Eddie Lopat, the Steady Yankee
He Was As Important As Reynolds and Raschi, and He Threw Junk
Oct 19, 2007
Eddie Lopat pitched for the New York Yankees from 1948 until 1955. He started his career as a first baseman, but he couldn’t hit enough and turned to pitching. Not blessed with a good fastball, Lopat spent seven seasons in the minor leagues learning to pitch. He learned the screwball, how to throw pitches using a short arm and a long arm delivery, and experimented continuously with different deliveries. In 1944, the 5’10” southpaw joined the White Sox, winning 11 and losing 10 with a 3.26 ERA.
The Yankees Acquire Lopat's Services
In February 1948, the Yankees traded catcher Aaron Robinson and two other players for Lopat. General manager George Weiss explained that the Yankees could afford to trade Robinson because they had a young catcher named Yogi Berra as a replacement. Weiss considered Lopat to be the second best pitcher in the league (See Bob Feller). Lopat established himself as a solid performer when he won 9 of 15 starts, all but one of them complete games, during the last two months of 1947. He also had great success against the Yankees’ greatest rivals, the Indians, winning 13 and losing only 2.
A Good Season in 1948
The Indians were World Champions in 1948, winning the pennant in a one game playoff against the Red Sox and then beating Boston in a six game World Series. The Yankees finished third, 2 ½ games out. Lopat was 17-11 with a 3.65 ERA. He allowed 246 hits in 226 2/3 innings, but walked only 66 batters, which made his WHIP (Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched) a respectable 1.38.
Lopat Contributed During Five Consecutive Championships
Nineteen forty nine was the start of five consecutive World Championships for the Yankees and Lopat teamed up with Allie Reynolds and Vic Raschi to give the Yankees three formidable starters who could match the Indians’ BobFeller, Bob Lemon, and Early Wynn. In 1951, Lopat won 21 games but developed a sore arm and won only 10 games the next season. In 1953, Steady Eddie, the Junkman, led the American League with a 2.43 ERA, winning 16 and losing only 4. Of course, as all know, winning the pennant is not good enough for the Yankees. Lopat was 4-1 with a 2.60 ERA in the World Series.
Lopat's Insight Into the Yankees' Championship Teams
Much has been written about the Yankees who won five consecutive championships, but Lopat added a little insight into dynasty when he told a writer that "We had an esprit de corps on that ball club. There wasn't one jealous bone on that whole ball club... Also, the older players used to reprimand the younger ones for lack of hustle. If they didn't put out, we'd say, 'you're playing on this club and you'd better put out, because that's the way we play ball here.'"
Lopat, Fay Vincent, and the Spitball
Eddie Lopat was a pitcher, not a thrower. He epitomized the term “crafty left hander.” He threw every pitch known, including the spitball. In 1990, Lopat visited baseball commissioner Fay Vincent. The two spoke about baseball for several hours and Vincent later related that Lopat had once told him that he not only threw the spitball but that as Kansas City pitching coach, he tried to teach it to the entire staff.
In 1955, the Yankees traded Lopat to the Orioles, who released him after the season. He served as Yankees’ pitching coach, managed the A’s in 1963 and part of 1964, and held various baseball positions during his career.
References:
McGowen, Roscoe. "Yankees Get Lopat for Three Players; Catcher Robinson and Hurlers Wight and Bradley Sent to White Sox for Southpaw." New York Times. 25 February 1948, p.30.
Ed Lopat's Record at Baseball Reference
