Carlton Willey: Former Early Sixties Mets Pitcher (1963 - 1965)
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In his small town his graduating class had just 13 kids in the class. He played baseball every chance he could, even using rocks as bases.
After serving two years in the United States Army Carlton was back in baseball by 1955. In 1957 at AA Wichita he led the American Association with 21 wins (21-6) winning the MVP award there. The Sporting News voted him the Top Prospect entering the 1958 season.
MLB Career: On April 30th 1958, Willey debuted in a loss to the Cubs pitching in a 7th inning relief appearance. His career began making three relief appearances before getting into the starting rotation.
Seven Game Win Streak: From July 22nd thru August 15th, Willey went on a seven game win streak, where he threw two shut outs & four complete games with a 1.05 ERA in that stretch. On August 2nd, he shut out the Giants for the second time on the season with a four hitter. On August 15th, Willey beat the Phillies Robin Roberts in a 1-0 game allowing six hits.
During the rest of the season he went 1-4 as the Braves went on to win their second straight NL Pennant.
1958 World Series: In the Game #5 loss, Carlton pitched a scoreless 8th inning of relief, striking out two.
Honors: He was voted top Rookie Pitcher by the
Sporting News. He was lined up to be in the rotation behind Hall of Famer Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette & Bob Buhl for years to come but unfortunately he never matched the same level of effectiveness again.
In 1959 he started out at 3-1 but soon suffered a four game losing streak & eventually was pitching out of the bullpen. He went 5-9 with a 4.15 ERA on the season.
In 1961 he posted the best ERA since his rookie year (3.83) going 6-12. The next year he was 2-5 in 30 appearances making just six starts for the fifth place Braves. Being a reliever & sitting on the bench frustrated Willey & he demanded a trade. In five seasons with the Milwaukee Braves he went 28-40 with a 3.94 ERA.
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In 28 games he allowed two runs or less in 14 of his starts, proving lack of run support was a big reason for his bad record. He struck out 101 batters in 183 innings pitched allowing 69 walks while throwing seven complete games.
1964: Willey was having a great Spring Training until big Gates Brown of the Detroit Tigers hit a line drive that hit him in his face, fracturing his jaw. Willey didn’t return to action until June, then developed a sore arm. He only pitched in 14 games making three starts going 0-2.
Willey was never able to regain form & 1965 would be his last season in the big leagues. In 13 games with the Mets he was 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA. He spent most of the year at AAA Buffalo going 2-9.
Quotes- Carl Willey: "Oh God, I loved 'em, I loved the Mets. It was a great club to play for. I
didn't want to be traded to New York but now I'm glad I was because its the best place to play in the world. The fans know baseball. We were all a good family. We'd go up the ball park & see how we were going to lose. We were kind of loose about it, we had to be there's not much we could do about that".
Career Stats: In his eight year career Willey went 38-58 with 493 strike outs, 326 walks, 11 shut outs & 28 complete games over 875 innings. He posted a 3.76 ERA in 199 games pitched.
He continued to live in the state of Maine. He was famous for telling old baseball stories with a group of old friends until the final healthy days of his life.
Passing: On July 21st, 2009, Carlton passed away at age 78 in his hometown of Cherryfield, Maine. Saturday July 25th 2009 was officially Carl Willey day in Maine.
Honors: He was voted top Rookie Pitcher by the
Sporting News. He was lined up to be in the rotation behind Hall of Famer Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette & Bob Buhl for years to come but unfortunately he never matched the same level of effectiveness again.
In 1961 he posted the best ERA since his rookie year (3.83) going 6-12. The next year he was 2-5 in 30 appearances making just six starts for the fifth place Braves. Being a reliever & sitting on the bench frustrated Willey & he demanded a trade. In five seasons with the Milwaukee Braves he went 28-40 with a 3.94 ERA.
Mets Career: In March 1963 his contract was purchased by the New York Mets.
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On April 11th, Willey made his Mets debut finishing off a 6-1 loss to his former Braves in Milwaukee.
Shut Out: On April 24th, he made his first Mets start, pitching a 2-0 three hit shutout over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He became the first Met right hander in franchise history to toss a shutout.
Willey began May pitching two complete game victories beating the Giants & Reds getting to 3-1 with a 1.52 ERA. which was pretty good on that staff.
Willey began May pitching two complete game victories beating the Giants & Reds getting to 3-1 with a 1.52 ERA. which was pretty good on that staff.
Shut Outs: On May 18th, after taking a loss at Houston, he shut out the Giants in San Francisco with a three hit five strike outs performance, lowering his ERA to a season beat 1.38.
On June 23rd in the first of a twin bill with the Phillies, he then tossed a two hit shut out, beating Dallas Green 2-0 at the Polo Grounds getting his record back even at 6-6.
Grand Slam HR: On July 15th, Willey had his career highlight coming at the Polo Grounds in when he hit a 2nd inning, grand slam HR off the Colt 45's Ken Johnson while earning the victory in the 14-5 Mets win snapping a dreadful 15 game losing streak. His dad was in attendance that day delighted at Carlton's big game. The kid who caught the ball actually tracked down Mr. Willey to give him the ball after the game. Carl cherished the moment & kept the base ball his whole life. It was one of six hits he had that year & the only extra base hit of his Mets career.
On August 24th after having lost three straight games, we pitched his fourth shut out of the season, beating the Cubs at Wrigley Field with a 5-0 six hit victory.
Willey finished the year at 9-14 (second most wins on the staff) while leading the club in ERA (3.10) & shut outs (4).
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In 28 games he allowed two runs or less in 14 of his starts, proving lack of run support was a big reason for his bad record. He struck out 101 batters in 183 innings pitched allowing 69 walks while throwing seven complete games.1964: Willey was having a great Spring Training until big Gates Brown of the Detroit Tigers hit a line drive that hit him in his face, fracturing his jaw. Willey didn’t return to action until June, then developed a sore arm. He only pitched in 14 games making three starts going 0-2.
Willey was never able to regain form & 1965 would be his last season in the big leagues. In 13 games with the Mets he was 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA. He spent most of the year at AAA Buffalo going 2-9.
On September 25th, in a the night cap of a double header split at Philadelphia, he got his last career win came with a complete game 4-1 victory on the final day of the season.
didn't want to be traded to New York but now I'm glad I was because its the best place to play in the world. The fans know baseball. We were all a good family. We'd go up the ball park & see how we were going to lose. We were kind of loose about it, we had to be there's not much we could do about that".
Career Stats: In his eight year career Willey went 38-58 with 493 strike outs, 326 walks, 11 shut outs & 28 complete games over 875 innings. He posted a 3.76 ERA in 199 games pitched.
In his Mets career Met he was 10-18 with a 3.76 ERA, batting .195 with one HR & five RBIs.
Retirement: After his playing days, Willey spent some time as a scout, then retired from the game.
He also worked as a probation officer, sold Christmas trees, managed a blueberry freezing plant & ran a painting business with his son.
Family: Carl married his high school sweetheart Nancy (Higgins), together they had two children.
Passing: On July 21st, 2009, Carlton passed away at age 78 in his hometown of Cherryfield, Maine. Saturday July 25th 2009 was officially Carl Willey day in Maine.