YOUR 1966 BRAVES: #34 Cecil Upshaw
#34/52 CECIL UPSHAW
Right-handed Pitcher/Closer
What came before: An angular, 6-foot-6 product of northern Louisiana and Centenary College, for whom he starred in basketball as well as baseball, Upshaw was a man ahead of his time: a closer before saves were an official stat. His minor league totals are sadly incomplete, as SABR has yet to reconstruct relief appearances and Upshaw was born to be a closer.
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While he was leaned on as a starting during part of his stay with Class AA Austin, it was as a reliever he reached the majors and as a reliever made all of his 348 MLB appearances.
That 1966 season: After working 93 innings in 23 games (eight starts) for Richmond, Upshaw wascalled up and, as it turned out, had only one chance to make an impression, on Oct. 1, and he promised greatness. Called on in relief, all he did was work three hitless innings, walking three and striking out two to post a perfect 0.00 in his debut season.
What happened next: He did not earn his spot in the bullpen coming out of spring training of 1967, so he returned to Richmond to dominate Triple-A: 2-2, 2.16 but with his save total unrecorded. He was called up to stay in mid-July and put up eight saves while going 2-3 with a 2.58 ERA. But Clay Carroll was still the main man in the bullpen until his early-1968 deal to the Reds.
Upshaw was complemented by a former all-star, Claude “Frenchy” Raymond, acquired from from the Astros, but the sinkerballer was used plenty: 52 games, 8-7, 13 saves, 2.47 ERA. That workload increased, appearing 62 games, and his save total doubled, to 27 in 1969. He also worked all three games in the Braves’ shocking NLCS sweep by the Mets. He was named Rolaids’ Relief Man of the Year.
Poised to have a huge year in 1970, an impulsive moment changed his career. On April 8, walking down a San Diego street with teammates, he was challenged to reach up and make a slam dunk” move over a sidewalk awning. He took the dare, and easily made the leap, but his wedding ring hung on a piece of the support and nearly tore his finger from his hand, severing ligaments, nerves and the artery. It was widely speculated that he would be unable to pitch again, but he came out strong in 1971 with two wins and a save his first week of action. But he had become a curve ball pitcher; his sinker, he eventually discovered, had all but abandoned him. Manager Luman Harris was happy to have him in any way, shape or form and got two more productive seasons from him: 11-6, 3.51 with 17 saves in 49 games in ’71 and 13 more saves with a 3-5 record in ’72. But just that quickly, the knack was gone: Upshaw’s ERA was over 9.00 early in 1973 when he was dealt to the Astros for outfielder Norm Miller.
He provided the Astros with only one save, so he was on the move again in 1974, first to Cleveland (no saves in seven games), then the Yankees (where he recorded six saves, completing a killer bullpen that included Sparky Lyle and Dave Wallace, who were a combined 15-3 with 15 saves. But he was on the move again in '75, wrapping up his career with a 1-1, 3.23 showing with one save for the White Sox.
His 78 saves rank him sixth all-time in Braves history.
Upshaw died suddenly from a heart attack in suburban Lawrenceville in February of 1995, one day after his son, Lee, signed to pitch for the Braves as a strike replacement player. Cecil was 53.
