Harry Byrd
Harry Gladwin Byrd
Born: Feb. 3, 1925 in Darlington, SC
Died: May 14, 1985 in Darlington,
SC
Debut: 1950 | Pos: P
H: 6'1" | W: 188 | B:
R | T: R
Yr | G | IP | W | L | Sv | SO | ERA |
7 | 187 | 827.2 | 46 | 54 | 9 | 381 | 4.35 |
>> Visit the Harry Byrd biography on Baseball Almanac for complete statistics.
Harry Byrd's Major League career can be compared to a roller coaster. He was up, then he was down. Then he slightly came up again and then it was over.
His career started in 1950 with the Philadelphia Athletics when he pitched in 10.2 innings. The next season, he finished with a 15-15 record and a 3.31, capturing the American League Rookie of the Year honor.
Then, came 1953. His ERA ballooned to 5.51 and he finished with an 11-20 record. His 20 losses led the league and he was one of the league leaders in home runs allowed with 23. He found himself with the New York Yankees at the start of the 1954 season. He also was one of the league leaders in home runs allowed with 23. As a Yankee, he finished 9-7 with a 2.99 ERA.
At the end of the season, the Yankees and Orioles held a swap meeting, trading a combined 17 players between them. Byrd was one of the players to end up in Baltimore and that season he started 3-2, before being shipped off again to the Chicago White Sox. He finished the season with a combined 7-8 record with a 4.61 ERA.
He pitched briefly with the White Sox in 1956 and ended his career in 1957 with the Tigers.