rico43
<B>Director of Minor League Reports</B>
Richie never appeared on a card for the Braves. This is from my 1966 project elsewhere on this site.
Jay Ritchie, who pitched for the Atlanta Braves during their inaugual 1966 season, passed away January 5, 2016, at age 80.
After leading the Red Sox staff in ERA in 1965, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves as they prepared for their inaugural campaign following their much-anticipated move from Milwaukee. Ritchie led the Braves in appearances in 1967, and concluded his major-league career as a member of the Cincinnati Reds in 1968.
After pitching for Caracas in the Venezuelan winter league in 1965-66, Ritchie reported to Braves at spring training as the club prepared for its inaugural season in Atlanta and the introduction of major-league baseball to the Southeast. While manager Bobby Bragan considered Ritchie a “borderline” player, pitching coach Whit Wyatt was more effusive in his assessment of Ritchie’s value to the staff: “Jay is the kind of pitcher who can really give us a lift.”4 Notwithstanding Whitlow’s praise, Ritchie was optioned to Atlanta’s new Triple-A affiliate, the Richmond Braves (International League), to start the 1966 season. “You are always disappointed, but you try to improve and bounce back. I didn’t pitch any differently,” said the pitcher. Ritchie turned in his best year in baseball with Richmond, appearing in 43 games and carving out a microscopic 1.73 ERA in 73 innings. “I was with Phil Niekro and Pat Jarvis. We were brought up together and Niekro went on to win over 300 games,” said Ritchie with his understated humor.
Ritchie debuted as a member of the Braves on July 28 at Atlanta Stadium. He pitched three scoreless innings and recorded four strikeouts in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
“It was different for me playing in the South,” remembered Ritchie. “I was closer to home and my family was only four hours away. Atlanta fans were great. They enjoyed baseball and they drew well, too.”
In just his third game as a Brave, Ritchie made national headlines in a game against the San Francisco Giants on July 31 with the help of a widely syndicated UPI photo.5 “My most memorable game was when I picked Willie Mays off first base,” said Ritchie with a chuckle. In the seventh inning, the slender pitcher made a quick throw to first baseman Felipe Alou and caught Mays (whom he had walked) off-guard. Embarrassed by his lapse in concentration, Mays protested to first-base umpire John Kibler to no avail. Ritchie earned saves in four consecutive appearances in early September as part of a stretch of 12⅔ consecutive scoreless innings over eight outings from August 23 to September 10; prompting The Sporting News to predict that he, Niekro, and Clay Carroll would serve as the nucleus of the Braves’ bullpen for years to come.6 Ritchie finished the season 0-1 in 35⅓ innings, but a tough outing in his last game (six runs in 1⅔ innings) bloated his otherwise impressive 2.67 ERA to a misleading 4.09 mark.
With Niekro’s elevation to the starting rotation in midseason of 1967, Ritchie proved to be the Braves’ most consistent and effective reliever. He led the team in appearances (52), logged a career-high 82⅓ innings, and his 3.17 ERA was considerably better than the 3.84 league average. Over a stretch of six appearances in May, Ritchie tossed 11⅔ hitless innings, including retiring 28 consecutive batters.
“It was hot in Atlanta, but I was used to the heat,” said Ritchie, who looked back fondly at his time with the Braves and his friendships. “In the bullpen we talked about hitters and what they could and could not hit. But a lot of that stuff you had to find out on your own. Some pitchers can’t pitch the same way you could.”
Just nine days after the conclusion of the 1967 regular season, Ritchie was traded to the Cincinnati Reds along with utilityman Jim Beauchamp and slugging outfielder Mack Jones for the versatile Deron Johnson.
“A trade like that to the Reds is just something I didn’t understand,” said Ritchie honestly. “I enjoyed it with the Reds. Manager Dave Bristol was a young guy, and a North Carolina boy like me. I think he had something to do with my trade, but I am not sure. They got me, Clay Carroll, and Ted Abernathy from Atlanta.” [
Jay Ritchie, who pitched for the Atlanta Braves during their inaugual 1966 season, passed away January 5, 2016, at age 80.
