Bob Veale, a left-handed pitcher and veteran of 13 big-league seasons, has died, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Tuesday. He was 89.
“Bob was an integral member of the Pirates who helped our team capture back-to-back division titles as well as the 1971 World Series,” Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “He was one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers in all of Major League Baseball during his remarkable big league career that he proudly spent a majority of as a member of the Pirates. He was a great man who will be missed.”
Veale’s introduction to professional baseball came as a youngster, when he served as a bat boy and a batting practice pitcher for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues. (His father, Robert, had enjoyed a brief stint with the Homestead Grays.) Veale would, in time, join the Pirates and spend most of his career in Pittsburgh. Following his playing career, he served in both scouting and coaching roles.
Veale was a power pitcher, complete with a 6-foot-6 frame and enough arm strength to touch into the upper-90s, according to Bob Gibson’s account. He led the majors in strikeouts in 1964, though he was also plagued by command woes and four times led the National League in walks issued. Overall, he amassed a 3.07 ERA (113 ERA+) and a 1.98 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 397 appearances overall. His contributions were estimated by Baseball Reference to have been worth 24.7 Wins Above Replacement.
In addition to those statistical accomplishments, Veale made consecutive All-Star Game appearances in 1965 and 1966. He was part of the 1971 Pirates championship squad, too, having pitched in relief during a Game 2 loss against the Baltimore Orioles.
Veale was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
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