James Alvin "Jim" Palmer (born October 15, 1945, in New York, New York) played his entire career for the Baltimore Orioles (1965-1984). The dominating right-handed starter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.

Shortly after his birth, Palmer was adopted by Moe Wiesen, a garment industry executive, and his wife Polly from Harrison, N.Y. After his adoptive father died in 1955, the 9-year-old Jim, his mother and his sister moved to California, where he began playing in youth-league baseball. In 1956 his mother married actor Max Palmer, from whom Palmer took his last name. Showing talent at the amateur level, upon high school graduation in 1962, Palmer signed a minor-league contract at the age of 17.

Considered one of the best pitchers in Orioles (and major-league) history, Jim Palmer was a mainstay in the rotation during Baltimore's six pennant winning teams in the 1960s and 1980s. Also, he is the only pitcher in big-league history to win World Series games in three decades (1966, 1970-71, 1983).

A high-kicking pitcher with a beautiful fluid motion seldom seen today, Palmer picked up his first major-league win on May 16, 1965, beating the Yankees in relief at home, and hitting the first of his three career major-league home runs, a two-run shot in the fourth off Yankees starter Jim Bouton. Palmer finished the season with a 5-4 record.

In 1966, Palmer joined the starting rotation. Baltimore rolled to the pennant, behind Frank Robinson's MVP and Triple Crown season. Palmer won his final game against the Kansas City Athletics to clinch the American League pennant. That October 6, he became the youngest pitcher (20 years, 11 months) to win a complete-game, World Series shutout, defeating Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers in Game 2. The underdog Orioles went on to sweep the series over a Los Angeles team that featured some formidable pitching of its own in Hall of Famers Koufax and Don Drysdale, and 17-game winner Claude Osteen.

The next two seasons were frustrating for Palmer, as arm troubles shelved him. He threw just 49 innings in 1967 and was sent to minor-league rehabilitation. Finally, thanks to surgery, work in the 1968 Instructional League and in winter ball, he regained his form.

 

In 1969, Palmer returned healthy, rejoining an Orioles rotation that included 20-game winners Dave McNally and Mike Cuellar, combining one of the finest starting staffs ever. That August 13, Palmer threw a no-hitter against Oakland, just four days after coming off the disabled list. He finished the season with a mark of 16-4, 123 strikeouts, a 2.34 ERA, and .800 winning percentage.

In a 19-year career, Palmer compiled a 268-152 record with 2,212 strikeouts, a 2.86 ERA, 521 games started, 211 complete games, and 53 shutouts in 3.948 innings. He never allowed a grand slam in his major-league career. In six ALCS and six World Series, he posted a 7-5 record with 90 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.61 and two shutouts in 17 games. His final major-league victory was noteworthy: Pitching in relief in the third game of the 1983 World Series, he worked methodically through the Phillies' celebrity-studded batting order, giving up no runs and contributing hugely to a close and crucial Oriole win. In 1999, he ranked No. 64 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Achievements and Honors

• 6-time AL All-Star (1970-1972, 1975, 1977 & 1978)
• 3-time AL Cy Young Award Winner (1973, 1975 & 1976)
• 4-time AL Gold Glove Winner (1976-1979)
• 2-time AL ERA Leader (1973 & 1975)
• 3-time AL Wins Leader (1975-1977)
• AL Winning Percentage Leader (1982)
• 4-time AL Innings Pitched Leader (1970 & 1976-1978)
• AL Complete Games Leader (1977)
• 2-time AL Shutouts Leader (1970 & 1975)
• 15 Win Seasons: 12 (1966, 1969-1973, 1975-1978, 1980 & 1982)
• 20 Win Seasons: 8 (1970-1973 & 1975-1978)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 11 (1966, 1970-1973, 1975-1978, 1980 & 1982)
• 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 4 (1970 & 1975-1977)
• Won three World Series Rings with the Baltimore Orioles (1966, 1970 & 1983)
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1990

Career Statistics

Contact Information

Direct emails for Jim Palmer to: jpalmer@hofmag.com