Roy Face

Elroy Leon Face (born February 20, 1928 in Stephentown, New York) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1953, 1955-68), Detroit Tigers (1968) and Montreal Expos (1969). The outstanding reliever in the National League during the 1960s, upon his retirement he ranked third in major league history in pitching appearances, behind Hoyt Wilhelm and Cy Young, and second in saves behind Wilhelm. Nicknamed "The Baron", he batted and threw right-handed.

Career

In a 16-season career, Face posted a 104-95 record with a 3.48 ERA, 193 saves and 877 strikeouts in 1375 innings.

Related Topics:
ERA - Strikeout - Innings

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Originally signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1949, Face was twice drafted by Branch Rickey, first for the Brooklyn Dodgers before the 1951 season, then, in 1952 for Pittsburgh. He made his debut a year later.

Related Topics:
Philadelphia Phillies - Free agent - 1949 - Branch Rickey - Brooklyn Dodgers - 1951 - 1952

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Besides being considered one of the premier relievers of the 1950s and 1960s, Face was a well-rounded, philosophical man who explored the mountains of Nepal and Tibet seeking enlightenment during one off-season, and returned a changed man. Face decided to employ a new pitch, the forkball, after learning it from a monk while in the Himalayas. Upon his return to the U.S., he used his newly found inner peace and clarity (not to mention his ingenious new pitch) to confound opposite hitters: "It would come in hard and break anyway it wanted to, sometimes in, sometimes out, mostly down", Face said.

Related Topics:
1950s - Nepal - Tibet - Forkball - Monk - Himalaya

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Face pitched most of his career for the Pittsburgh Pirates. His most productive season came in 1959, when he posted a remarkable 18-1 record, with 17 victories in a row, earning the highest single-season winning percentage in major league history (.947).

Related Topics:
1959 - Winning percentage

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Selected an All-Star from 1959-61, Face saved at least

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16 games in seven seasons at a time when starting pitchers were more apt to remain in a game they were leading, with a career-high 28 in 1962. In that season, he posted a 1.88 ERA, and eight times had an ERA under 3.00. In the 1960 World Series, he shocked the Mantle-Maris duo and the Yankees, saving three of the four victories for the Pirates champion team.

Related Topics:
1960 World Series - Mantle - Maris - Yankees

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Face also decided to use his great renown to help humanitarian causes, and to put himself at the forefront of many social issues in the 1960s. He retired at the end of the 1969 season.

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