A Look at Dominating Phillies Pitching Performances: Jim Konstanty, the 1950 NL MVP



When you think of great Philadelphia Phillies pitchers, certain names come to mind right away.  They are certainly the trio of Hall of Fame pitchers who have had their numbers retired, Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts and Jim Bunning.  I am sure some of you think of the more recent dominating Phillies arms, like Cole Hammels, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.  If you reach back twenty years, you can come up with Curt Schilling and Terry Mulholland.  Still more of you can remember the likes of Jim Kaat and Chris Short.

But who can remember the only relief pitcher to win the National League Most Valuable Player award?  For that, you have to reach back to the 1950 Whiz Kids, and a former Phys Ed teacher named Jim Konstanty.

Hailing from Strykersville, NY, Konstanty was a sports star in his high school and with Syracuse University.  Signed by the Reds, Konstanty played three seasons with their AA affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs, until he was called up in 1944.   That year, he went 6-4, with an ERA of 2.80.  Konstanty played one year with the Braves and then lingered in AA with the Toronto Maple Leafs until the Phillies acquired him in 1948.

Pitching in seventy-four games in 1950, at that time a record, Konstanty posted an ERA of 2.66.  He won sixteen games that year and earned twenty-two saves.  And this was in an era when teams did not employ a specialist to come in the game in the ninth inning as their closer.  Konstanty was one of the main reasons the Phillies won the National League pennant and the right to challenge the Yankees in the World Series.

With starter Curt Simmons called to active duty during the Korean War, Phillies skipper Eddie Sawyer trusted Konstanty with starting game one of the World Series in Shibe Park.  Konstanty pitched eight innings, giving up only one run.  But the Yankees blanked the Phils 1-0.  Konstanty then appeared in relief in two of the remaining three games, pitching 6 2/3 innings in game four.  In total, Konstanty posted a 2.40 ERA over fifteen innings in three games.

Konstanty pitched for the Phils until 1954, when he was claimed off waivers by the Yankees.  He never returned to the dominating performance of 1950, and was eventually signed by the Cardinals for his last season of 1956.

But die-hard Phillies fans will remember Konstanty as a key piece to the 1950 Whiz kids, only the second Phillies team to win the National League pennant.

By:  William J. Kovatch, Jr.

References

Baseball Almanac, "Jim Konstanty World Series Stats," http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/playerpost.php?p=konstji01&ps=ws.

Baseball-Reference.com, "1950 World Series," http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1950_WS.shtml.

Baseball-Reference.com, "Casimir James Konstanty," http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/konstji01.shtml.

Ralph Berger, "Jim Konstanty," Society for American Baseball Research, http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ad95bdcc.


 

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