Jim Rooker

Information about Jim Rooker

Jim Rooker
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Jim Rooker
Pitcher
Batted: RightThrew: Left
MLB Debut
June 30, 1968 for the Detroit Tigers
Final game
May 2, 1980 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Career Statistics
W-L    103-109
K    976
ERA    3.46
Teams
Career Highlights and Awards
James Phillip Rooker (born September 23, 1942 in Lakeview, Oregon) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and broadcaster.

A left-hander, Rooker pitched for the Detroit Tigers (1968), Kansas City Royals (1969-73) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1974-80).

Early career

Signed as an amateur free agent by the Detroit Tigers, Rooker spent seven years in the Detroit farm system until he debuted in 1968, pitching 4 2/3 innings in two games in relief. After being selected by the Kansas City Royals in the October 1968 expansion draft he made the starting rotation. In 1969 he won only four games against 16 losses; however, in one of the losses, on July 7 against the Minnesota Twins, he became the first Royal to hit two home runs in one game. Both home runs were off Jim Kaat.

Rooker improved his record to 10-15 in 1970; one of the losses came in a 12-inning game against the New York Yankees on June 4 after Horace Clarke broke up Rooker’s bid for a no-hitter leading off the ninth (Clarke would also break up 9th-inning no-hit bids by Sonny Siebert and Joe Niekro within a month; Siebert had already pitched one in 1966), then scored on Bobby Murcer’s double. After winning only seven games against 13 losses over the next two seasons Rooker was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Gene Garber.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Rooker enjoyed his best seasons in Pittsburgh, posting a 10-6 record in 1973 and a 15-11 record with a 2.78 earned run average in 1974. The wins and ERA were a career best, as was his strikeout total (139). The Pirates won the National League East title the latter year, and Rooker pitched in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He gave up two runs in 7 innings but was not involved in the decision; the Dodgers won the game, then went on to win the Series. In 1975 Rooker went 13-11 with a 2.97 ERA as the Pirates won the NL East title again; once again, however, the Pirates were defeated in the NLCS, this time by the eventual World Champion Cincinnati Reds. In Game Two of that Series Rooker gave up four runs in as many innings, including a two-run home run to Tony Perez in the first inning.

The Pirates did not win the NL East title in 1976 or 1977 (the Philadelphia Phillies won it in both seasons), but Rooker maintained his consistency during those two seasons, with a 15-8 and 14-9 record respectively. In 1978 he slumped to 9-11 and his ERA rose to 4.24—the highest it had been since 4.38 in 1972.

In 1979 Rooker was a member of the Willie Stargell-led World Championship team. His career nearing the end, Rooker posted a 4-7 record as a spot starter. Starting Game Five of that Series with his Pirates trailing the Baltimore Orioles three games to one, Rooker gave up one run in five innings and left the game trailing by that 1-0 score. Pittsburgh rallied to score seven runs over the next three innings and got four shutout innings from Bert Blyleven to win the game 7-1, then won the next two games to take the Series.

In his career Rooker won 103 games against 109 losses, with 976 strikeouts and a 3.46 ERA in 1810 1/3 innings pitched. He loves dogs and is an avid dog trainer.

Broadcasting career: “If we lose this game, I’ll walk home”

After his playing career, Rooker, well-known for speaking his mind as a player, joined the Pirates’ radio and television broadcast team, with whom he worked from 1981 (one year after he retired) through 1993.

Rooker’s most famous moment as a broadcaster came on June 8, 1989, during a Pirates’ road game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. The Pirates scored 10 runs in the top of the first inning, the last three coming on a Barry Bonds home run. As the Phillies came to bat in the bottom of the first, Rooker said on the air, “If we lose this game, I’ll walk home.” Von Hayes answered with two two-run home runs, in the first and third innings, Steve Jeltz also hit two homers, in the fourth and sixth. The Phillies, trailing now only 11-10 in the eighth inning, scored the tying run on a wild pitch, then took the lead on Darren Daulton’s two-run single and went on to win 15-11. Rooker had to wait until after the season to make good on his “walk home” promise, conducting a charity walk from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.

Trivia

External links

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Pittsburgh Pirates 1979 World Series roster
3 Phil Garner | 5 Bill Madlock | 6 Rennie Stennett | 8 Willie Stargell | 10 Tim Foli | 14 Ed Ott | 15 Enrique Romo | 16 Steve Nicosia | 17 Lee Lacy | 18 Omar Moreno | 19 Jim Rooker | 22 Bert Blyleven | 23 Grant Jackson | 24 Mike Easler | 25 Bruce Kison | 26 Jim Bibby | 27 Kent Tekulve | 28 Bill Robinson | 34 John Milner | 35 Manny Sanguilln | 36 Matt Alexander | 39 Dave Parker | 43 Don Robinson | 45 John Candelaria
Manager Chuck Tanner
pitcher is the player who throws the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter who attempts to either make contact with it or draw a walk.
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Pittsburgh Pirates Established 1882

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strikeout or strike out (denoted by SO or K) occurs when the batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. Strikeouts are associated with dominance on the part of the pitcher and/or incompetence on the part of the batter, although for power hitters it
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In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It bears similar meaning to a hitter's batting average.
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Detroit Tigers Established 1894

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Pittsburgh Pirates Established 1882

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World Series is the championship series of Major League Baseball and the culmination of the sport's postseason each October. Since the Series takes place in mid-autumn, sportswriters many years ago dubbed the event the "Fall Classic". The St.
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1979 World Series

Team / Wins Manager Season
Pittsburgh Pirates (4) Chuck Tanner 100-63, .613
Baltimore Orioles (3) Earl Weaver 102-57, .
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Lakeview, Oregon
Nickname: The tallest town in Oregon
Location in Oregon
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Country United States
State Oregon
County Lake
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Sport Baseball
Founded 1876
No. of teams 30
Country(ies)  United States
 Canada

Most recent champion(s) St. Louis Cardinals

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Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which transmit programs to an audience. The audience may be the general public or a relatively large sub-audience, such as children or young adults.
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Detroit Tigers Established 1894

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  • American League (1901–present)
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Kansas City Royals Established 1969

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Pittsburgh Pirates Established 1882

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A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness or fatigue. Relievers are further divided informally into closers, middle relief pitchers, left-handed specialists, set-up
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