Kerry Wood’s sensational 20-strikeout performance against Houston Wednesday brought back memories of Dick Drott, who has faded in the fog of time. Drott died in 1985 at the age of 49. He had had only one big year–he went 15-11 in 1957, his rookie season. He had arm trouble thereafter and in six subsequent seasons never won more than seven games.
Like Wood, Drott had a big fastball and a wide-sweeping curve that came in at the batter’s head, an apparent knockdown pitch. At the last instant it broke down, over the outside corner, often as low as the ankles. Many of the National League’s best hitters, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron among them, were fearful the ball was going to hit them and took third strikes on the seat of their pants.
Drott’s most memorable performance was on May 26 in the first game of a Wrigley Field double-header against the Milwaukee Braves. He had 15 strikeouts to set the Cubs record that was equaled but never broken until Wood’s brilliant outing Wednesday. Aaron struck out three times.
After the game, Drott, 20, sat on an equipment trunk, his legs dangling, just a few feet from manager Bob Scheffing’s office. Drott told reporters he was happy, happier than he ever had been. He was hungry too.
Yosh Kawano, then as now the clubhouse attendant, brought him a sandwich.
Drott unwrapped it and looked inside. It was ham and cheese with a large slice of tomato. Before he was able to dig in he was surrounded by reporters.
“Was it a record?” Drott asked.
He was advised it was a club record. The 15 were two short of the NL mark Dizzy Dean had then.
“I really had good stuff,” Drott said. “Best I’ve ever had.”
“How many strikeouts did he have after six innings?” Scheffing asked.
The reporters checked their scorebooks. He had 11, two in each of the first five innings but only one in the sixth. Drott said he threw nothing but fastballs and curves. He got Aaron twice on fastballs and once on a curve. The previous season Aaron had won the league batting championship. Billy Bruton fanned for the last out.
“They’re a tough team,” Drott said.
The Braves’ 3-4-5 hitters were Eddie Mathews, Aaron and Joe Adcock. The Cubs won 7-5. Walt Moryn and Ernie Banks homered for the Cubs.
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Asked if he was tired at the finish, Drott said, “No, just hungry.”
Drott had another memorable moment that season, against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. It was the sixth or seventh inning, I forget which. The Giants had filled the bases with two outs, but Drott had two strikes on Mays. Drott fired his big curve. To get away from the pitch, Mays dropped to the dirt and, sitting down in the batter’s box, watched it break over the plate for strike three.
Drott finished the season with 170 strikeouts, second in the league behind fellow rookie Jack Sanford. Drott was the recipient of the Chicago Rookie of the Year award given annually by the Chicago baseball writers. In making the trophy presentation, I mentioned that Drott’s 15 victories were the equivalent of 20 victories elsewhere.
Came a voice from the crowd: “Let’s make it 30 and be honest about it!”
Drott began having arm troubles the next season when he slumped to 7-11. He was on and off the disabled list for the next five years. Over this span he went 5-24. His career ended in 1963 when he was 2-14 with Houston.Pitcher Jim Brosnan, who was among Drott’s Cub teammates, remembers him well.
“I was always amazed by his curveball,” Brosnan recalled Wednesday. “It was a beautiful pitch. It reminded me of Sandy Koufax’s curveball and Koufax, in my opinion, was the best pitcher of all time.”