Minor leagues
In 1958,Siebert signed with the Cleveland Indians as a free agent outfielder. [2] He played in lower-level minor leagues and suffered an injury in 1959,causing him to miss considerable time. Two years into his minor league career,Indians minor league pitching coach Spud Chandler convinced Siebert to try pitching. [5] [2] Chandler himself had been an all-star pitcher for the New York Yankees,with a lifetime 109-43 record and 2.84 Earned Run Average (ERA). [6] Earlier in Siebert's life,his father told Siebert not to become a pitcher. His father had been a hard throwing pitcher as a young man and injured his arm preparing for a major league tryout,losing the opportunity to audition for Rogers Hornsby and the St. Louis Cardinals years earlier. [2]
During this period,the NBA's St. Louis Hawks asked Siebert to try out for the team for the 1959-60 season. Siebert participated in the Hawks training camp for two-three weeks,but chose baseball. [2]
Siebert was in the Indian minor league system from 1958 to 1963. His best year was 1962,pitching for Charleston in the Eastern League,Single-A baseball,where he had a record of 15-8 with a 2.91 ERA. [7]
Major leagues
Siebert made his major league debut in 1964,pitching in 41 games for Cleveland,starting in 14 games. He had a 7–9 record with a 3.23 ERA. In 1965 and 1966 he had identical 16–8 win–loss records,with 2.43 and 2.80 ERAs respectively. [8] Not long after conferring with pitching coach Early Wynn (himself a hall of fame pitcher [9] ),on June 10,1966,Siebert pitched a no-hitter against the Washington Senators. [5]
In those years with Cleveland,the starting pitching staff also included lifetime 229 game winner and hall of fame candidate Luis Tiant [10] [11] and "Sudden" Sam McDowell,who was considered to be the most talented pitcher in baseball (though not the winningest). [12] [13] [14] In 1965,McDowell and Siebert ranked 1st and 3rd in ERA for the American League (Tiant was 25th); [15] in 1966,Siebert and McDowell ranked 7th and 8th in ERA for the American League (their teammates Steve Hargan and Gary Bell being 3rd and 14th); [16] and in 1967,Siebert and Tiant ranked 3rd and 10th. [17]
Although ranking third in ERA for the second time in three years,Siebert's 1967 record was 10-12. In 1968,he had a 12–10 record. This was his final full year in Cleveland. [8] He was traded along with Joe Azcue and Vicente Romo from the Indians to the Boston Red Sox for Ken Harrelson,Dick Ellsworth,and Juan Pizarro on April 19,1969. [18] Siebert spent all or part of five seasons with the Red Sox [8] and was named an All-Star in 1971. [19] Siebert was the most recent American League pitcher to hit two home runs in one game,until July 27,2023,when Shohei Ohtani matched him. [2] [20] Siebert accomplished the feat for the Red Sox on September 2,1971,against the Baltimore Orioles,before the introduction of the designated hitter. [21]
He was traded in 1973 to the Texas Rangers,and then played for the St. Louis Cardinals,San Diego Padres,and Oakland Athletics. [8] The Rangers traded him to the Cardinals for Tommy Cruz and cash on October 26,1973. [22] On September 11,1974,he was credited with the win in a 25-inning Cardinal win over the New York Mets. It is the second longest game in innings played in National League history. [23]
He was involved in a three-team deal on November 18,1974,in which he was dealt along with Alan Foster and Rich Folkers from the Cardinals to the Padres for Ed Brinkman who had been sent to San Diego with Bob Strampe and Dick Sharon from the Detroit Tigers for Nate Colbert. [24] Danny Breeden went from the Padres to the Cardinals to subsequently complete the transactions.
As a hitter,Siebert was an occasional home run threat. He posted a .173 batting average (114-for-660) with 52 runs,12 home runs and 57 RBI. In 1971,as a member of the Red Sox,he batted a career-high .266 (21-for-79) with 6 home runs and 15 RBI,also career highs. [8]
