Cleveland Indians History: Early Wynn Wins 300th Game

The 300 win mark is a magical milestone, one reached by a handful of pitchers in baseball history. On this day in 1963, Cleveland Indians pitcher Early Wynn joined the fraternity.

It took some time before Early Wynn found himself in the majors. He was largely mediocre for his first eight seasons before being traded to the Cleveland Indians. There, Wynn, as part of a three pitcher rotation, found his groove. He began a run of six consecutive All Star appearances, led the league in wins twice, and took home an ERA title. That success continued with the White Sox, where Wynn earned the Cy Young award in 1959 at age 39.

That would be Wynn’s last superlative year in the majors. While he had two more solid years, time had caught up with him, limiting his effectiveness. After a rough 1962 campaign, where he was 7-15 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.354 WHiP, he was released by Chicago. Normally, this would have ended Wynn’s career, as there was not much of a market for struggling 42 year old pitchers.

Retirement was not on Wynn’s mind. Instead, his tenure with the White Sox ended with the veteran starter at 299 career wins, leaving him just shy of that magical milestone. Wynn was determined to get that final victory, and on June 23, 1963, signed with the Indians once more. Despite pitching relatively well in his first four outings, including a complete game in his first game back, Wynn was still one victory away from the plateau.

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That changed on this day. Facing the Athletics in Kansas City, Wynn pitched well through the first four innings, where he was locked into a 1-1 tie. Cleveland seemingly broke the game open in the top of the fifth, scoring four runs off starter Moe Drabowsky. Joe Adcock and Al Luplow each had two run singles with two out, giving Wynn the lead.

All he needed to do was to get three more outs. He was barely able to do that, as he loaded the bases to start the bottom of the fifth. After a popup, Jerry Lumpe cleared the bases with a double, but was gunned down trying to stretch the hit into a triple. A foul pop to first ended the inning, leaving Wynn in position to get that elusive victory.

Jerry Walker made sure that win would happen. He scattered three hits and two walks over four scoreless innings, preserving the lead. John Romano and Adcock each added an insurance run, leaving Wynn to the 7-4 victory, his 300th in the majors. It was also his final victory, as he made only one more start before spending the rest of the year in the bullpen. He would retire after the season, secure with his place in history.

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Early Wynn was determined to get that 300th career victory. On this day in 1963, he joined that elite fraternity.