VINTAGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA

Vintage Baseball Memorabilia

Clay Carroll

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-1, 178lb (185cm, 80kg)
Born: May 2, 1941 in Clanton, AL
Debut: September 2, 1964
vs. STL 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER
Last Game: October 1, 1978 
vs. PHI 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 SO, 2 BB, 1 ER
Full Name: Clay Palmer Carroll
Nicknames: Hawk

View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Clay Carrol Debut:

September 2, 1964 vs. ST Louis 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1964

Tony Perez
Bert Campaneris
Don Kessinger
Paul Blair
Lou Piniella
Phil Niekro
Luis Tiant
Mel Stottlemyre
Mickey Stanley 

Notable Events and Chronology for Clay Carroll Career

SearchSearch Events, Dates and More Date (Newest)Title (A - Z)

August 23, 1967

1967 – Jim Wynn cracks his 30th home run of the season during a 9-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Clay Carroll is the victim. Wynn is the first Houston player to reach that plateau and no other Astro would join him until Glenn Davis in 1986. 

June 11, 1968

The Reds trade Milt Pappas in 7 player deal

July 25, 1968

1968 – Reds pitchers George Culver and Clay Carroll allow 13 hits between them but still shut out the Pirates, 2 – 0. Culver allows eight hits in six innings and Carroll gives up five hits in three innings.

July 28, 1968

At Shea Stadium, Reds Ps Jim Maloney and Clay Carroll combine on a one-hit, 5 – 3, victory. Maloney gives up a run-scoring double to Cleon Jones in the 1st inning and then is lifted in the 6th after walking three batters. Carroll gives up two run-scoring grounders, but pitches four hitless frames.

July 15, 1969

In the Braves’ first game after the All-Star break, Hank Aaron goes deep off Clay Carroll in the fifth inning of the team’s 9-8 comeback victory over Cincinnati at Crosley Field. The round-tripper, the 534th home run of his career, moves the ‘Hammer’ into fourth place on the all-time list, ahead of Jimmie Foxx and only two behind Mickey Mantle.

June 23, 1971

Rick Wise – One Man show fires no hitter and hits 2 homeruns

September 1, 1972

The Reds edge the Expos‚ 1 – 0‚ in 12 innings on Johnny Bench’s single. Ross Grimsley and Clay Carroll combine on the shutout.

July 9, 1973

In a record-setting walkathon between the Reds and Expos, 25 bases on balls are handed out as Montreal strolls to an 11 – 6 win. Well off the American League’s two-team mark of 30, this tops the National Leaguerecord of 23, last reached on July 7, 1911. Six Montreal pitchers walk 16, one short of the record for an NL team, while Reds pitchers Clay Carroll and Tom Hall walk 9. Hal King pinch hits a grand slam for the Reds in the 6th inning, his second pinch dinger in nine days.

August 2, 1975

In Los Angeles, George Foster’s home run off Andy Messersmith is the only score as the Reds win, 1 – 0. The unrelated Carrolls – Tom Carroll and Clay Carroll – combine for the Reds.

October 12, 1975

Luis Tiant pitching to Pete Rose in the 1975 World Series. Tiant wins the opening game 6-0.

December 12, 1975

After being a member of the White Sox for two days, Dick Ruthven goes to Atlanta, along with Ken Henderson and Ozzie Osborn. Chicago receives Ralph Garr and Larvell Blanks. Blanks is then dealt to Cleveland for 2B Jack Brohamer. The Sox then trade P Rich Hinton and C Jeff Sovern to the Reds for P Clay Carroll, and finish the day by shipping IF Lee Richard to the Cards for OF Buddy Bradford and P Greg Terlecky.

Biography

 
Carroll was the mainstay of the “Big Red Machine” bullpen. The chunky stopper recorded 88 relief wins and 143 saves, including 37 in 1972, then a single-season record. His performance won him the Fireman of the Year award.

Carroll came up through the Braves farm system and led the NL with 73 appearances in 1966. The good-natured country boy went to Cincinnati in a mid-1968 deal and never had a losing season. He threw mostly fastballs, and also had a variety of effective breaking pitches. Johnny Bench explained, “Clay tells you he can do the job and then he goes out and does it.” Carroll appeared in more than 50 games in each of his eight seasons in Cincinnati, and led the NL with nine relief wins in 1970.

The Reds lost the 1970 WS to Baltimore in five games, but Carroll had Cincinnati’s only win and appeared in four games without allowing a run. He maintained his WS effectiveness in 1975, winning the seventh game over Boston.@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@