YOUR 1966 BRAVES: #20 Clay Carroll

#20 CLAY CARROLL
Right-handed Pitcher/Closer

What went before: The pride of Clanton, Ala., this was definitely a Southern boy coming home. Signed in 1961 at the age of 20, there was little indication he'd be the door-slamming closer. As he went through the Braves's system 103 of his 140 appearances were starts. And except for a 14-7 season in Boise in 1962, he was never more than a .500 pitcher who gave up home runs by the bunches.
http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/...psoslahmbi.jpg
But something clicked. As a starter for the '65 Atlanta Crackers, he lowered his ERA to 2.42 even with a losing record. Coming up with a curve and a change to set up his fastball, he was ready to be effective.

That 1966 season: Carroll contributed one of the damndest seasons no Braves fan has seemed to remember. His first full MLB season, all he did was lead the NL with 73 appearances, all but three in, relief. He went 8-7 with 11 saves, but pitched a mind-blowing 144 innings, striking out just 67 but allowing only 127 hits, leaving him with a sterling 2.37 ERA.

What happened next: He was called on to do roughly the same in 1967, but not surprisingly (in hindsight), he wasn't the same. He was only 6-12, 5.52 and fell short of 100 innings. Remarkably, he was able to bounce back in '68 with another 144-inning output, but the Braves had already moved on to Cecil Upshaw as their closer and sent him to the Reds in a shocking midseason trade along with former ace Tony Cloninger and starting shortstop Woody Woodward in exchange for starter Milt Pappas, utilityman Bob Johnson and reliever Ted Davidson.
With the Reds, he became one of the best closers ever to that point. He made the all-star team in 1971 and 72, and set was then the single-season save record of 37. By the time he was traded away due to a contract dispute following the 1975 season, he had established the Reds' all-time saves record (broken by John Franco). He still had enough in the tank at age 36 in 1977 to appear in 59 games with a 2.75 ERA, but the following year, he had to gamely return to the minors in order to make a few late-season appearances for the Pirates. In 1979, he was released from the Brewers' Class AAA club after only 12 appearances to end his excellent career.
He was named to the Reds Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
But in 1985, Carroll's life took a sharp downward turn. In what was termed a domestic dispute, his 26-year-old stepson shot and killed his wife Frances and his 11-year-old son Brett and badly wounded Carroll in the head while they watched television in their Bradenton, Fla., home. Stephen Nowitzke (who also killed the family dog) was eventually given a life sentence. Carroll physically recovered and later moved to Chattanooga, where he and his family still reside.