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luckymann · 08-20-2020, 07:43 AM

Cribbed from THIS article on SABR Bio by Phil Williams.

Oklahoma-born Ray Starr joined the World Champion St Louis Cardinals in 1932 along with future HOFer Dizzy Dean and 100-game winner Tex Carleton but unlike those two, is unknown to all but the most knowledgeable baseball fans. If not for WW2, he may have escaped even their attention.

The Cards felt so confident in this influx of young pitching they traded 17 game winner Burleigh Grimes to the Cubs after the 1931 season in anticipation of their arrival. They were mostly right in this assessment: Dean went 18-15 / 3.30 and gave them 286 innings. Carleton, working equally in relief as starting, went 10-13 / 4.08 over 196 IP. Starr, however, spent most of the year at Rochester of the International League before being called up in September. He ended up pitching in only 3 games in his rookie season, going 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA over just 20 innings. In his only start he pitched a two-hit shutout to outduel Dazzy Vance. Then, somewhat out of the blue, he was traded to the Giants at the end of the season. He fared little better there, appearing in just six games for NY (going 0-1 / 5.40) before being sold to the Boston Braves, for whom he pitched only a handful of innings before being sold once more, this time to MiLB Minneapolis. He would spend the next 7 seasons at various minor league and even some semi-pro clubs.

That would undoubtedly have been the entirety of Ray Starr’s major league story had it not been for the advent of WW2. Suddenly players were needed at big league clubs and so Ray got an unlikely second chance thanks to the Reds, for whom he made his first appearance in early September 1941, losing the second game of a doubleheader 1-0. He would pitch shutouts in his last two starts that season, having been used mainly in relief to that point.

Ray was a revelation in 1942, easily the hottest pitcher in the NL during the first half of the season as he went 12-3 before cooling off a bit to finish 15-13 / 2.67 and ended up 27th in the MVP voting that year as well as being an All-Star Reserve. He was good again in 1943, his age-37 season, going 11-10 / 3.64 in 217+ innings.

Bone chips in his elbow led to him missing the start of the 1944 season, and without making an appearance for them that year, the Reds traded him to Pittsburgh. He never really saw much action with the Bucs, pitching less than 100 innings for them in ’44 and the early part of ’45 before being traded, yet again, to the Cubs (making the Phillies the only NL club of that era he didn’t play for). He pitched just 13.1 innings for the Baby Bears and was released to Oakland of the PCL later that year. At the age of 40, he instead decided to retire.

Ray Starr died of an apparent heart attack in 1963, at the age of 56.

Ray “Iron Man” Starr was drafted by the Boston Beaneaters in the 10th round (154th overall) of the Footnote League Inaugural Draft in 1901. Playing mainly for their PSL team the Harrisburg Senators that year, he went 11-9 / 2.41 / 84 K with a FIP of 2.20 and 2.2 WAR before missing the tailend of the season with a torn labrum. He had three games with 10+ strikeouts and won the Platinum Stick Award at pitcher in the PSLN.

Just prior to the beginning of the current 1902 season he was traded to Baltimore for reliever Paul Menhart. He split time between the O’s and Newark of the PSLA this year, going 0-1 / 2.78 in 22 IP for Baltimore and 11-10 / 5.04 / 71 K for the Bears, before a recurrence of his arm issues just last week put him on ice again. He is expected to return by Opening Day next year. Here’s hoping he can stay healthy and get his time to fully shine.

BASEBALL REFERENCE PAGE

08-20-2020, 07:43 AM	#143
luckymann Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 13,542	Spotlight Player #6 – Ray Starr Cribbed from THIS article on SABR Bio by Phil Williams. Oklahoma-born Ray Starr joined the World Champion St Louis Cardinals in 1932 along with future HOFer Dizzy Dean and 100-game winner Tex Carleton but unlike those two, is unknown to all but the most knowledgeable baseball fans. If not for WW2, he may have escaped even their attention. The Cards felt so confident in this influx of young pitching they traded 17 game winner Burleigh Grimes to the Cubs after the 1931 season in anticipation of their arrival. They were mostly right in this assessment: Dean went 18-15 / 3.30 and gave them 286 innings. Carleton, working equally in relief as starting, went 10-13 / 4.08 over 196 IP. Starr, however, spent most of the year at Rochester of the International League before being called up in September. He ended up pitching in only 3 games in his rookie season, going 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA over just 20 innings. In his only start he pitched a two-hit shutout to outduel Dazzy Vance. Then, somewhat out of the blue, he was traded to the Giants at the end of the season. He fared little better there, appearing in just six games for NY (going 0-1 / 5.40) before being sold to the Boston Braves, for whom he pitched only a handful of innings before being sold once more, this time to MiLB Minneapolis. He would spend the next 7 seasons at various minor league and even some semi-pro clubs. That would undoubtedly have been the entirety of Ray Starr’s major league story had it not been for the advent of WW2. Suddenly players were needed at big league clubs and so Ray got an unlikely second chance thanks to the Reds, for whom he made his first appearance in early September 1941, losing the second game of a doubleheader 1-0. He would pitch shutouts in his last two starts that season, having been used mainly in relief to that point. Ray was a revelation in 1942, easily the hottest pitcher in the NL during the first half of the season as he went 12-3 before cooling off a bit to finish 15-13 / 2.67 and ended up 27th in the MVP voting that year as well as being an All-Star Reserve. He was good again in 1943, his age-37 season, going 11-10 / 3.64 in 217+ innings. Bone chips in his elbow led to him missing the start of the 1944 season, and without making an appearance for them that year, the Reds traded him to Pittsburgh. He never really saw much action with the Bucs, pitching less than 100 innings for them in ’44 and the early part of ’45 before being traded, yet again, to the Cubs (making the Phillies the only NL club of that era he didn’t play for). He pitched just 13.1 innings for the Baby Bears and was released to Oakland of the PCL later that year. At the age of 40, he instead decided to retire. Ray Starr died of an apparent heart attack in 1963, at the age of 56. Ray “Iron Man” Starr was drafted by the Boston Beaneaters in the 10th round (154th overall) of the Footnote League Inaugural Draft in 1901. Playing mainly for their PSL team the Harrisburg Senators that year, he went 11-9 / 2.41 / 84 K with a FIP of 2.20 and 2.2 WAR before missing the tailend of the season with a torn labrum. He had three games with 10+ strikeouts and won the Platinum Stick Award at pitcher in the PSLN. Just prior to the beginning of the current 1902 season he was traded to Baltimore for reliever Paul Menhart. He split time between the O’s and Newark of the PSLA this year, going 0-1 / 2.78 in 22 IP for Baltimore and 11-10 / 5.04 / 71 K for the Bears, before a recurrence of his arm issues just last week put him on ice again. He is expected to return by Opening Day next year. Here’s hoping he can stay healthy and get his time to fully shine. BASEBALL REFERENCE PAGE Attached Images Last edited by luckymann; 11-27-2020 at 12:14 AM.