Pascual, Camilo A.
Baseball
b. Jan. 20, 1934, Havana, Cuba
At his peak during the late 1950s and early 1960s, Pascual probably had the best curve in baseball. He combined it with a good fast ball and excellent control to be a very effective pitcher but he unfortunately played for some very bad teams in Washington and Minnesota during those years.
Pascual joined the American League's Washington Senators in 1954 and had five consecutive losing seasons before going 17-10 in 1959, when he led the league with 17 complete games and 6 shutouts. After a 12-8 record in 1960, he led the AL in strikeouts three years in a row and had two 20-victory seasons during that period.
The Senators moved to Minnesota and became known as the Twins in 1961. Pascual had 221 strikeouts and a league-leading 8 shutouts that year, though he was only 15-16. He led with 206 strikeouts, 8 shutouts, and 18 complete games in 1962, when he was 20-11. He followed that with a 21-9 record and was the league leader with 202 strikeouts and 18 complete games in 1963.
Pascual's numbers began to decline in 1964, when he was 15-12, though he had four more winning seasons. Minnesota sent him back to Washington, where there was a new Senators' franchise, in 1967. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds during the 1969 season and he finished his career as an infrequently used relief pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1970 and the Cleveland Indians in 1971.
In 18 major-league seasons, Pascual had a 174-170 record with 36 shutouts and a 3.63 ERA. He struck out 2,167 hitters and walked 1,069 in 2,930 2/3 innings.