Peter Joel Craig (born July 10,1940) is a Canadian former professional baseball player. He pitched in six games in Major League Baseball,four as a starter,over parts of three seasons (1964–1966) for the Washington Senators. He also pitched in the minor leagues from 1963 to 1967. Craig batted left-handed,threw right-handed,stood 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall and weighed 220 lb (100 kg).
Born in LaSalle,Ontario,Craig attended Assumption College School,where he failed three times to make the school's baseball team. [1] He attended college at the University of Detroit Mercy,where he spent three years pitching for the Detroit Mercy Titans. In his first varsity start on April 15,1961,he pitched a seven-inning no-hitter against Olivet College. [2] He finished his college career with a 20-4 win–loss record and a school-record 219 strikeouts. [3] [4]
Craig was signed as an amateur free agent by the Detroit Tigers on June 13,1963,for about $13,000 and was assigned to the Class A Duluth-Superior Dukes of the Northern League. [5] [6] He pitched a complete game,one-hitter against the Winnipeg Goldeyes on July 21. [7] After Duluth-Superior won the Northern League championship,Craig was promoted to the Double-A Knoxville Smokies in late August. [8] He finished the 1963 season with a 8–6 record and 2.32 earned run average across both leagues,with his 2.51 mark with Duluth-Superior the lowest in the Northern League. [9] [10] In April 1964,he was claimed by the Washington Senators for $8,000. [11] In 28 games with the Rocky Mount Senators in 1964,he led the league with 20 complete games and 208 innings pitched and was named a Carolina League all-star. [12]
Craig was called up to the Senators on September 3,1964,and made his major league debut on September 6 against the Tigers. [13] [14] He allowed four earned runs in 1.0 innings in his debut,and would make one more appearance on October 4. In a start against the Boston Red Sox,he yielded five runs and issued three base on balls in 0.2 innings. [15] [16]
In April 1965,the Senators sent Craig down to the Triple-A Hawaii Islanders. [17] After going 14-11 for Hawaii,he was recalled to Washington on September 4. [18] [19] He started and lost all three games that he appeared in,allowing 13 earned runs in 14.1 innings and striking out two batters. [20] He won 14 minor league games for the third-straight season in 1966 before being recalled on September 6,1966. [21] Craig appeared in one major league game that month,pitching 2.0 innings against the Chicago White Sox on September 24. [22] He began the 1967 season with the Indianapolis Indians before rejoining the Islanders on July 11. [23] [24] Craig quit baseball after the 1967 season and worked at a bank in North Carolina. [25]