Pitcher Slim Sallee On the Evils of Straw Hats and Wonder of Watermelons
The eccentric MLB star had as many strange stories about him as he did wins
Is there any sport with a history so rich in the characters who have played, coached and otherwise touched the game in some way? It’s often been said that an inordinate number seem to be left-handed pitchers for whatever reason, earning those ballplayers a long-standing reputation. The reason for this is players like southpaw Slim Sallee, who mixed great success with his sometimes humorous and sometimes head-scratching behavior.
As a young man, Sallee was 6'3" and a shade under 150 pounds, giving little wonder to how he earned the nickname of Slim. While he gained a little weight as he matured, he was always impossibly lanky throughout his career, which spanned 14 big league seasons (1908–1921) for three different teams. Although he was frequently in and out of trouble because of regularly getting into scrapes and his inability to lay off alcohol, he was consistently excellent on the mound. He combined to go 174–143 with a 2.56 ERA and 25 shutouts. He even had 36 saves, including leading the National League on three separate occasions.
Although he lacked overpowering stuff, Sallee had impeccable control (just 1.8 walks per nine innings) and got a…
