Karl Spooner:Strikeouts and Injury

Brooklyn Dodgers' Rookie Struckout Twenty-Seven in Two Starts

Oct 8, 2007

Spooner set the record for the most strikeouts by a pitcher in his first two games, but he pitched only one full season in the majors due to a sore arm.

He might have become one of the all-time greats. Karl Spooner made his major debut on September 22, shutting out the Giants while striking out 15 to set the strikeout record for a major league pitching debut, a record that J.R. Richard equaled. In his next and final start of the 1954 season, Spooner shut out the Pirates, striking out 12 to set the record of 27 strikeouts by a pitcher in his first two games. Brooklyn fans shouted, "Spooner should have come up sooner."

The Greatest Young Pitcher Campy Had Ever Seen

Spooner was for real. Roy Campanella, the great Brooklyn catcher, didn't mince words. "He's the greatest young pitcher I've ever seen." Plagued by control problems, Spooner finally overcame them, thanks to a knee injury, while pitching at Fort Worth in 1954. In June, he hurt his knee while playing pepper. At that point in the season, he had already walked 112 batters. The knee injury kept Spooner out for two weeks and when he returned, he had pitch without a windup with a shortened stride, which improved his control greatly. Karl won 21 games and set a strikeout record, fanning 262 batters. In November 1954, Brooklyn's twenty-three old left-handed rookie pitching sensation had surgery on his right knee. Sometimes, a knee injury can lead to a change in pitching motion, which can lead to arm problems.

They Can Never Take Those Away

In his first 1955 spring training work, Spooner told reporters that his knee wasn't too strong but when the session was completed, Spooner said the knee hadn't bothered him. He claimed that his increased weight of 192 pounds wouldn't affect his performance. Whenever reporters reminded Spooner that he had pitched two shutouts in his only two starts and that eventually a team would score against him, Spooner's reply was always "But I've always got those two big ones on my record. They can never take those away from me."

Spooner Pitched Well

During the 1955 season, Spooner worked both as a reliever and starter. On August 29, he pitched a gem, beating the Cardinals, 6-1, as he allowed only six hits while striking out nine and walking one. In his next start, Spooner shut out the Pirates, but he struck out only three batters. Brooklyn easily won the pennant and faced their friends, the Yankees, in the World Series.

Last Major League Start

Brooklyn, which has never won the World Series, won three of the first five games. Don Newcombe was scheduled to start Game 6, but he was hurt and tired. Spooner started instead and was knocked out in a five-run Yankees' first inning. The Yankees won the game, but Brooklyn won the next for its only World Championship. It was Spooner’s last major league start.

Spooner's Sore Arm

Karl Spooner never became what he could have been. He had a sore arm during spring training in 1956 and never pitched another game in the major leagues. It makes one wonder what would have happened if the medical advances that have occurred during the last fifty years had been available for Spooner.

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