Former big league right-hander and All-Star Steve Hargan passed away last week at age 83. Hargan pitched with the Indians, Rangers, Blue Jays, and Braves from 1965-77, posting a 3.92 ERA over 1632 innings and 354 career games (215 of them starts).
The first eight of Hargan’s 12 MLB seasons were spent in Cleveland, where he worked as both a starter and a reliever in his first two years before gaining a firm rotation foothold in 1967. That breakout campaign saw Hargan post a 2.62 ERA and a league-leading six shutouts over 223 innings, and Hargan was named to the AL All-Star team for the first and only time in his career. Hargan also hit his only career home run on June 19, 1967, in a rare instance of a pitcher hitting a walkoff homer — the righty capped off a complete-game victory over the Kansas City Athletics with a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth to give the Indians a 4-2 win.
Unfortunately, Hargan developed bone chips in his throwing elbow and underwent an ulnar nerve surgery in 1968. As Hargan told SABR’s Gregory H. Wolf, “I was able to continue on with my career, but I wasn’t the same after that,” and Hargan felt he returned too quickly from his surgery. Apart from some success in the second half of the 1970 season, Hargan’s numbers dropped off during the remainder of his time in Cleveland, resulting in both the loss of his rotation job and a 1973 season spent entirely in the minor leagues.
A trade to Texas helped Hargan gain a fresh start in his career, and he had a 3.81 ERA over 500 1/3 innings (starting 61 of 105 games) with the Rangers from 1974-76. Taken by the Blue Jays in the expansion draft, Hargan pitched for Toronto during the team’s inaugural season but also bounced back to Texas and then to Atlanta in 1977, which ended up being Hargan’s last year of Major League action. Carpal tunnel syndrome bothered Hargan late in his career, and after spending 1978 in the minors, he decided to retire.
We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Hargan’s family, friends, and loved ones.
Truly different times on June 19, 1967 if the starting pitcher Hargan homered in the bottom of the ninth, meaning he was coming out to pitch the 10th.
Rest in Paradise Steve 🌹
I remember Steve. RIP. Condolences to his family and friends.
RIP Steve…..
Truly unfortunate that he pulled a hamstring in his last start before the All-Star Game and did not pitch.
Wow, you don’t see a pitcher pull a hammy, like, ever. Was it related to him running the bases? How unfortunate for Steve that the one instance of him receiving the All-Star honor was taken away like that.
@getoffmylawn
Yes, he was running the bases.
RIP
I’m surprised i don’t remember him from the 1970’s. I typically do.
In any case RIP and condolences to all who loved him.
You are a huge fan obviously don’t beat yourself up 300 + games over a decade is literally a cup of coffee / September call up I just found out Tom Brady is not on New England and like you a huge fan and follow closely sports
Texas loved him!!!
’67 Indians had a rotation of Hargan, Sam McDowell, Luis Tiant and Sonny Siebert. A foursome any manager would drool over. Too bad they couldn’t hit their way out of a wet paper bag and Joe Adcock couldn’t manage a Dunkin Donuts. RIP, Steve. Heck of a pitcher.
Joe Adcock must’ve hurt you emotionally lol.
RIP Steve.
I like to remind people that if Herb Score had never been injured, in 1968 he would have been the dean of that staff. Not to mention the Tribe had traded away Tommy John and lost the coin flip for Tom Seaver. Team was a pitching factory even then.
Those 60s and 70s Indians teams were atrocious. Constantly making bad trades.
I created a what if legacy team for every team. It took years but it’s too much to do anymore the ay players move so much.
The Tigers traded away Jim Bunning, the Phillies Fergie Jenkins, the BoSox Eal Wilson, the Reds Claude Osteen and the Senators/Twins Den Chance which influenced future roster building.
Wow, 2.62 ERA, 6 shutouts, and no Cy Young votes at all. I believe at the time there was on a single vote available (i.e. only first-place votes) for each voter, but that was impressive even for his time.
Hargan’s won-loss record was 14-13. At the time, wins was a huge factor in Cy Young voting, which is why Jim Lonborg won the award with a 3.16 (his won-loss was 22-9). Winning 20 games was pretty much a prerequisite for winning the Cy Young. That same year, Joel Horlen of the White Sox led the league with a 2.06 ERA, but finished second mainly because he didn’t win 20 games (he was 19-7).
Joel Horlen was nowhere near the pitcher Lonborg was in 1967. And absolutely no one was near Yastrzemski that year for MVP.
Horlen’s ERA was a full run lower than Lonborg’s. Pitching, particualrly Horlen’s, was the main reason why the White Sox were in contention until the final few days of the season.
Yaz is not a part of this.
By bWAR, Lonborg was the 11th best pitcher in the American League at 4.0. The top three were Jim Merritt (6.5), Dean Chance (5.9), and Joel Horlen (5.5). Had Horlen won 20 games instead of 19, he probably would have won the Cy in 1967.
Steve had a ton of movement on his fastball. Sometimes too much.
His overall record wasn’t spectacular, but it takes a lot to pitch 17 shutouts.
Hargan is mentioned a bit in the book Seasons In Hell, about the 1973-75 Texas Rangers. Whitey Herzog, Billy Martin, and Rangers dysfunction in the extreme heat of Texas in the summertime. A good read. RIP to Mr. Hargan.
Ulnar nerve surgery in late sixties must have been scary.
I have a beautiful 1971 Topps card PSA 8 graded Steve Hargan showing his 11-3 record and thought he was awesome to have a record like that on that team.
RIP Steve Hargan.
The pride of South Side High School (which did NOT have a baseball team) in Fort Wayne, IN