Loved the story of how during a rainstorm in Baltimore, almost brilliant Dick Hall figured out by his amazing math skills how many raindrops had fallen on the dugout during the delay.
Hall played 19 years in the Major Leagues. He first came to Baltimore when he was 31-years-old. That was a six year run from 1961 to 1966. He was on Orioles World Series teams in 66, 1970 and 1971. He pitched in the 1971 World Series when he was 41 years old.
We knew him as a relief pitcher who threw strikes. In 1970, he pitched in 61 innings and walked 6. That’s not a misprint. That was one walk every 10 innings of work. In 1,259 career innings of work, he walked 236. That’s amazing.
Of course Hall’s career was a bit nutty. The last place Pirates of 1952 employed Hall as an outfielder. He managed to come to the plate 310 times. He hit .239 and certainly walked more than he did when he was a pitcher with those 33 free passes.
By the next season, he was a starting pitcher. He came to Baltimore from Kansas City in April of 1961 with future A’s manager Dick Williams for Chuck Essigian (21 homers the next season) and pitcher Jerry Walker.
Hall got 13 starts for the 62 Birds and 10 more the rest of his career. By the middle 60′s, the O’s management realized that this 6-foot-6 right-hander with pinpoint control belonged in the bullpen. Granted he did look like a giraffe balancing on roller skates as he delivered the pitch but he was effective as heck. In 48 games in 1965, his ERA was a splendid 1.85.
After 244 games pitching for Baltimore, he was dealt to the Phillies. But two years later, the Phillies let Hall go and the Orioles brought him back.
All he did in the last three years in baseball was pitch in three World Series games. He actually lost game four of that lost Series to the Mets. That’s the game in which JC Martin ran out of the baseline to get hit by the thrown ball by Pete Richert. No umpire saw it. Oh, I’m whining. Hall gave up a double to Jerry Grote that Don Buford lost in the sun.
Hall had better news to report the next season. He hurled 4 1/3 innings of relief in the first game of the AL championship game against Minnesota. The Twins had scored 6 runs and knocked out Mike Cuellar. Hall shut the door in the Orioles 10-6 win. He allowed one Tony Oliva hit and that was it.
In the World Series win over the Reds, he entered another touchy situation in game two. Hall entered in the seventh with two runners on and got Tony Perez to bounce out. Hall retired all 7 Reds hitters preserving the 6-5 win. He notched a World Series save for his trouble.
For a former National League outfielder, Dick Hall became a very decent relief pitcher who had a great disdain for the walk.
