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| Jay Ritchie |
Recently, we have lost several outstanding members of the Red Sox family—including the likes of
Frank Malzone and
Dave Henderson.
And, occasionally we also lose less heralded players. Yesterday,
former Red Sox relief pitcher Jay Ritchie passed away at the age of 79. Ritchie was signed back in the 1950s—when a player could languish in multiple layers of minor league baseball for years. With just 16 MLB teams, there were a
lot fewer roster spots than there are today. At the age of 27, Ritchie finally made his MLB debut for the Red Sox—going four scoreless innings against a Twins lineup that featured such boppers as
Harmon Killebrew. While he wasn't a household name in Boston, he pitched quite well for some pretty bad Red Sox teams. In his two years in
Carmine Hose he posted an ERA of 3.00 in 65 total games. May he rest in peace.
