Jim Suchecki
From BR Bullpen
James Joseph Suchecki
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.
- Debut May 20, 1950
- Final Game May 1, 1952
- Born August 25, 1926 in Chicago, IL USA
- Died July 20, 2000 in Crofton, MD USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Right-hander Jim Suchecki was signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before the 1943 season. The wartime fifteen-year-old was assigned to the Kingsport Cherokees of the Appalachian League and went 3-2 in seven games with an 0.50 ERA.
The young pitcher would have several rough years in the late 1940s, but did go 7-3 with a 3.41 ERA in 1948 with the Roanoke Red Sox. He had a hard-fought year in 1949 when he went 10-11 with a 2.77 ERA for the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association that probably opened the door to Fenway Park for Jim in 1950.
Suchecki would make four appearances out of the Red Sox bullpen, early in 1950 with no decisions, before being sent down to the Louisville Colonels of the American Association where he went 4-4 the remainder of the season and would wind up being traded to the St. Louis Browns on May 7, 1951. Jim would lose all six of his decisions in 29 games for the Browns in 1951 and again would finish out the year with the Louisville Club going 0-2. He would be traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates by the Browns on March 4, 1952.
Suchecki would open up the 1952 season with the Pirates, appearing in five games with no decisions and this would be his last trip to the major leagues. He finished up in the Show with a major league career record of 0-6 with a 5.38 ERA while appearing in 59 games. Jim returned to the minors in 1952, pitching for the Memphis Chickasaws of the Southern Association. That season, he had his career year when he went 14-7 with a 3.62 ERA while pitching 189 innings. Jim would spend two more seasons in pro baseball with the Dallas Eagles, Nashville Volunteers and the Seattle Rainiers, winning 5 and losing the same. He decided to end his eleven-year minor league career in 1954. Jim finished out with a 52-47 record and a 3.29 ERA while pitching 800 innings.
Suchecki left baseball in 1954 at the age of 26. He would die on July 20, 2000, at the age of 72 in Crofton, MD.
