giants during

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. He also conducted the team's fantasy camps and occasionally commentated on Giants' games. McCormick's Cy Young Award plaque was damaged in the

1989 Loma Prieta earthquake On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, PST, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz Cou ...

after it fell off the wall of his Cupertino condominium. Although he was initially going to get the crack at the back repaired, he decided against it, noting how "it had more character now." He then housed it in a special room along with other memorabilia from his career.

Family

McCormick had four children from his first marriage to Carolyn. He was married to wife Dierdre for 34 years. They had one daughter, Tara. After retiring from Danka, they moved from

Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real (California), El Camino Real and U.S. Route 101 in California, Highway 1 ...

and settled in

Pinehurst, North Carolina Pinehurst, officially The Village of Pinehurst, is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,581, up from 13,124 in 2010 United States census, 2010. "Pinehur ...

. At the O'Neal School in

Southern Pines, North Carolina Southern Pines is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,545 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 12,334 in 2010 United States census, 2010. History Founde ...

, McCormick assisted the school's baseball program and donated his baseball memorabilia to the school to help them with their auctions.

Death

McCormick died on June 13, 2020, at his home in North Carolina. He was 81, and had been suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

in the years leading up to his death.

References

External links

Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, Mike 1938 births 2020 deaths National League All-Stars National League ERA champions National League (baseball) wins champions Cy Young Award winners New York Giants (baseball) players San Francisco Giants players Baltimore Orioles players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players 20th-century American sportsmen New York Yankees players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball pitchers Rochester Red Wings players Phoenix Giants players Hawaii Islanders players Tacoma Twins players Baseball players from Pasadena, California Neurological disease deaths in North Carolina Deaths from Parkinson's disease in the United States Mark Keppel High School alumni