On Jan. 10, 1984, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Drysdale, who was born and grew up in Van Nuys, Calif., made his Major League debut for the Dodgers in 1956 at the age of 19.
He played his first two seasons in Brooklyn before the team moved to Los Angeles, where he finished out the entirety of his 14-year career. During that time, Drysdale won 209 games while yielding a 2.95 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, with 2,486 strikeouts.
He was named an All-Star nine times, and won World Series’ in 1959, 1963 and 1965. Plus, the famed right-hander won the National League Cy Young Award in 1962 when he went 25-9 with a 2.83 ERA, 2.86 FIP and 1.11 WHIP.
That season, Drysdale had 232 strikeouts against just 78 walks in 314.1 innings of work.
In 1968, Drysdale set Major League records with six consecutive shutouts and 58.2 consecutive scoreless innings. The latter record was broken by fellow Dodgers hurler Orel Hershiser 20 years later.
Drysdale retired after the 1969 season, and in addition to being elected into the Hall of Fame, had his No. 53 retired by the Dodgers in July 1984.
In addition to Drysdale, Luis Aparicio, Harmon Killebrew, Hoyt Wilhelm, Nellie Fox, Pee Wee Reese, Rick Ferrell and Billy Williams were also a part of the 1984 Hall of Fame class.
After his playing career, Drysdale pursued a career as a broadcaster, where he was employed by many teams including the Dodgers until he died of a heart attack in 1993 at the age of 56. He is survived by his wife, former professional basketball player, Ann Meyers.
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