Mike Corkins Death – Mike Corkins, a former pitcher in the MLB, passed away on November 27th at the age of 77. The following is an excerpt from Corkins’ online obituary: “During Mike’s youth he was considered an elite athlete, excelling in baseball as a Pitcher, Track and Field as a Pole Vaulter, High Jumper, Shot Putter and in Football as a Punter. In Baseball, he led his 1962 Colt League All-Star team to the World Series in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He was a star Pitcher for Rubidoux High School in 1964 with a 16-0 record and was named CIF Southern Section Player of the Year. Mike and his friend Bobby Bonds immediately signed contracts to play Professional Baseball with the San Francisco Giants. After his first year in the minors, he was chosen to attend Winter Ball. On the flight to the Dominican Republic, his plane was hijacked to Cuba (at that time, very dangerous). He said nothing exceptional happened as the flight attendants just gave each passenger extra wine while they sat on the tarmac.During the 1968 baseball season, Mike was assigned to the Giants’ Double A team in Elmira, NY. He displayed his talents by tossing a no-hit complete game. Late in 1968 the San Diego Padres became an expansion team. Each existing Major League franchise had to give up two top prospects to the Padres, so the Padres chose Mike from the Giants’ 40-man roster. In 1969 he made his major league debut against the Houston Astros, and it was pretty rocky as mentioned in the book “Ball Four” by Jim Bouton. The book cites infielder Marty Martinez as yelling from the dugout, “Welcome to the National League kid.” Later that year in September of 1969 Mike threw a fastball to Willie Mays, who deposited it in the bleachers for his historical 600th Home Run. The ball is currently being displayed at the Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY. As a Padre, besides being a pitcher, he also pinch hit many times. In 1973 he hit 3 Home Runs (a lot for a pitcher at that time!). In 1972 against the Cincinnati Reds, Mike struck out Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez in consecutive at-bats. There are a lot of Hall of Famers and/or should be Hall of Famers. In all, he played 5 years in the Major Leagues from 1969 through 1974 before tearing the Rotator Cuff in his right shoulder. After Tommy John surgery he never recovered from the injury and retired very young.”
The right-hander was signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before the 1965 season, and later drafted by the San Diego Padres from the Giants as the 31st pick in the 1968 MLB expansion draft. He played for the Padres from 1969 to 1974.
The majority of his 157 appearances was as a relief pitcher, but he did start 44 games. During his career, Corkins gave up 248 walks in just 459.1 innings pitched, for a BB/9IP of 4.86, much higher than the National League average at that time. However, with 335 strikeouts, his K/9IP was 6.56, which was higher than the National League average. Corkins wielded a strong bat (for a pitcher), hitting 5 home runs with a batting average of .202 in 119 lifetime at bats.
He finished his career with a total of 19 wins, 28 losses, 9 saves, 48 games finished, and an ERA of 4.39.
Corkins’ major league debut with San Diego was mentioned in pitcher Jim Bouton’s 1969 book, Ball Four. The book cites infielder Marty Martínez as yelling “Welcome to the National League, kid.” from the Houston Astros dugout during Corkins’ poor performance (a 9–2 loss).
Condolences to his family and friends and may he Rest in Peace.
This article was directly sourced using Corkins’ Wikipedia and online obituary.