And at the End of 75 innings, No Score

Or
Score-ing Drought

Or
Score Bored
Former Cleveland Indians pitcher Herb Score, whose career-ending injury helped kick off the Indians’ 38-year rebuilding program, has died at the age of 75. After going 16-10 with a 2.85 ERA and striking out a record 245 batters as a rookie in 1955, Score’s 1956 included a 20-9 record, 2.53 ERA, 263 strikeouts, while he allowed just 5.85 hits per 9 innings. In both seasons, with Score joined in the rotation by Bob Feller and Bob Lemon, the Indians finished second behind the Yankees. Before the 1957 season, the Red Sox tried to buy Score for $1 million, when entire franchises were going for $4 million. Then in May 1957, the Yankees silenced the threat, when a line drive by Gil McDougald hit him in the face, breaking his nose and a number of bones in his face. Although he regained 20/20 vision, he got gun-shy and was never the same pitcher, and he went 19-27 for the rest of his career, while the Indians managed one second place finish over the next 38 years.