Don Drysdale was ejected a grand total of one time for hitting a batter.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were facing the Cincinnati Reds in a summer game in 1961. The Reds were on their way to a pennant, but the Dodgers were in the thick of things. The Dodgers had Drysdale, Sandy Koufax and Johnny Podres at their disposal that year, and your money had to be on them.
In this home game, it was actually Roger Craig on the hill for the Dodgers to start the game. But Roger, who was a good pitcher, was having an off year. He'd finish it with a 5-6 record, and an ERA over six!
Craig couldn't hold the Reds at bay in this one, and was gone after just 2 1/3 innings. The legendary Sandy Koufax, 18 game winner that season with an amazing 269 Ks in only 265 innings pitcher, came in to stop the bleeding. No such luck. Sandy was nailed for three hits, a walk, and two earned runs in two innings of work.
The game was into the fifth inning at this point. Drysdale came in to relieve Koufax. An intentional walk and a sac fly scored a run charged to Koufax. On the play, Frank Robinson advanced to third on an error by Tommy Davis. Another intentional walk, and a double by pitcher Joey Jay, and the carnage had produced three runs.
The next inning, with Drysdale still on the hill, Drydale threw inside to Don Blasingame. That was enough to sent Blasingame to the ground. Drysdale got a warning, but was undaunted. Blasingame popped out, but Frank Robinson was in for a terrifying ordeal because of what Drysdale did next. He threw not one, but two knockdown pitches to Frank Robinson. Finally, Drysdale hit him. That did it, He was ejected. The Reds went on to an easy 14-3 win, but I'm sure no one was smiling on Cincinnati.
Drysdale also accumulated a low number of ejections in his career. Only four. No pitcher, between 1956 and 1969 hit more batters than Don Drysdale. 154.
Yet his other ejections seem almost trivial. In a game played on June 13th, 1957, the Dodgers (Still in Brooklyn at this point) were facing the Milwaukee Braves. Drysdale did hit a batter, Johnny Logan. Now, Logan didn't take this kindly. He charged the mound. Drysdale and Logan were ejected (Eddie Mathews, who fought Drysdale, was not for some reason).
In a game against the Giants in 1958, with both teams on the west coast, Don got ejected for arguing a third strike. Don was the batter! Working as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the second, he didn't like the call. The ejection seemed to actually help the Dodgers, who may have been thinking of keeping Don in the game to pitch. Instead, in hopped Sandy Koufax to pitch. And Sandy? He was dandy! 7 IP, 2 H 1 R, 7 K for the win! No harm, no foul!
The next season, August 22nd, 1959, saw Don and Duke Snider get real angry about a call against the Dodgers in a game against the Giants, again. They threw some stuff on the field. Snider, ironically enough, had already been used as a pinch hitter, and departed the game for a pinch runner. Now, he was gone from the bench, taking the big righty (Who did not even pitch in the game) with him.
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 4 August 2015.
Retrosheet. Web. 4 August 2015. <www.retrosheet.org>
The Los Angeles Dodgers were facing the Cincinnati Reds in a summer game in 1961. The Reds were on their way to a pennant, but the Dodgers were in the thick of things. The Dodgers had Drysdale, Sandy Koufax and Johnny Podres at their disposal that year, and your money had to be on them.
In this home game, it was actually Roger Craig on the hill for the Dodgers to start the game. But Roger, who was a good pitcher, was having an off year. He'd finish it with a 5-6 record, and an ERA over six!
Craig couldn't hold the Reds at bay in this one, and was gone after just 2 1/3 innings. The legendary Sandy Koufax, 18 game winner that season with an amazing 269 Ks in only 265 innings pitcher, came in to stop the bleeding. No such luck. Sandy was nailed for three hits, a walk, and two earned runs in two innings of work.
The game was into the fifth inning at this point. Drysdale came in to relieve Koufax. An intentional walk and a sac fly scored a run charged to Koufax. On the play, Frank Robinson advanced to third on an error by Tommy Davis. Another intentional walk, and a double by pitcher Joey Jay, and the carnage had produced three runs.
The next inning, with Drysdale still on the hill, Drydale threw inside to Don Blasingame. That was enough to sent Blasingame to the ground. Drysdale got a warning, but was undaunted. Blasingame popped out, but Frank Robinson was in for a terrifying ordeal because of what Drysdale did next. He threw not one, but two knockdown pitches to Frank Robinson. Finally, Drysdale hit him. That did it, He was ejected. The Reds went on to an easy 14-3 win, but I'm sure no one was smiling on Cincinnati.
Drysdale also accumulated a low number of ejections in his career. Only four. No pitcher, between 1956 and 1969 hit more batters than Don Drysdale. 154.
Yet his other ejections seem almost trivial. In a game played on June 13th, 1957, the Dodgers (Still in Brooklyn at this point) were facing the Milwaukee Braves. Drysdale did hit a batter, Johnny Logan. Now, Logan didn't take this kindly. He charged the mound. Drysdale and Logan were ejected (Eddie Mathews, who fought Drysdale, was not for some reason).
In a game against the Giants in 1958, with both teams on the west coast, Don got ejected for arguing a third strike. Don was the batter! Working as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the second, he didn't like the call. The ejection seemed to actually help the Dodgers, who may have been thinking of keeping Don in the game to pitch. Instead, in hopped Sandy Koufax to pitch. And Sandy? He was dandy! 7 IP, 2 H 1 R, 7 K for the win! No harm, no foul!
The next season, August 22nd, 1959, saw Don and Duke Snider get real angry about a call against the Dodgers in a game against the Giants, again. They threw some stuff on the field. Snider, ironically enough, had already been used as a pinch hitter, and departed the game for a pinch runner. Now, he was gone from the bench, taking the big righty (Who did not even pitch in the game) with him.
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 4 August 2015.
Retrosheet. Web. 4 August 2015. <www.retrosheet.org>
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