Bob Clear
From BR Bullpen
Elwood Robert Clear
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.
- Born December 14, 1927 in Denver, CO USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Bob Clear began a long playing career with the 1945 Batavia Clippers, hitting .222 at age 17. Bob moved to the Bakersfield Indians in 1946, playing third base (badly, fielding .838) and batting .266/~.363/.326. The next year, he hit .200 for the Lynchburg Cardinals and .208 for the Decatur Commodores. With his career going nowhere, the youngster was moved to the mound and went 17-12 with a 3.45 for the 1948 Willows Cardinals; he was second to Larry Shepard in wins in the Far West League and approximately fifth in ERA. He also was 0-1 with the Fresno Cardinals.
He spent most of 1949 with the Pocatello Cardinals (11-6, 5.84) and also was back in Lynchburg for one loss. By his 21st birthday, he had been with seven teams. 1950 brought Bob to the Western League and he went 16-7 with a 3.38 ERA. Elwood was tied for fourth in the WL in wins, was 4th with 119 walks and the Omaha Cardinals pitcher led the league with four shutouts.
With the three top St. Louis Cardinals Minor League Affiliates, Clear struggled in 1951, going 1-2, 8.13 for the Houston Buffaloes, 0-4, 9.82 for the Columbus Red Birds and 0-1 for the Rochester Red Wings. After 11 teams by age 24, Clear's career settled down. He went 9-12, 3.44 for Houston in '52 and 4-6, 3.35 for the 1953 Buffaloes.
Back in Omaha in 1954, Bob went 20-11 with a 2.93 ERA, led the Western League in wins, was 5th in ERA, tied for second with 22 complete games, tied for third with five shutouts, first with 267 innings sand first with 114 walks. For Omaha the next year, Clear fell to 1-10, 4.42 now that the team was in AAA. He was now 1-15 in AAA, 14-20 in AA and 64-38 in the lower minors.
In 1956, Clear finally left the Cardinals chain and was with the Sioux City Soos in the Pittsburgh Pirates system. He went 5-4 with a 6.00 ERA for the Soos and took over as player-manager on May 15. As player-manager of the 1957 Douglas Copper Kings, Bob hit .313/.365/.458 and went 20-11 with a 3.63 ERA. He was second in the Arizona-Mexico League in ERA behind Don Bruns, tied Candido Andrade for the win lead and led with 28 complete games (in 31 starts). Still just 29 years old, he had now played for 13 clubs.
By going 18-8 for Douglas in '58, Clear led the league in winning percentage, and helped make history on August 19 when he was hitting 5th for Douglas in a game in which all nine starters homered against the Chihuahua Dorados in a 22-6 rout.
He went 13-8, 2.81 for the Idaho Falls Russets the next year. He then had arguably his best year yet, going 21-6, 2.50 for the Grand Forks Chiefs, leading the Northern League in wins and finishing in the top 3 in ERA (possibly leading). In '61, he fell to 4-5, 5.05 for Grand Forks. Retiring more or less from pitching, he appeared briefly for the 1965 Kinston Eagles and 1967 Clinton Pilots (1-0, 1.64), wrapping up his career with a 144-117 record for 17 teams.
He was an Angels scout from 1969 to 1975 and an Angel coach from 1976-1987.
Clear is the uncle of Mark Clear.
Sources: 1947, 1951 and 1958 Baseball Guides, The Western League by W.C. Madden and Patrick Stewart, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database
