The White Sox did not record a hit until Bill Meltons leadoff single in the top of the fifth. He was drafted with the first overall pick in the 1973 Major League Baseball draft. His season ended with a 3-4 record and 5.91 ERA. At 48, David Clyde is still a lonely legend in Texas Rangers lore. In Clydes penultimate start of the seasona Friday night home game versus the Angels which attracted a crowd of only 2,513he pitched into the ninth inning but took the loss. He was the last pitcher 21-or-younger to strike out 8 or more in his debut until Jose Fernandez did so on April 7, 2013. After walking the first two batters, Clyde struck out the side, pitched five innings and was credited with the 4-3 victory. Or write about sports? var pfHeaderImgUrl = '';var pfHeaderTagline = '';var pfdisableClickToDel = 0;var pfHideImages = 0;var pfImageDisplayStyle = 'right';var pfDisablePDF = 0;var pfDisableEmail = 0;var pfDisablePrint = 0;var pfCustomCSS = 'https://www.baseball-almanac.com/css/print.css';var pfBtVersion='2';(function(){var js,pf;pf=document.createElement('script');pf.type='text/javascript';pf.src='//cdn.printfriendly.com/printfriendly.js';document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(pf)})(); Did you know that you can compare David Clyde to other rookies who also had their Major League debut during the It's also available for football, basketball and hockey. There are a lot of guys in the American League with a fastball much better than mine, but I dont care who you areif you cant get the off-speed pitches over, all they have to do is lay back and wait for the fastball, and eventually theyll bomb you, said Clyde after a loss to the Orioles on August 27.24. Clyde was 3-9 that season with a 4.38 E.R.A. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. And a week before the 30th anniversary of his winning major league debut as an 18-year-old left-hander just out of high school, he was honored by the Rangers before Friday night's game with the Astros. He was the first child born to Joseph Eugene Gene and Amy (ne Glass) Clyde. After being chosen as the top overall pick in the 1973 June amateur draft, left-handed pitcher David Clyde made the rare leap from high school to the big leagues with the Texas Rangers.2 The teenage phenom singlehandedly galvanized a fan base and saved a Rangers franchise that was in dire financial straits. Just to show they appreciated what I did.27 He spent the offseason taking journalism courses at Texas A&M University and married his high school sweetheart, Cheryl Crawford. update=copyright.getFullYear(); "The franchise needed a jolt.''. The Rangers drew 686,085 for their 81 home games that year, 32 percent of them showing up for the 12 starts by Clyde, which accounted for 14.8 percent of the home schedule. 42 Bob Nold, Tribe Faith in Clyde Rewarded, Akron Beacon Journal, May 17, 1978: 45. Things got off to a rocky start for Clyde in 1979. }, Cronkite School at ASU Suarez called Clyde the most mature and adaptable 18-year-old Ive ever seen.22, Clyde, who was 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds with curly brown hair and sideburns, remained a major draw when the Rangers returned home. 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft, List of baseball players who went directly to Major League Baseball, "40 years after memorable debut, ex-Ranger David Clyde reflects on a career cut short", "Four years later, David Clyde's career consists of one night", "Sports of The Times; The Mismanaged Career of David Clyde", "David Clyde Returns, Pitches Indian Win", "Forty years later, Clyde's rush to bigs still unfortunate", "The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of David Clyde", First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft, Major League Baseball number one overall draft picks, 1973 Major League Baseball draft first round selections, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Clyde&oldid=1135179779, American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, August 7,1979,for theCleveland Indians, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 23 January 2023, at 03:03. Through eight starts, he compiled a 3-3 record with a 3.31 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 49 innings. I cant fault David Clyde for the way he pitched tonight because that would not be fair to him, said Martin after the game. Clyde was 18 years old when he broke into the big leagues on June 27, 1973, with the Texas Rangers. Meanwhile, he had a new manager to impress. As Herzog bluntly wrote in his memoir White Rat, Bob Short was a fast-buck artist, a man who would do anything for a buck, a man who never had a long-term plan in his life. When he pitched seven strong innings in a 5-4 triumph over Detroit, Short decreed that. [8] In his first start with the Indians, he gave up four hits in a 32 complete game victory against the Oakland Athletics. If you can help us improve this players biography,contact us. On top of his physical maladies and poor pitching, Clyde divorced his second wife, Patty. Many thanks to him. 11 From 1953-57, players signed for a bonus of $4,000 or more were required to be on the 25-man major league roster for two years. He was wild and the other hitters started sitting on his fastball. David injured his shoulder, spending much of the season when he was not hurt back in the minors trying to find some semblance of what made him great in high school. [2] His dominance at the high school level attracted the attention of many MLB team scouts, many of whom billed Clyde as the "next Sandy Koufax" and others called him the "best pitching prospect they had ever seen". Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. The top selection in the June 1973 baseball draft, Clyde, who had pitched nine no-hitters for Westchester High School in Houston, signed for a $125,000 bonus. "The correlation I felt was like going from high school to performing open heart surgery. Less than three weeks after his final high school game, Clyde debuted on June 27, 1973, against the Minnesota Twins. [1] Using Clyde success of bringing attendance up as an example, Short sold the Rangers to Brad Corbett in 1974, which prevented the American League from taking over the team, thus potentially saving the franchise. Looking back, it may have been better if I had gone right into the minors after school, said Clyde at the time. David La Vaque is a high school sports reporter for the Star Tribune. After being chosen as the top overall pick in the 1973 June amateur draft, left-handed pitcher David Clyde made the rare leap from high school to the big leagues with the Texas Rangers. He finished the game with a 3-0, 1.36 record. On this date in Texas Rangers history, rookie pitcher David Clyde made his debut at Arlington Stadium. View more property details, sales history and Zestimate data on Zillow. Herzog had been hired away the previous offseason from the New York Mets, for whom his job had been overseeing a farm system that was rich in pitching, having produced the likes of Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Jerry Koosman, Tug McGraw and Gary Gentry. SUMMARY Career WAR 0.6 W 18 L 40 Jim Reeves, Clyde on Mend, But Impressive, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 2, 1977: 37. 1 overall choice in the 1973 draft, he was an instant idol when he joined the Rangers for a $65,000 bonus that was big money then. 1973 American League season? If you find this type of "free" data useful please consider The drastic jump was not unheard of in the 1950s under the bonus baby system of player acquisition but had not occurred since the draft was instituted in 1965.11 Gene handled the negotiations with Short, which resulted in a $65,000 bonus, $22,500 salary, and $7,500 roster bonus.12 Upon Clydes signing, Short decided his newly inked phenom would join the Rangers the following week. ", "Well, Billy liked older, veteran players," said Pete Mackanin, who was called to the big leagues the day of Clyde's debut and was assigned to be his roommate. A deal back to Texas proved unhelpful as his shoulder crapped out a second time. Math Teacher at Arlington Independent Schools. [5] He stayed in the minors for three seasons, having a shoulder operation in 1976. In 1978, David set highs for innings pitched (153 1/3), starts (25) and complete games (5). Clyde was assigned to the Columbus (Georgia) Astros of the Double-A Southern League, where he posted his best numbers in professional baseball. The Rangers, in their second year in Texas after Short relocated the Washington Senators, had failed to capture the attention of north Texas in their inaugural season and were in desperate need of a gate attraction. Clydes career arc serves as a cautionary tale for what can happen when a young player is rushed to the big leagues. ''Billy never said anything to me and I wasn't the type of person that questioned things then,'' Clyde said. ''He was really mishandled. In my opinion, it ruined his career.54 Clyde has been interviewed countless times in the decades since his career flamed out and has consistently expressed no bitterness or regret. 1 Gene Wojciechowski, From Baseball to Tomball, Los Angeles Times, September 9, 1986: 27. His best performance of the season was a complete game win versus the Royals on July 9. 14 Whitey Herzog and Jonathan Pitts, Youre Missin a Great Game (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999), 169. On February 28, 1978, Clydes tenure with the Rangers came to an end when he was traded, along with Willie Horton, to the Cleveland Indians for Tom Buskey and John Lowenstein. 6 Buck Francis, Westchester Ace Great, Corpus Christi Times, June 5, 1972: 14. Tickets sales were nearly as robust for Clydes second start five days later at home against the Chicago White Sox. [8] Questioned about the difference between high school or professional baseball, Clyde stated that MLB hitters "see the ball better, thus they make contact more often". I got more instruction here the first day than I got in five years with Texas, said Clyde at the time.41. He wouldnt know a release point from a whooping crane.31 Because the Rangers were surprisingly in playoff contention during the second half, Clydes usage became sporadic, alternating between long relief and spot starts. 28 Bruce Weber, Brad Corbett, Who Owned Texas Rangers, Dies at 75, New York Times, December 27, 2012: 25. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. [2] He retired in 2003 as vice president of the company and worked as a coach for a local youth baseball team. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball, Note, this is done in an automated way, so we apologize for any errors, & please. This Month in Sports ReferenceFind out when we add a feature or make a change. Clydes new manager (Jeff Torborg) and pitching coach (Harvey Haddix) quickly saw that the young lefty still had plenty of life in his arm, but his mechanics were out of whack. He is noted for his once promising baseball career, which ended at age 26 because of arm and shoulder injuries. (Age 24-107d) Because of Genes job as an executive with Southwestern Bell, the family moved frequently during Davids childhood, eventually settling in Houston in 1969. He was 18-33 with a 4.63 ERA, arm problems finally forcing his retirement. High School: Westchester HS (Houston, TX), School: Texas A&M University (College Station, TX), Debut: Amazingly, Clyde's name still appears nine times (from 14 originally) in the National High School Sports Record Book published by the NFHS " 36 years after his high school career . [2], Clyde was praised by national publications such as Sports Illustrated and Newsweek prior to the 1973 MLB draft, and was the consensus among scouts as the best player available in the draft. Clyde is one of just three high school pitchers drafted first overall (the other two being Brien Taylor and Brady Aiken) and the only one to make it to MLB. 1 overall by the Texas Rangers on June 5, 1973, out of. 7 Bill Hunt, Things Did Get Worse, Corpus Christi Times, June 11, 1972: 39. (2) You don't have to be a math guru to learn from real, interesting data. "They were trying to get enthusiasm," said Davey Nelson, the starting second baseman for the Rangers in Clyde's debut. He was named by journalist Randy Galloway as among the worst cases of "mishandling" a young player in baseball history. Shoulder surgery and two seasons in the minors followed. Three more boys (Michael, Steve, and Henry) followed. 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