Pat Caraway

From BR Bullpen

Cecil Bradford Patrick Caraway

Bats Left, Throws Left
Height 6' 4", Weight 175 lb.

Debut April 19, 1930
Final Game July 17, 1932
Born September 26, 1905 in Erath County, TX USA
Died June 9, 1974 in El Paso, TX USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Pat Caraway is one of the few submarine knuckleball pitchers in MLB history. He was 22-40 in the majors and 39-46 in the minors and had one big year at each level.

Caraway debuted professionally with the 1927 Rock Island Islanders, going 7-8. The next year, he was 9-10 for the Amarillo Texans. In 1929, he finally made his mark. With the Topeka Jayhawks, he had 19-17 record. He tied for fourth in the Western League in wins, was fifth in losses and led with 305 innings and 159 strikeouts (28 more than the runner-up).

The big Texan had a prominent debut with the Chicago White Sox in April of 1930, at the age of 24. In Caraway's rookie season, he demonstrated a potential that he had trouble living up to in subsequent seasons. In Caraway's rookie season Caraway posted a 3.86 ERA (9th in the League), 1.298 WHIP (3rd in league), and won 10 games. On May 26, he struck out Joe Sewell twice; Sewell would fan only one other time that year. Caraway's sophmore season of 1931 proved disastrous as he posted a 10-24 record with a 6.22 ERA. Control seemed to be Caraway's biggest issue as he walked 101 batters. 1932 was Caraway's last season as he pitched his final game in the majors on July 17, 1932.

Pat then returned to the minors with the Buffalo Bisons, going 2-5 with a 3.89 ERA in 1932. In 1933, he ran into trouble with Buffalo, posting a 0-5, 8.40 record in 11 outings and 15 IP. He concluded his career in the 1934 Texas League with a 2-1 record for the Dallas Steers and San Antonio Missions.

Caraway passed away in 1974 in El Paso, Texas.

Sources include Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database, The International League: Year-by-Year Statistics by Marshall Wright and The Western League by W.C. Madden