James Reynold Lonborg (born April 16, 1942) is an American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies. Though nicknamed "Gentleman Jim", he was known for fearlessly pitching on the inside of the plate throughout his fifteen-year career.

Early life

Lonborg was born on April 16, 1942, in Santa Maria, California. His father was a professor of agriculture. Lonborg attended San Luis Obispo High School in San Luis Obispo, California, He pitched on the school's baseball team as a walk-on,

During his college years, the Baltimore Orioles had an interest in Lonborg, and he played as an amateur on teams sponsored by the Orioles during his college career.

On August 14, 1963, he signed as an amateur free agent with the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox' $25,000 signing bonus was far more than he had been offered by the Orioles. In his rookie year for Boston, Lonborg had a 9–17 win loss record and 4.47 earned run average (ERA). A groundball pitcher, he was badly hurt by a leaky Red Sox' defense. In 1966, with the team's roster on an upswing, he improved his record to 10–10, and his ERA to 3.86. after his pitching style changed under the tutelage of pitching coach Sal "The Barber" Maglie. Lonborg's nickname was "Gentleman Jim", while Maglie, as a pitcher for the Giants and Dodgers, was nicknamed "The Barber" for throwing high and tight to hitters who crowded the plate, a lesson he imparted to the now not-quite-as-gentlemanly (on the mound, anyway) Lonborg.

That year, the Red Sox were involved in a four-way race for the AL pennant with the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago White Sox; the race was reduced to three teams after the White Sox lost a doubleheader to the Kansas City Athletics, on September 27. The Red Sox and Twins faced each other in the season's final series and entered the final day (October 1) tied for first place; the Tigers were half a game out of first and needed to sweep a doubleheader from the California Angels to force a playoff between the winner of the Red Sox–Twins game. Lonborg outdueled Twins ace Dean Chance in that finale, while the Tigers defeated the Angels in the first game but lost the second, putting the Red Sox in the World Series for the first time since .

In that World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Lonborg pitched a one-hit shutout in Game 2 on October 5, only the fourth one-hitter in Series history. He followed that up with another victory in Game 5 four days later by limiting the Cards to three hits, and pitching a complete game again. Lonborg's boyhood idol Sandy Koufax was calling the World Series as a television broadcaster, and gave Lonborg game preparation advice on visualizing himself pitching, which Lonborg credited as helping with his success. Teammate Dan Osinski remembered, "Lonborg couldn't break a pane of glass in the bullpen when he was warming up. We all knew that, and [Dick Williams] still started him. You know he could have pitched the bullpen an inning apiece, or something. It just gave Gibson too big a lead against us that we couldn't come back from." Shortly after being fired by the Red Sox, pitching coach Sal Maglie also criticized Williams's handling of Lonborg. "It was obvious Lonborg didn't have it. Williams should have gotten him out sooner, and I told him so. It was a crime that he let a man who'd done such a great job for him all season take a pounding like that. It was degrading."

Lonborg received the Cy Young Award, becoming the first Red Sox pitcher so honored since its 1956 creation, receiving 90% of the votes. He was selected to the 1967 AL All-Star Team, though he did not play in the All-Star Game, and finished prominently in voting for the MLB Most Valuable Player (MVP) award (placing 6th in the voting, with teammate Yastrzemski winning the award). In trying to compensate for his knee injury, he developed right shoulder problems that lasted the remainder of his career. It would not be until 1976, years after leaving Boston, that Lonborg's right shoulder would be pain free. In 1972, he had his second best season to date, with a 14–12 record, 2.83 ERA, and 143 strikeouts in 223 innings for the last place Brewers. both Lonborg and Brett were acquired along with Ken Sanders and Earl Stephenson from the Brewers for Don Money, John Vukovich and Bill Champion on October 31, 1972. Like Stock, Phillies pitching coach Ray Rippelmeyer suggested adjustments that improved Lonborg's pitching significantly. The Phillies reached the NL Championship Series in 1976 and 1977, losing both times. Lonborg pitched one game in each series, losing each.

Longborg's nickname was "Gentleman Jim".

After retiring from baseball, Lonborg attended the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and graduated in 1983 and began practicing. He is active in many nonprofit organizations, including Catholic Charities, Little League Baseball, and The Jimmy Fund,

See also

  • List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders
  • List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders
  • List of Major League Baseball career hit batsmen leaders

References

  • Jim Lonborg at Baseball Almanac
  • Jim Lonborg at SoSH (Sons of Sam Horn)