Appreciating all that makes America special

Sports: Satchel Paige

He had a quick wit, a great smile - and a blazing fastball. Uploaded by

How many baseball games did pitcher Satchel Paige win? A lot. But it’s impossible to know just how many. Paige would pitch for a team for several months, then in the middle of the season he’d be leased to another team. Or he’d decide he needed more money, and take another offer. He played for at least eight Negro League teams, three Major League squads, leagues in Cuba, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, and several minor leagues.

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He became the youngest “rookie” in Major League history when he signed with the Cleveland Indians on his 42nd birthday. (That year he went 6-1 with a 2.48 ERA.) These days, virtually no one pitches in the majors at age 42, but that demonstrates what a special talent Paige was. He’d already barnstormed with white pitching greats like Dizzy Dean and Bob Feller, and Dean called him “the pitcher with the best stuff I ever saw.” Likewise, the great Joe DiMaggio later said that Satchel Paige was the best pitcher he had ever faced.

In 1952, Paige became the first black pitcher to be named to the American League All-Star Team. He would be named again the following year. And he became the first black player selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. A good way to close is with Paige’s Rules for Staying Young (taken from his autobiography Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever):

  1. “Avoid fried meats which angry up the blood.”
  2. “If your stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts.”
  3. “Keep the juices flowing by jangling around gently as you move.”
  4. “Go very light on the vices, such as carrying on in society—the social ramble ain’t restful.”
  5. “Avoid running at all times.”
  6. “And don’t look back—something might be gaining on you.


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