In 2006 Slate Magazine asked this question: “Why do so many pro baseball players have August Birthdays?” I don’t know why they asked that question, but the answer is interesting. The people section of Google answered it this way. For more than 55 years, July 31 has been the age-cutoff date used by virtually all non-school affiliated baseball leagues in the United States. So?
Google’s “People Also Ask” section continued, “Thus, the player with the birthday in August likely has an advantage in size, strength and maturity. Players with birthdays in August may be more likely to get picked for All-Stars, get advanced training and practice, and be selected for more competitive leagues which ultimately helps make them a more successful player.”
If this article is about Johnny Podres, born Sept. 30th, 1922, why am I telling you about August birthdays? The answer is that it dawned on me that this exceptional pitcher’s September birthday gave him a post-August edge if you believe the research. Secondly, I just thought it was interesting. Call it a writer’s prerogative.
The extra information certainly isn’t because Podres’ career doesn’t give one much to write about. The reverse is true. Some of it is quirky. He was called up partly because Don Newcombe was going to be drafted into the military and the Dodgers needed to strengthen their pitching staff. The thinking was a good lefty would be a good bet and Podres was exactly that.
Some of his career was historic. LA Magazine intimates that If you don’t know about 1955, game 7, and his 2-0 masterpiece, you’re not a baseball fan. You also may not know what Podres said about his catcher for that game Roy Campanella. According to SABR Podres said Campy called the best game of his career and that he, Podres, pitched one, putting the ball exactly where Campanella wanted it. The win was historic for more than just the victory. It had been a longer time coming, that Series win, than most know.
The Brooklyn Dodgers lost the World Series to the New York Yankees in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953 maybe worse yet, they were close games, two were one-run losses, one a two-run loss, the others by 3 runs. In all the games, Dodger pitching never gave up more than four runs. Maybe an even worse way to look at it is that led by their stars Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, and Gil Hodges in the infield, Duke Snider and Carl Furillo in the outfield, Roy Campanella behind the plate, and Don Newcombe, Carl Erskine, and Preacher Roe on the pitcher’s mound, the Dodgers won pennants in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953, then only to fall to the New York Yankees, with whom they had an epically fierce cross-town rivalry.
The Dodgers’ losses to the Yankees during this period earned them the nickname “Dem Bums” and led to their fans’ annual lament, “Wait ’til next year.”
And this jinx-breaker, Podres, David Krell writing for SABR says, gets overshadowed in Dodgers lore, scholarship, and history because of the iconic exploits of Koufax and Drysdale. It should not be so, says Krell. He points to Podres’ record:
- 148-116 win-loss record, for a .561 winning percentage
- 3.68 ERA
- 2,265 innings pitched
- 24 shutouts
- 1,435 strikeouts
- Four World Series rings
Podres notched 136 wins as a Dodger, which as of today, still places him 9th in franchise history.
After his playing days, Podres became a pitching coach with the Padres, Red Sox, Twins, and Phillies. His tutoring spanned more than 20 years, from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. Horace Gormley writing for Behan Communications, interviewed Mrs. Podres. She said of her husband, “Joan Podres described her late husband as “a diamond in the rough.” She said Johnny was determined to prove that a kid from a small town in the Adirondacks could make it in the big leagues.
“He knew how to talk to pitchers,” says his wife Joan. “He showed them that they could have the confidence to go out there and perform. He knew what pitchers go through, pitching every four games and being on your game plan. There comes a point when you have to think about what happens when you’re not getting it over the plate, and that’s when the coaching came in. Two of the pitchers he coached were Curt Shilling and Tommy Greene.” Curt Shilling we know. Tommy Greene? Not so much but there must be something there if Mrs. Podres mentioned it. And there is. Greene is an inductee of the Wilmington, Del. Hall of Fame. Part of his bio reads, “In 1992 Tommy Greene became the Pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, and in 1993, he started the year 8-0 with 5 straight complete games, best start for a Phillies pitcher since Steve Carlton in 1983. In this year, Greene played a major role in the Phillies winning the National League Championship and was the winning pitcher in game 6 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves. He also pitched in the World Series.
Tommy Greene was ranked 6th place overall in the CY Young Award voting.” Credit the coach?
Thus, while the ’55 win notched Johnny Podres’ place in history, September’s birthday boy never made it to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The “Not In the Hall” site bemoans that. It says, “Johnny Podres was one of the most successful southpaws in Dodgers history, especially when you look at the postseason.” StatMuse fills it in. Podres’ postseason record was 4-1 with an ERA of 2.11 and 18 strikeouts in 5 appearances.
Debuting for Brooklyn in 1953, Podres came into his own in the 1955 World Series, winning the MVP of a 2-0 record and a 1.00 ERA over the Yankees. Podres had arrived, but he had to take a year off for military service, though he picked up right where he left off upon his return.
He led the NL in ERA (2.66), Shutouts (6), and WHIP (1.082) in what was arguably his finest season in baseball. He was still an integral player for years to come as the franchise moved to Los Angeles, earning All-Star trips in 1958, 1960, and 1962.
Sandy Koufax had become the undisputed ace of the Dodgers staff, but Podres was still a valuable commodity, with solid contributions in L.A.’s 1959 and 1965 Championships. Podres was traded to Detroit during the 1966 Season, but by that time, he was no longer a valuable member of the rotation.
Podres’ career exposed him to a life of fame, but he returned home to Witherbee as much as possible to see family and to hunt and fish. After his playing days were behind him, he and Joan raised their two boys in the Moriah region. Johnny was known to enjoy attending the races at Saratoga — sometimes with his old friend and teammate Don Zimmer. Joan and Johnny eventually retired to a quiet neighborhood in Queensbury, N.Y. Johnny Podres passed away in 2008 at the age of 75.
With the Dodgers, Podres had a record of 136-104 with 1,331 Strikeouts. He earned an MVP award from Cooperstown and in 2002 Johnny was elected to the Polish-American Hall of Fame but famous beyond that he will always remain.
Joan and Johnny eventually retired to a quiet neighborhood in Queensbury, N.Y. Johnny Podres passed away in 2008 at the age of 75.
Today the Moriah Central High School baseball field is named after the community’s favorite son, and a few years back, Joan bought all the uniforms for the Moriah Youth Baseball and Softball teams. For one season, all the children wore the number “45” in honor of Johnny Podres, the hometown hero and Adirondack native.
