1954 World Champion New York Giants Pitcher: Windy McCall (1954-1957)

John William McCall was born July 18, 1925 in San Francisco, California The six foot left hander earned the name Windy which he became known as throughout his career. He attended the University of San Francisco getting signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1947.

He made his MLB debut on April 25th 1948, getting hit by the AL New York club for three runs in just 1.1 innings of work. He was sent down where he was 9-12 as AA Louisville the rest of the year. He made just five more appearances for Boston the next year, before getting traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He ended up in the Pacific Coast League with the San Francisco Seals from 1951-1953 where he won double figures barley over .500 each season. In October 1953 he was sent to the New York Giants for $60,000 & three minor leaguers.

What a break for McCall as he ended up on a Giants team that would go on to win the World Series that season. He was used out of the bull pen in 33 games, pitching in 61 innings as he struck out 38 batters while allowing 50 hits. He posted a 2-4 record with two saves and a 3.25 ERA. He didn’t see any action in the World Series.

The next season he saw some more action even getting six starts. He went 6-5 with three saves and a 3.69 ERA. That year he was sixth in the league hitting six batters with pitches, in 95 innings he also allowed 37 walks. In 1956 he was tied for second on the Giants staff with seven saves, going 3-4 with a 3.61 ERA.

In the Giants last season in New York in 1957, he only pitched three April innings allowing five earned runs. He was gone by May 3rd pitching back in the Pacific Coast League. He then pitched at AAA Miami the rest of 1957 through 1959.

In his seven year MLB career McCall was 11-15 with 12 saves a 4.22 ERA 144 strike outs 103 walks in 253 innings over 134 appearances. In the minors he was 80-70 with a 4.36 ERA in 283 games over ten years.