Joe Coleman Was One of The Most Underrated Pitchers of the Early 1970s

Former MLB pitcher and coach Joe Coleman passed away yesterday at the age of 78.

Coleman was the son of former MLB pitcher Joe Coleman who pitched primarily with the Philadelphia A's during the 1940s and 1950s and father of former MLB pitcher Casey Coleman who pitched with the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals during the 2010s and currently pitches in the Mexican League. The trio are the first three-generation pitchers in MLB history.

The younger Joe Coleman was born and raised in Natick, Massachusetts. Coleman was selected by the Washington Senators as the third overall pick in the inaugural MLB Draft in 1965 and would make his MLB debut late that season at the age of 18. After an additional cup of coffee in 1966, Coleman would become part of the Senators' starting rotation in 1967. Although Coleman never enjoyed a winning season as a starter he posted decent ERAs (3.27 in both 1968 and 1969 and 3.58 in 1970).

Prior to the 1971 season, Coleman was part of an eight-player trade with the Detroit Tigers. The Senators sent Coleman, shortstop Eddie Brinkman, third baseman Aurelio Rodriguez and pitcher Jim Hannan to the Tigers in exchange for one-time 30-game winner Denny McLain, third baseman Don Wert, outfielder Elliott Maddox and pitcher Norm McRae to D.C. in what proved to be the Senators' final year in the Nation's Capital.

The Tigers got the better end of that deal with Brinkman and Rodriguez vastly improving the left side of their infield while Coleman became one of the best pitchers in MLB despite the fact his Tigers career began inauspiciously. During spring training, Coleman was hit in the head with a line drive off the bat of St. Louis Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons. 

Despite missing the first three weeks of the season, Coleman regrouped and posted 20 wins and striking out a career high 236 batters. However, Coleman's pitching feats were overshadowed by that of teammate Mickey Lolich who won 25 games, led the league in strikeouts with 308 while pitching an astounding 376 innings finishing runner up to Vida Blue in the AL Cy Young balloting in 1971. The duo accounted for nearly half the team's wins that year (45 of 91 victories).

The Tigers would win the AL East in 1972, and Coleman played a big part with 19 wins and 222 strikeouts earning his lone AL All-Star Game selection. Coleman would pitch a shutout against the Oakland A's in Game 3 of the ALCS fanning 14 batters. However, the Tigers would fall short against the eventual World Series champions.

Detroit would come back down to Earth in 1973 but Coleman stayed in top form winning a career high 23 games along with 202 strikeouts. Between 1971 and 1973, Coleman went 62-38 with a 3.40 ERA striking out 660 batters in 874.1 innings pitched. Joe Coleman was certainly one of the most underrated pitchers in MLB during the early 1970s. 

Unfortunately, all things must come to an end. Coleman's effectiveness began to wane in 1974 with a 14-12 record with a 4.32 ERA finishing second in the AL in walks with 158 (Nolan Ryan would issue 202 free passes that season). In 1975, Coleman fell to 10-18 with a 5.55 ERA and led the league in wild pitches with 15. 

In 1976, amid Mark Fidrych's phenomenal rookie season, the Tigers would sell Coleman to the Chicago Cubs where he was converted into a relief pitcher. Over the next three seasons, Coleman would pitch with the Oakland A's, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates with his MLB career ending in 1979. Over 15 MLB seasons, Coleman made 484 appearances (340 of them starts) posting a 142-135 record with a 3.70 ERA collecting 1728 strikeouts against 1003 walks. 

Between 1980 and 1982, Coleman continued to pitch in the minor leagues with the Spokane Indians during affiliations with the Seattle Mariners and later the California Angels. He also began his coaching career during this period. Coleman later returned to the major leagues with the Angels as the bullpen coach between 1987 to 1990 before becoming the pitching coach for the St. Louis Cardinals between 1991 and 1994. He would return to the Angels and become their pitching coach from 1996 to 1999. From there, Coleman spent the next 15 seasons as a pitching coach with several minor league teams before retiring after the 2014 season.

Joe Coleman spent nearly half a century in organized baseball. He was truly a baseball lifer. R.I.P.