Al Worthington

Allan Fulton Worthington (born February 5, 1929), nicknamed "Red", is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of 14 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Giants (New York, 1953–54, 1956–57 and San Francisco, 1958–59), Boston Red Sox (1960), Chicago White Sox (1960), Cincinnati Reds (1963–64) and Minnesota Twins (1965–69). Worthington batted and threw right-handed.

Al Worthington
Pitcher
Born: (1929-02-05) February 5, 1929
Birmingham, Alabama
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 6, 1953, for the New York Giants
Last MLB appearance
October 2, 1969, for the Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics
Win–loss record75–82
Earned run average3.39
Strikeouts834
Saves111
Teams

Worthington began his career with the Giants as a starter, pitching two shutouts in his first two major league games.[1] After spending most of the 1954 and 1955 seasons in the minor leagues, he became a full-time starter again in 1956. During 1957-58, he was used as a swingman, and by 1959 he was almost exclusively used out of the bullpen. After successive transactions between the Giants, Red Sox, White Sox and Reds, Worthington landed in Minnesota. In 1965 he posted career-highs in saves (21) and ERA (2.13), and also won 10 games. From 1966 to 1967 he saved 32 games, and in 1968 he led the league relievers with 18 saves. In a 14-year career, Worthington compiled a 75–82 record with 834 strikeouts, a 3.39 ERA, and 110 saves in 1,246.2 innings pitched.

Worthington continued with his career in baseball after his retirement as a player by accepting the head coaching position at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty's former baseball venue was named after him.[2] In 1980, Worthington managed the Falmouth Commodores, a collegiate summer baseball team in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League.[3] He led the Commodores to the league title with a team featuring future major leaguers Steve Lombardozzi and Sid Bream.[4] In May 2011, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

See also

References
  1. 1953 game log
  2. "Al Worthington (Baseball Coach: 1974-86/Athletics Director: 1983-89)". Liberty Flames. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  3. "Cape League opens season on June 13". Barnstable Patriot. Barnstable, MA. May 29, 1980. p. 10.
  4. "History of the Commodores". falmouthcommodores.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
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