Ray Caldwell – Not Even A Lightning Bolt Could Drive Him From The Mound

Another BBRT look at how the game has changed – Ray Caldwell’s August 24, 1919 pitching performance, which saw the hard-nosed, hard-living hurler felled by a lightning strike only to “shake it off” and complete the game.

“Pitcher Ray Caldwell, who recently joined the Cleveland team, making his first appearance here was knocked down, but soon recovered and remained pitching.”

New York Tribune

August 25, 1919

As a ballplayer, Ray Caldwell was known as someone who played hard – on and off the field.  The 6’2”, 190-pound, right-hander was thought by many to be a potential team “ace” on the mound.  However, his career was derailed by ongoing arm troubles and a penchant for “living large.”  His days in MLB were marked with multiple team fines and suspensions related to alcohol and absenteeism.  As New York Yankees’ manager Miller Huggins described it, “Caldwell was one of the best pitchers that ever lived, but he was one of the characters that kept a manager in constant worry.”   Reflecting on Caldwell’s career, sportswriter Fred Lieb (credited with labeling Yankee Stadium “The House that Ruth Built” wrote (April 27, 1933, The Sporting News), “He was one of the playboys of his time. Caldwell loved baseball, but he loved the high lights better.”

Caldwell, like most pitchers of his day (MLB career 1910-21), like to finish what he started.  He, in fact, finished more than 70 percent of his starts (184 complete games in 259 starts).  Not only was it difficult for opposing hitters to drive him from the mound, even Mother Nature couldn’t get the best of him.

On August 24, 1919, Caldwell made his initial appearance for the Cleveland Indians (after being released by the Red Sox, with a 7-4 record and 3.94 ERA).  Cleveland manager Tris Speaker, in a tight pennant race with the White Sox, thought he could handle the problematic Caldwell, and it turned out he was right – Caldwell went 5-1, 1.71 in six starts down the stretch, including a September 10 no-hitter against the Yankees.  (He also hit .348, 8-for-23, with four doubles in his six starts for Cleveland.)  But let’s get back to that August 24 game.

Caldwell started his first game in Cleveland – against the lowly Philadelphia Athletics – and, despite threatening weather, was cruising along with a four-hitter and a 2-1 lead.  With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Caldwell faced not only the A’s number-five hitter (shortstop Jumpin’ Joe Dugan), but also dark skies, rumbling thunder, occasional lightening and intermittent rain.  As witnesses reported, with Dugan at the plate, a lightning bolt blazed from the sky, struck the metal railing near the press box, traveled down the ball park railings, exited and crossed the infield (some say hitting him in the top of the  cap), dropping Caldwell as through he had been struck by a line drive.

The fans gasped, some panicked, and the umpires rushed to the mound, where Caldwell lay face up, arms outstretched. Caldwell first sat up, then got to his feet and shook his head to clear the cobwebs.  He then demanded the ball and retired Dugan on a grounder to third base on the very next pitch.

As noted, Caldwell finished 1919 strong for Cleveland and, in 1920, his 20-10, 3.86 season helped Cleveland capture the AL pennant.  By 1922, at the age of 33, however, Caldwell’s history of arm and disciplinary problems had brought his major league career to an end.  He kept playing, however, logging a dozen more minor league seasons – and despite two twenty-win minor league campaigns, never got a call back up.

Caldwell’s final MLB stats (Yankees, Red Sox, Indians)  included a 134-120 record and a 3.22 ERA.  In addition to his 20-win season with the Indians, he went 18-4, 1.94 for the 1914 Yankees and 19-16, and 2.89 for the 1915 New York AL club.  A superb athlete, Caldwell was also often used in the outfield, first base or as a pinch hitter. In 1918, Caldwell pitched in 24 games (21 starts) for the Yankees.  He also hit .291 in 169 at bats – playing in 65 games and taking the field at first base and in all three outfield positions (most often center field).  In 1915, his four home runs were ninth in the AL (Braggo Roth led the league with 7), despite Caldwell having 200 at bats fewer than anyone else in the top ten.  (League leader Roth hit his seven homers in 384 at bats; Caldwell hit his four homers in 155 at bats. )

Ray “Slim” Caldwell – not even a lightening bolt could drive him from the mound.