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Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in the National League. He won 20 games or more in 13 seasons, including a 23–7 record when he was age 42. Spahn was the 1957 Cy Young Award winner, and was the runner-up three times, all during the period when just one award was given. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, with 83% of the total vote. (His eligibility was delayed, under the rules of the time, by two years of token minor league play.) Spahn won 363 games, more than any other left-handed pitcher in history, and more than any other pitcher who played his entire career in the post-1920 live-ball era. He is acknowledged as one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball history. The Warren Spahn Award, given to the major leagues' best left-handed pitcher, is named after him. Regarded as a "thinking man's" pitcher who liked to outwit batters, Spahn once described his approach on the mound: "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing." ==Baseball career== His major league career began in 1942 with the Braves and he spent all but one year with that franchise, first in Boston and then in Milwaukee. He finished his career in 1965 with the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. With 363 wins, Spahn is the 6th most winning pitcher in history, trailing only Cy Young (511), Walter Johnson (417), Grover Cleveland Alexander (373), Christy Mathewson (373), and Pud Galvin (364) on MLB's all-time list. He led the league in wins eight times (1949–50, 1953, 1957–61, each season with 20+ wins) and won at least 20 games an additional five times (1947, 1951, 1954, 1956, 1963). Spahn also threw two no-hitters (in 1960 and 1961, at ages 39 and 40), won 3 ERA titles (1947, 1953, and 1961), and four strikeout crowns (1949–52). He appeared in 14 All-Star Games, the most of any pitcher in the 20th century. He won the NL Player of the Month Award in August 1960 (6-0, 2.30 ERA, 32 SO) and August 1961 (6-0, 1.00 ERA, 26 SO) Spahn acquired the nickname "Hooks", not so much because of his pitching, but due to the prominent shape of his nose. He had once been hit in the face by a thrown ball that he was not expecting, and his broken nose settled into a hook-like shape. In Spahn's final season, during his stint with the Mets, Yogi Berra came out of retirement briefly and caught 4 games, one of them with Spahn pitching. Yogi later told reporters, "I don't think we're the oldest battery, but we're certainly the ugliest." Spahn was known for a very high leg kick in his delivery, as was his later Giants teammate Juan Marichal. Photo sequences show that this high kick served a specific purpose. As a left-hander, Spahn was able not only to watch any runner on first base, but also to not telegraph whether he was delivering to the plate or to first base, thereby forcing the runner to stay close to the bag. As his fastball waned, Spahn adapted, and relied more on location, changing speeds and a good screwball. He led or shared the lead in the NL in wins in 1957–61 (age 36 through 40). Spahn was also a good hitter, hitting at least one home run in 17 straight seasons, and finishing with an NL career record for pitchers, with 35 home runs. Wes Ferrell, who spent most of his time in the American League, holds the overall record for pitchers, with 37. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Warren Spahn」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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