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Milton Stephen (Milt) Pappas (born May 11, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. A 17-year veteran, he pitched for the Baltimore Orioles (1957-1965), Cincinnati Reds (1966-1968), Atlanta Braves (1968-1970) and Chicago Cubs (1970-1973). A control specialist, Pappas pitched in 520 games, starting 465, with 209 wins, 164 losses, 43 shutouts, 1728 strikeouts and a 3.40 ERA in 3186.0 innings pitched. Baltimore Orioles In 1957, as a senior in high school, Pappas was scouted by several teams, but signed with the Orioles at the suggestion of Hal Newhouser, a former star pitcher for the Detroit Tigers who lived in the Detroit area. Pappas signed for $4,000 and pitched only three games in the minor leagues before being called up in August. He made his Major League debut on August 10 in relief against the New York Yankees. In 1959 he made the Orioles’ starting rotation and began a streak of 11 consecutive double-digit win seasons with a 10-10 record. Even as a young pitcher, Pappas exhibited excellent control, never walking more than 83 batters in a season. Pappas soon became the ace of the Oriole’s staff, and was named an All-Star in 1962, pitching in both All-Star games (from 1959 to 1962, Major League Baseball had two All-Star games). He was also named starting pitcher in the 1965 All-Star Game. In each year from 1959 through 1965 Pappas never had a losing record, winning between 13 and 16 games. Cincinnati Reds In December of 1965 Pappas and another pitcher, Jack Baldschun, and outfielder Dick Simpson, were traded to the Cincinnati Reds for superstar Frank Robinson. Reds president Bill DeWitt believed that Robinson was "an old 30." The outrage from the Cincinnati fans over the deal made it difficult for Pappas to adjust to pitching in Cincinnati. He posted a winning record in 1966 (12-11), but his 4.29 ERA was the worst of his career. In 1967 he won a team- and career-high 16 games, but when he got off to a slow start the following year, the Reds traded him to the Atlanta Braves in a six-player deal. Two of the three players the Reds got in return were another starting pitcher, Tony Cloninger, and infielder Woody Woodward. Pappas's inconsistency during his stay in Cincinnati was only part of the reason the Reds traded him. After the 1966 season Pappas and veteran pitcher Joe Nuxhall exchanged harsh words through the media. Nuxhall claimed that Pappas was not giving 100 percent and that he had to start in place of Pappas twice during the season because Pappas was suffering from "migraines." The following season, Pappas complained that the Reds were violating the contracts of their players by not allowing them to fly first-class. He was especially upset that Nuxhall, by now a broadcaster, was himself flying first-class while Milt and the other players had to sit in tourist. In 1968, Pappas criticized the club when they refused to cancel a game the day of Senator Robert F. Kennedy's funeral. These controversies, combined with his performance, prompted the Reds to trade Pappas to Atlanta. Atlanta Braves Even in a much smaller ballpark (Fulton County Stadium), Pappas went 10-8 for the Braves with a 2.37 ERA. In 1969 injuries sidelined him for much of the first four months of the season, and he won only 6 games with 10 losses with a 3.62 ERA. Yet Atlanta won the NL West title, and Pappas finally achieved his goal of the post-season (Baltimore had won the 1966 World Series after trading Pappas during the 1965 off-season). In the playoffs against the New York Mets, Pappas made his only post-season appearance, allowing three runs in 3 innings in relief. Chicago Cubs In 1970 the Braves pulled Pappas from their rotation after only three starts, after he compiled a 6.06 ERA and allowed six home runs. On June 23 they traded him to the Chicago Cubs, where he got another chance to prove he was still a major league starter. Pappas posted a 7-2 record with a 2.36 ERA at home (while pitching in hitter-friendly Wrigley Field), and a 10-8 record with a 2.68 ERA overall. In both 1971 and 1972 he won 17 games with a 3.51 and 2.77 ERA respectively, the latter his best since his 2.60 in 1965, his last year in Baltimore. On September 2, 1972, at Wrigley Field, Pappas pitched a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres. He retired the first 26 batters and was one strike away from a perfect game with a 2-2 count on pinch-hitter Larry Stahl, but home-plate umpire Bruce Froemming, a rookie, called the next two pitches—both of which were close—balls. Undeterred, Pappas ended the game by retiring the next batter, ex-Cub Gary Jestadt. The no-hitter remains the last the Cubs have been involved in—either in pitching it or having it pitched against them. Eleven days after his no-hitter, he recorded his 200th career victory, also at Wrigley Field, defeating the Montreal Expos 6-2. In 1973 he won only 7 game with 12 losses and a 4.28 ERA. He did have one highlight that season, however: he surpassed the 207 career victories of Hal Newhouser, the man who scouted and signed him. Prior to the start of the 1974 season he was released by the Cubs. Personal tragedy On September 11, 1982, Pappas’s wife disappeared after leaving the couple’s home in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton. For five years, no sign was found of her car, clothing, or body. In 1987, almost five years to the day Mrs. Pappas disappeared, workers draining a shallow pond only four blocks from the Pappas home discovered the car Mrs. Pappas had been driving. Giving up Roger Maris's 59th home run in 1961 In 1998, as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa surpassed Roger Maris’s single season home run record, Pappas admitted that he threw nothing but fastballs to Maris in giving up Roger’s 59th home run in 1961. Pappas explained that he was upset that commissioner Ford Frick was planning to put an asterisk next to the new home run mark if Maris did not eclipse Babe Ruth’s 60 home runs in 1927 on or before the Yankees’ 154th game. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org"
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