Ron Herbel

Herbel was raised in Brighton, Colorado, and graduated from Brighton High School in 1956. He attended the University of Northern Colorado. After two seasons at Northern Colorado, Herbel signed as an amateur free agent with the Giants in 1958, then spent six seasons in San Francisco's farm system when he received a September call up to the Giants in 1963. He made two relief appearances with the Giants, both against the New York Mets, with his major league debut on September 10 at the Polo Grounds.[3]

Herbel was used both in relief and as a starter in 1964, as he made 22 starts and eighteen appearances out of the bullpen. In his first Major League at-bat on May 6, he struck out against Larry Jackson of the Chicago Cubs.[4] His first major league start came on May 17 in the second game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets; he allowed seven hits but no runs, picking up the win in a 1–0 Giant victory.[5] For the season, Herbel made 54 plate appearances without getting a hit, and struck out thirty times.

Herbel went 9–9 with a 3.07 earned run average and 98 strikeouts in 1964. His first major league win was a 1–0 complete game shut out of the New York Mets on May 17.[6]

In 1965 Herbel earned a spot in the starting rotation on his way to a 12–9 record for a Giants team that won 14 straight games in September, with Herbel pitching the best ball of his career, only to lose the pennant by two games to a Dodger team that won its last 15 games. He registered his first major league hit and RBI on May 21 in his first major league game on astroturf, while holding the Houston Astros to just five hits themselves in the complete game victory.[7] It was Herbel's only hit of the season, though he was credited with a second run batted in on July 28 when he walked with the bases loaded.[8]

In 1967, Herbel had three hits, two of which were doubles, two walks, three successful bunts and struck out only fourteen times for a .107 batting average. It was also Herbel's first real season as a reliever. Though he made eleven starts, he made 31 appearances out of the bullpen, earning one save. Over the next two seasons, Herbel made only six starts. Following the 1969 season, Herbel was traded with Bob Barton and Bobby Etheridge to the San Diego Padres for Frank Reberger.

The Padres were 50–82, 341⁄2 games back of the Cincinnati Reds when they dealt Herbel to the reigning World Series champion New York Mets, who were in the midst of a play-off drive again in 1970 (two games back of the first place Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League East at the time of the trade), and needed to add an arm to their bullpen.[9] Herbel went 2–2 with a 1.38 ERA and one save in twelve relief appearances for the Mets, who finished in third place, six games back of the Pirates. Combined with his 64 appearances with the Padres, Herbel's 76 appearances on the mound led the National League, and was only one less than major league leader Wilbur Wood. He was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Bob Aspromonte following the season on December 1, 1970.[10]

Herbel spent one season in Atlanta, where he went 0–1 with a 5.23 ERA and one save in 25 appearances for the third place Braves. He signed with the Minnesota Twins in 1972, and spent the entire season with their Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate before retiring. During 1964 spring training, he began wearing glasses because of nearsightedness.[5] He died from a heart attack on January 20, 2000, in Tacoma, Washington, at 62 years old.

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Ron Herbel at Find a Grave