Palmer, "Jim" (James A.)
Baseball
b. Oct. 15, 1945, New York, NY
The 6-foot-3, 196-pound Palmer, who had the looks of a matinee idol, was the American League's best pitcher during the 1970s. A 20-game winner eight times during the decade, he won three Cy Young Awards.
After appearing in just 27 games for the Baltimore Orioles in 1965, 21 of them as a reliever, Palmer joined the starting rotation in 1966 and went 15-10. He became the youngest pitcher to throw a shutout in the World Series, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-0 in Baltimore's four-game sweep.
Palmer missed most of the 1967 season with arm problems, underwent surgery, and spent some time in the Instructional League. Shortly after returning to the Orioles, he threw a no-hitter against Oakland, winning 8-0. He finished the 1968 season with a 16-4 record to lead the American League in winning percentage.
Palmer won 20 or more games each of the next four seasons. He led the league with 5 shutouts and 305 innings pitched in 1970 and he won his first Cy Young Award in 1973, when he was 22-9 with 6 shutouts and a 2.40 ERA.
In 1974, arm trouble struck again and he won only 7 games. Once more, Palmer bounced back. He led the league in victories with a 23-11 record, in shutouts with 10 and in ERA with 2.09 in 1975, winning another Cy Young Award, and he won his third the following season, leading in victories with a 22-13 record and in innings pitched with 315 while compiling a 2.51 ERA.
Palmer was the league leader in victories for the third year in a row with a 20-11 record in 1977, when he also led with 22 complete games and 319 innings pitched. After going 21-12 in 1976, he began to lose his mastery, although he had only one losing season in the next five and he led the AL in winning percentage at .750 in 1982, when he went 15-5. He retired after having records of 5-4 in 1983 and 0-3 in 1984.
In 1991, Palmer attempted a comeback with the Orioles. After giving up five hits and two runs in two innings of a spring training game, he retired permanently.
A right-hander, Palmer built his success on a variety of pitches, excellent control, and his ability to outsmart hitters. He had a reputation for being unwilling to pitch if he didn't feel exactly right--understandable, given his history of arm trouble--yet he pitched more than 300 innings in four different seasons and four other times he logged 274 or more innings.