As you know from my post a few weeks ago about book projects, I was fortunate enough to be included in the writing of an upcoming book from SABR that will be called “One-Win Wonders,” about pitchers that won just a single game during their Major League careers. Here’s the link to that again:
As I wrote then, the project involved writing the biography for the pitcher who got the win and also writing the game story for the one game he was credited with winning. Well, SABR decided not to wait for the book before publishing the game story, so I’m going to go ahead and reveal the pitcher.
Here’s the story of how Don O’Riley won his first, and only, big league game for the Kansas City Royals.
I won’t go into his full biography since that was written for the book, but, if you search online for him, you’ll find out soon enough that neither his baseball career nor his life turned out the way he would have wanted. He was a local Kansas City native who got to pitch for his hometown team in the franchise’s very first year, but then never achieved the success he wanted and tragically died far too young.
It’s a sad story, but I think one worth telling, and I’m very happy to be able to include it in this book. Until that comes out later this year, please enjoy the story of his one big league victory, accomplished in front of his family in his hometown.