25-07-2025
Former Mets Pitcher Traded for Hall of Fame Manager Passes Away
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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When the New York Mets traded pitcher Bill Denehy to the Washington Senators in November 1967, the man who went to Queens was not a player but a manager.
Gil Hodges still had one year remaining on his contract to manage the Washington Senators. For the cost of Denehy and $100,000, the Mets acquired the skipper who would guide the team to a stunning World Series victory in 1969.
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As for Denehy, the hard-throwing right-hander saw his career undone by a shoulder injury, and drug and alcohol abuse that arose from ultimately futile efforts to treat his pain.
Denehy, who died recenty at age 79, became a radio announcer, a minor league pitching coach, and a coach at the University of Hartford after his brief career as a major league pitcher ended. Peter Golenbock, his co-author on the book Rage: The Legend of "Baseball Bill" Denehy, confirmed Denehy's passing to Newsweek Sports.
A New York Mets hat and glove sit on the steps of the dugout during the game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on August 4, 2015 in Miami, Florida.
A New York Mets hat and glove sit on the steps of the dugout during the game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on August 4, 2015 in Miami, turning point of his career came in his fourth career major league start, a game on May 3, 1967 against the San Francisco Giants. Denehy sustained an injury to his right shoulder while throwing a slider to Willie Mays.
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"As I threw the ball I felt as though someone had stuck a knife into my shoulder," Denehy wrote in Rage. "The pain was awful."
Although he continued in the game, so great was the pain in his rotator cuff that he needed multiple cortisone shots to avoid a long-term stint on the injured list. In Rage, Denehy credited the drug dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) for helping him regain his career. The drug was later severely restricted by the FDA for human uses.
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After the trade to Washington, Denehy would bounce between the majors and minors over the next decade. He spent time with the Senators, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Giants and Philadelphia Phillies organizations.
In 49 major league games with the Mets, Senators, and Detroit Tigers from 1967-71, Denehy went 1-10 with a 4.56 ERA.
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In a biography about Denehy for the Society of American Baseball Research, Alan Cohen wrote that his "life after baseball was a roller-coaster of opportunities wasted, addictions encountered, and mischievous behavior."
As a minor league pitching coach with the Red Sox, Denehy crossed paths with a young Roger Clemens. As the head coach for the University of Hartford, Denehy recruited future Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell to the baseball team, and helped him hone his unique batting stance.
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Denehy was inducted into the Middletown (Conn.) Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. A multi-sport star in high school, Denehy also dabbled in golf instruction and authored a book on the topic in 2006.
Toward the end of his life, Denehy lost his sight. He attributed his blindness to the many cortisone injections he received in response to his shoulder injury — a lasting but bittersweet reminder of his brief career as a pitcher.
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