Lindy McDaniel


Lyndall Dale McDaniel, known as Lindy is a right-handed former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who had a 21-year career from 1955 to 1975. During McDaniel's career he witnessed approximately 3,500 major league games, had more than 300 teammates, and played under eight different managers. He attended the University of Oklahoma and Abilene Christian College, then played with the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and San Francisco Giants, all of the National League, and the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals, both of the American League.

Baseball career

McDaniel was named to the National League All-Star team in 1960. He led the league in saves in 1959, 1960, and 1963. He was named The Sporting News Reliever of the Year for the National League in 1960 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, and in 1963 as a member of the Chicago Cubs.
With the New York Yankees in 1970, McDaniel amassed a career high 29 saves, tying the franchise record set by Luis Arroyo in 1961.
His brother Von was also a major league pitcher. His other brother, Kerry, played in the minor leagues.

Career highlights

Over a four-game span, McDaniel retired 32 straight hitters in August 1968. In one of those games, he pitched 7 perfect innings against the Detroit Tigers. In 1973, he entered the game in the first inning against the Tigers in Detroit and pitched 13 innings, giving up one run and winning the game 2-1. McDaniel pitched in 225 consecutive games in the National League without committing an error, a record.
He considers his top overall year as 1960 with the St. Louis Cardinals when he logged a 12-2 mark in relief with 22 saves and an ERA of 1.29 while being named to the National League All-Star team. He earned Fireman of the Year honors, while finishing third for the Cy Young Award and fifth in MVP voting, both his highest placings. He ranks his next best year as 1970 with the Yankees when he was 9-5 with a career high 29 saves and 2.01 ERA, followed by the 1963 season when he was 13-7 with 21 saves and a 2.86 ERA.
McDaniel won Fireman of the Year honors in 1960 and 1963. He also led the National League in relief pitching in 1959, but that was the year before the first Fireman of the Year award was presented. With nine saves and a 0.74 ERA, McDaniel was named the Player of the Month for June 1960.
McDaniel holds the MLB record for most batters faced in the eighth inning over his career.