THE SURPRISING CLEVENGER
The Record Didn't Show His Best Asset - Heart
"If you were a scout and you were going to choose between two pitchers- one with a good record and one with a bad one- which would you pick? Easy, you say. May so, maybe not. You don't always pick the boy with the glittering record. Here's a case in point. In 1952 Clem Labine, a Brooklyn pitcher, was optioned to St. Paul. He hardly distinguished himself with an 0-1 record and an earned run mark of 5.14.
Now there was another boy who had a great record. When the time came for Brooklyn to call up a pitcher, Johnny Corriden, then a Dodger scout, recommended Labine over the boy with an impressive record.
Chuck Dressen was managing Brooklyn then and respected Corriden's judgment.
'Why did you pick Labine?' Dressen asked.
'Because he has more heart than the other kid and will go a longer way,' Corriden answered.
He was right.
When Cookie Lavagetto was a rookie with Pittsburgh, he was eager to learn the game. He went to each of the five starting pitchers and asked them what they threw in a tough situation- what was the big pitch for each.
Four of the pitchers told him: 'We'll throw what the catcher calls. The fifth pitcher, who was Red Lucas, said: 'I'll call my own pitch. This is my record, not the catcher's. If I make the mistake, I want it to be all mine.'
When the Senators were calling up pitchers from the minors last spring, the name of Truman Clevenger was high on the list. This was strange because he had a terrible record of 2-11 at Louisville.
When cutdown time came, Clevenger was retained while another pitcher, who had compiled a sparkling record in the minors, was sold. Why?
Clevenger has heart, Dressen said. 'He's a kid who won't quit. I like kids like that.'
Dressen has turned out to be quite a prophet. From an obscure pitcher, Clevenger has become a big man of the staff.
What did he think of his sudden success? 'I guess it's all due to confidence,' Clevenger said. 'It's that simple. You start getting somebody out and if you start getting that somebody out frequently, it does something for your confidence. You begin to be calculating where before you felt like a dart-board.'
Clevenger is a handsome young man of 24 who looks faintly like an Indian brave. He has coal-black hair, dark eyes and a set of choppers that gleam like piano keys.
He was born and raised in Visalia, California, about 30 miles from Fresno. His dad owns an 80-acre ranch on which he grows oranges and peaches. Truman has worked there since he was a small boy and, in fact, some day intends to own a ranch himself.
He attended Fresno State College until recently. He needs only another semester for his degree. He's majoring in agriculture.
'I've got to be careful that I don't get lazy,' Clevenger says. 'It means something to have that degree. But I'm married and I have a small daughter and what with the family and my getting back late last year I dropped out temporarily. But I'll be back.'
How did he get the name Truman? Is it a family name? 'No,' he says, 'and I don't know how that happened and I'm not young enough that I can say my folks named me after Harry Truman because he didn't become President until 1945 and I was 12 years old then.'
Getting back to his pitching, Clevenger says the more he pitches the stronger his arm seems to get.
'One thing that I did get from going to the minors,' he says, 'and that was a chance to experiment. I got myself a good change-up. I always did have a good slider and I could throw my curve hard with the same motion I threw my fast ball. Something happened to my delivery after 1953. I was throwing more sidearm instead of three-quarters or full. I got back to that style and I found I could throw better.
'I really don't know what to say about my so-called success. I like to pitch and I'm ambitious enough to feel flattered that people are starting to notice me now.
'I always wanted to be a big league pitcher but it looked a long way from my talents. I hope I stick around for a while.' "
-Bob Addie, Washington Post (Baseball Digest, August 1957)
"Workhorse of the [Washington] staff is Truman (Tex) Clevenger, whose 50 games as starter and reliever in 1959 was the club high. Born in Visalia, California, Tex got his nickname from his deep bass singing voice. But he was strictly 'in tune' last year with an 8-5 mark and a 3.91 ERA.
Tex earned his start with the Red Sox in '54 and joined the Senators in '56. He now has a 26-24 lifetime [record], which are pretty good figures for a fellow with a low echelon team."
-Don Schiffer, 1960 Mutual Baseball Annual
Rated among the real 'stoppers' in the league is this right-handed relief ace with the big curve. Clevenger never had a losing season in Washington until 1960 when he won five and dropped 11.
Born in Visalia, California, he was with the Red Sox in 1954 and was considered a top prospect. Dealt to the Senators in '56, Clevenger has shaken off his early wildness. He now has a 31-35 lifetime figure."
-Don Schiffer, Major League Baseball Handbook 1961
"In the last four complete seasons with the old Washington Senators, Tex Clevenger pitched in a total of 210 American League games, leading the league with 55 in 1958. You guessed it! Clevenger is that peculiar brand of pitcher known in the trade as a relief specialist.
It was in just that category that the Yankees traded for Tex early this season. Now he is teaming up with Luis Arroyo and Hal Reniff as the 'short' and 'late' relief men on the Yankees' staff. It took Tex a while to adjust himself to pitching for a contending club, where every pitch figures in the pennant race, but of late he has been showing the promise for which he was acquired. A native of California, Clevenger did not mind being traded away from Los Angeles for a chance at World Series gold and glamour."
-The New York Yankees Official 1961 Yearbook
Truman Eugene Clevenger (P) #26
Born July 9, 1932 in Visalia, California, resides in Ivanhoe, California. Height: 6-2, weight: 190. Bats right, throws right.
Married and father of Jeanette (7) and Martin (3).
-The New York Yankees Official 1961 Yearbook
"In his last four complete seasons with the old Washington Senators, Tex Clevenger, 6-2, 190-pound right-hander, pitched a total of 210 American League games, leading the league with 55 in 1958. He averaged better than 52 appearances per season.
The 29-year-old Clevenger is that peculiar brand of pitcher known in the trade as a relief specialist, and is an effective relief man. It was in just that category that the Yankees traded for him early in the 1961 season. A native of California, Clevenger did not mind being traded away from Los Angeles for World Series gold and glamour. He is in his first World Series.
He broke into pro ball in 1953 with San Jose where he won 16 and lost 2. Tex is married and lives in Ivanhoe with his wife and kids."
-1961 World Series Official Souvenir Program
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