Al Worthington

Allan Fulton Worthington was born February 5, 1969, in Birmingham, Alabama. He stayed home and played college baseball first at Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, then at the University of Alabama where he also played football for the Crimson Tide.

The lanky right-hander – 6 foot 2 inches and 195 pounds – was initially signed by the Chicago Cubs in 1951 but was soon sent to the New York Giants. After three seasons in the minor leagues (including with the Giants’ AA affiliate, the Minneapolis Millers), Worthington debuted in July of 1953 with the Giants, and wow, what a start it was. His first two games were excellent, each start a complete-game shutout. He continued with the Giants when they moved to San Franciso in 1958 and by then was mostly a reliever. He never started another game after 1959.

Before the 1960 season Worthington was traded to the Red Sox, then later to the White Sox in August. In 1961 and 1962 he was back in the minor leagues working on this control. In 1963, he pitched for the Reds. He pitched well enough in 1963 and into 1964 that the Twins saw something and made a move to acquire the big right-hander.

The Twins purchased Worthington on June 26, 1964, and thus began the best stretch of his career despite his advanced age of 35 years. Worthington pitched 72.1 innings after coming to Minnesota in 1964. His ERA was a fantastic 1.37 (264 ERA+).

During the World Series season of 1965, Worthington was the top reliever on the team. He threw 80.1 innings, with a 2.13 ERA, 10 wins, and a career-high 21 saves. In the World Series, Worthington did not allow an earned run in 4.0 innings. However, he was on the mound in Game 4 when the Dodgers broke open the game. Mudcat Grant gave up a walk and a hit to start the sixth inning. Runners were on second and third. Manager Sam Mele made the call to Worthington, but things deteriorated quickly from there. The first batter hit a ground ball single through the SS/3B hole with both runners scoring and the batter advancing to second base on a throw home. The next batter bunted, but catcher Earl Battey threw wildly to first allowing the runner from second to score. Worthington allowed no further damage, but a 3-2 deficit quickly escalated to 6-2. The Dodgers would ultimately win the game 7-2.

Worthington’s second World Series appearance came in the Game Seven loss. He appeared early. The Dodgers scored two runs off Jim Kaat to begin the fourth inning. Mele immediately brought in Worthington, who got out of the inning with no further harm. Unfortunately for Twins fans, the damage was already done. The Dodgers won the game 2-0 and the Series 4-3.

Worthington continued to provide steady excellence from the Twins bullpen through the end of the 1960s. From 1966-68, his ERA was under 2.84 all three years. He ERA+ was better than league average – exceeding 116 in all three years. He pitched more than 90 innings twice. Big Al led the league in saves in 1968. 1969 was not quite as good for Worthington but he was still an important piece in the bullpen of the first winners of the inaugural American League West division. The Orioles swept the three-game American League Championship Series. The first two games were close, decided by only one run. Worthington appeared only in Game Three which ended as an Orioles’ rout. He entered the game in the fifth inning with the Twins trailing 5-1. He pitched a perfect inning but then got roughed up in the sixth. The Orioles continued their scoring and won the game 11-2, and the series 3-0. This appearance in the deciding game of the inaugural ALCS proved to be the final pitches Al Worthington threw in Major League Baseball. At 40 years of age, Worthington was finally done.

Worthington’s final statistics showed a record of 78-82. His career WAR was 16.2 and his career ERA was 3.39 (110 ERA+). In 1,246.2 innings he struck out 834 and walked 527. He finished with 111 saves. He was the Twins career leader in saves (88) until passed by the great Ron Davis in 1985.

• Worthington’s consecutive shutouts in his first two MLB appearances equaled a major league record that only three other pitchers had achieved.
• As a batter, Worthington had a single home run. It came in 1956 off future Hall of Famer Robin Roberts.
• In 1974, Worthington was selected as coach for the new baseball program at Liberty University. He coached the program until 1986 and had only one losing season – the first.