After leading the Red Sox staff in ERA in 1965, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves as they prepared for their inaugural campaign following their much-anticipated move from Milwaukee. Ritchie led the Braves in appearances in 1967, and concluded his major-league career as a member of the Cincinnati Reds in 1968.
After pitching for Caracas in the Venezuelan winter league in 1965-66, Ritchie reported to Braves at spring training as the club prepared for its inaugural season in Atlanta and the introduction of major-league baseball to the Southeast. While manager Bobby Bragan considered Ritchie a “borderline” player, pitching coach Whit Wyatt was more effusive in his assessment of Ritchie’s value to the staff: “Jay is the kind of pitcher who can really give us a lift.”4 Notwithstanding Whitlow’s praise, Ritchie was optioned to Atlanta’s new Triple-A affiliate, the Richmond Braves (International League), to start the 1966 season. “You are always disappointed, but you try to improve and bounce back. I didn’t pitch any differently,” said the pitcher. Ritchie turned in his best year in baseball with Richmond, appearing in 43 games and carving out a microscopic 1.73 ERA in 73 innings. “I was with Phil Niekro and Pat Jarvis. We were brought up together and Niekro went on to win over 300 games,” said Ritchie with his understated humor.
Ritchie debuted as a member of the Braves on July 28 at Atlanta Stadium. He pitched three scoreless innings and recorded four strikeouts in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
“It was different for me playing in the South,” remembered Ritchie. “I was closer to home and my family was only four hours away. Atlanta fans were great. They enjoyed baseball and they drew well, too.”
In just his third game as a Brave, Ritchie made national headlines in a game against the San Francisco Giants on July 31 with the help of a widely syndicated UPI photo.5 “My most memorable game was when I picked Willie Mays off first base,” said Ritchie with a chuckle. In the seventh inning, the slender pitcher made a quick throw to first baseman Felipe Alou and caught Mays (whom he had walked) off-guard. Embarrassed by his lapse in concentration, Mays protested to first-base umpire John Kibler to no avail. Ritchie earned saves in four consecutive appearances in early September as part of a stretch of 12⅔ consecutive scoreless innings over eight outings from August 23 to September 10; prompting The Sporting News to predict that he, Niekro, and Clay Carroll would serve as the nucleus of the Braves’ bullpen for years to come.6 Ritchie finished the season 0-1 in 35⅓ innings, but a tough outing in his last game (six runs in 1⅔ innings) bloated his otherwise impressive 2.67 ERA to a misleading 4.09 mark.
With Niekro’s elevation to the starting rotation in midseason of 1967, Ritchie proved to be the Braves’ most consistent and effective reliever. He led the team in appearances (52), logged a career-high 82⅓ innings, and his 3.17 ERA was considerably better than the 3.84 league average. Over a stretch of six appearances in May, Ritchie tossed 11⅔ hitless innings, including retiring 28 consecutive batters.
“It was hot in Atlanta, but I was used to the heat,” said Ritchie, who looked back fondly at his time with the Braves and his friendships. “In the bullpen we talked about hitters and what they could and could not hit. But a lot of that stuff you had to find out on your own. Some pitchers can’t pitch the same way you could.”
Just nine days after the conclusion of the 1967 regular season, Ritchie was traded to the Cincinnati Reds along with utilityman Jim Beauchamp and slugging outfielder Mack Jones for the versatile Deron Johnson.
“A trade like that to the Reds is just something I didn’t understand,” said Ritchie honestly. “I enjoyed it with the Reds. Manager Dave Bristol was a young guy, and a North Carolina boy like me. I think he had something to do with my trade, but I am not sure. They got me, Clay Carroll, and Ted Abernathy from Atlanta.” [