Carlton Willey Dies At 78

Carlton Willey died last Monday with lung cancer complications at the age of 78 and was a former major league pitcher who won the NL Rookie of the Year Award In 1958.

 

Carlton Willey died last Monday of complications from lung cancer at the age of 78.

Willey was voted the NL Rookie of the Year for 1958. He pitched a scoreless inning in the World Series in the Braves loss to the Yankees in the World Series.

He was pitching a shutout on the same day that his teammate Jimmy Piersall hit his 100th home run of his career and celebrated the occasion by running the bases facing backwards.

Willey hit the first home run hit by a Mets pitcher in another game later that season. The Houston Colt 45’s had walked the previous hitter to pitch to the supposedly weak hitting Willey. Their plans backfired when Willey hit a grand slam.

He retired in 1965 with a 38-58 record and a 3.76 ERA. His 9-7 record when he won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1958 was his only winning season in his eight major league seasons.

Willey had one hit in 54 at-bats in 1961 for a .019 batting average.

He did lead the NL in shutouts in 1958 with four.

He was a native of Cherryfield, ME.