Jake Thies
From BR Bullpen
Vernon Arthur Thies
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 170 lb.
- School University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Debut April 24, 1954
- Final Game April 17, 1955
- Born April 1, 1926 in St. Louis, MO USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Jake Thies pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates during their dark days in the 1950's. The Pirates had finished 4th under Billy Meyer in 1948, but would not finish higher than 7th in the league during the period 1950-1957. In 1958, manager Danny Murtaugh brought them up to 2nd place.
Thies made his debut on the 1954 Pirates who lost 101 games, appearing in 33 games, of which 18 were starts. Although his record was only 3-9, no pitcher on the team had a record over .500. Jake's 3.87 ERA was one of the best on a team whose ERA was 4.92.
In his debut, Thies entered the ballgame against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the fifth inning with the bases loaded and nobody out and Jackie Robinson at the plate. Thies then proceeded to strike Robinson out on three pitches and then get Gil Hodges to ground into an inning-ending double play. Jake pitched four innings in that game, giving up only one run and had no decision as the Pirates lost 3-0.
The next year he pitched in only one game, in April 1955. In 3 2/3 innings he gave up 2 earned runs along with 3 unearned runs. The Pirates as a team were a little better than in 1954, losing only 94 games in 1955. Bob Friend went 14-9 and Vern Law went 10-10.
Thies had been born in St. Louis, MO, across the border from Illinois, and attended the University of Illinois from 1945-1949. Marv Rotblatt was there from 1945-1948. The Pirates acquired rights to Thies from the Chanute Athletics prior to the 1950 season. Jake still lives in the St. Louis area as of last notice.
