Roger Craig brought “the pitch” into the 1980s and changed the game. A variation of the fork ball, the split-finger fastball Craig taught became the pitch of the decade. It altered the careers of pitchers like Dan Petry, Jack Morris, Mike Scott, and Ron Darling. In Scott’s case, he was almost out of baseball before he pleaded with Craig to teach him “the pitch” in 1985. By 1986 Scott went 18-10 with a 2.22 ERA and a Cy Young Award. As for Morris, well, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
Before all this though, for 12 seasons from 1955-1966, Craig was an effective and sometimes above average pitcher—mostly with the Dodgers. He won game five of the 1955 World Series in Brooklyn’s first and only championship. In 1959, Craig had his finest season as a pitcher, going 11-5 with a 2.06 ERA and a league leading four shutouts. Probably his best season, Craig earned a B grade for his 1959 APBA card.
Unfortunately, Craig is probably more known for his stint with the lowly 1962 and 1963 New York Mets—who lost 231 games in their first two seasons. Poor Roger took the loss in 20 percent of those games. As the veteran presence on the staff, he led the league in losses both seasons, going 10-24 in 1962 and 5-22 in 1963. Curiously, he received at C grading in 1963 despite the 22 loses, probably due to his respectable 3.77 ERA. Not bad. His manager Casey Stengel said he had to be pretty good to lose that many games.
The next season Craig was on another championship team when he helped the ’64 Cardinals win the World Series—his third championship. He went five innings in game four win over the Yankees. After the 1966 season Craig retired with a career record of 74-98 and a 3.83 ERA and began his coaching career.
By the 1970s Craig established himself as a pitching coach and briefly managed the San Diego Padres. Like many successful coaches, his subpar playing career probably made him a better coach. He understood that small adjustments, mechanical tweaks, or how adding an additional pitch could be the difference for a pitcher. He made just that kind of impact when he joined Sparky Anderson’s Detroit Tigers staff in 1980, teaching “the pitch” to as many players as he could. By the time the Tigers won the 1984 World Series Craig’s pitching staff was full of pitchers like Morris, Petry, Juan Berenguer and Milt Wilcox, all who featured the splitter.
A contract dispute with Detroit ended Craig’s time in the Motor City. However, he quickly landed in San Francisco. From 1985-1992 he managed the Giants, going 586-566, and winning the 1989 NL pennant. Giants starters like Mike LaCoss and Mike Krukow, and relievers Jeff Robinson and Mark Davis, employed “the pitch” to much success too.
In February 2020 Roger Craig turned 90. He’s a living part of baseball history from coast-to-coast as a Brooklyn Dodger, Los Angeles Dodger, New York Met, Detroit Tiger, and San Francisco Giant. However, more than that, he’ll forever be know for “the pitch” that changed the 1980s.
Recommendations: If you’re interested in more about Roger Craig, consider these readings:
- Inside Pitch: Roger Craig’s ’84 Tiger Journal” by Roger Craig
- “Roger Craig’s Little Secret–the Pitch That Has Changed Baseball” by Milton Richman (LA Times)
- “The Pitch of the ‘80s” by Ron Fimrite (SI Vault)
- “Roger Craig” by Rich Shook (SABR Bio Project)
