Former Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star pitcher Bob Veale of Birmingham, Alabama passed away on Sunday at the age of 89 according to legacy.com on Tuesday. The cause of death is unknown.
Who has Veale pitched for?
Veale pitched 14 seasons of Major League Baseball. He was with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1962 to 1972, and then three seasons with the Boston Red Sox from 1972 to 1974.
Veale’s MLB career statistics
Veale had a record of 120 wins and 95 losses with an earned run average of 3.07. During 1926 innings pitched and 397 games, he gave up 1684 hits, 658 earned runs, 91 home runs, and 858 walks, to go along with 1703 strikeouts, 78 complete games, 20 shutouts, 21 saves, and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.32.
Veale’s All-Star seasons
Veale was an All-Star with the Pirates in 1965 and 1966. In 1965, Veale had a record of 17 wins and 12 losses with an earned run average of 2.84. During 39 games and 266 innings pitched, he gave up 221 hits, 84 earned runs, five home runs, and had 276 strikeouts, 14 complete games, seven shutouts, and a WHIP of 1.28. In 1966, Veale had a record of 16 wins and 12 losses with an earned run average of 3.02. During 38 games and 268 1/3 innings pitched, he gave up 228 hits, 90 earned runs, 18 home runs, 102 walks, to go along with 229 strikeouts, 12 complete games, three shutouts, and a WHIP of 1.23.
MLB strikeout leader
Veale led Major League Baseball with 250 strikeouts in 1964, but was not an All-Star. Interestingly, he had 276 strikeouts in 1965, but did not lead the National League in strikeouts.
Issues with control
Veale led Major League Baseball with 124 walks in 1964. He then led the National League in walks (119 in 1965 and 1967, and 94 in 1968).
World Series Champion
Veale was part of the Pirates team that won the 1971 World Series. The Pirates beat the Baltimore Orioles in seven games. In limited work, Veale had control issues in game two of the world series as he gave up two walks in two thirds of an inning.
