Rick Wise

From SoSH

Rick Wise pitched for 18 seasons (1964, 1966-1982) and was an All-Star in 1971 and 1973. He was the winning pitcher for the Red Sox in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Awards 3 Wise's Moments in the Sun 4 Trivia 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Overall Career

Wise was only 18 years of age when he debuted for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1964 (known as the 'Great Collapse' season), his second professional season. He developed into a solid starter, winning 17 games with a 2.88 ERA for a sub-.500 Phillies team in 1971. The highlight of Wise's Philadelphia career occurred that year on June 23 when he threw a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium and hit two home runs.

The following season, Wise became part one of the most one-sided trades of the 1970s. The owner of the St. Louis Cardinals, August "Gussie" Busch, ordered his team to trade its star lefthanded pitcher, Steve Carlton, after a contract squabble. Because all of baseball knew of the trade mandate, teams drove very hard bargains, and the Phils' offer of Wise was the best St. Louis could do. Wise won a total of 32 games during his two seasons (1972-73) in St. Louis, but Carlton won 27 for the last-place 1972 Phillies alone and would go on to anchor their starting pitching staff for the next decade, ultimately winning 329 games and a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

After the 1973 campaign, Wise was shipped to Boston for outfielder Reggie Smith. His 1974 season was ruined by an arm injury suffered during a freezing April start at Fenway, but he rebounded to win 19 for the 1975 Red Sox, winners of the AL East. He then won his only start in the 1975 ALCS against Oakland, and was the relief pitcher of record in Game 6 when Carlton Fisk ended the 12-inning game with his oft-replayed home run.

Wise was sent to the Cleveland Indians in spring training of 1978 as part of a trade for Dennis Eckersley, and won 15 games for a poor team in 1979, before finishing his career with the San Diego Padres.

In an 18-year career, Wise posted a 188-181 record with 1647 strikeouts and a 3.69 ERA in 3127 innings pitched.

Wise has been a pitching coach for the past 21 years, including the Nashua Pride in 2003 and 2004 with manager and former teammate Butch Hobson. He currently serves as pitching coach for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League.

Awards

• 2-time National League All-Star (1971 & 1973)

Wise's Moments in the Sun

• Update

Trivia

• On June 13, 1973, Wise, having already pitched one no-hitter against the Reds, narrowly missed joining Addie Joss as the only pitchers to throw two no-hitters against the same team (the Cleveland Indian pitcher threw no-hitters against the Chicago White Sox in 1908 and 1910; the former was a perfect game). This bid, however, was broken up by Joe Morgan's single with one out in the ninth.

• Wise, one of the few people to play in both the Little League World Series and the major league World Series, once struck out all eighteen batters he faced in a Little League game.

• Wise, Wes Ferrell, Jim Tobin and Earl Wilson are the only pitchers to hit a home run and throw a no-hitter in the same game.

• Wise was known as a very good hitting pitcher, he hit two career Grand Slams, but he stranded a record 9 runners on April 21, 1972

Transactions

• June 16, 1963: Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent.
• February 25, 1972: Traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the St. Louis Cardinals for Steve Carlton.
• October 26, 1973: Traded by the St. Louis Cardinals with Bernie Carbo to the Boston Red Sox for Reggie Smith and Ken Tatum.
• March 30, 1978: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Ted Cox, Bo Diaz, and Mike Paxton to the Cleveland Indians for Dennis Eckersley and Fred Kendall.
• November 1, 1979: Granted Free Agency.
• November 19, 1979: Signed as a Free Agent with the San Diego Padres.
• April 16, 1982: Released by the San Diego Padres.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis