NY Boston Fan

Dick "The Monster" Radatz has passed away. In reading the Red Sox Century, he was one of the most interesting and exciting players that I didn't know much about beforehand.

His best years were in Boston, where he broke into the big leagues in 1962. He was 49-34 with 104 saves, applied under modern rules because saves weren't recorded as a statistic in those days, in four-plus seasons with the Red Sox. He was an All-Star in 1963 and 1964.

Radatz regularly pitched multiple innings of relief, long before pitchers evolved into one-inning specialists. "He was a setup man, closer, finisher all in one," said Bill Lee, a former Red Sox pitcher and good friend of Radatz. "He was the best reliever of all time, for a short period of time."

As my tribute to him, a few weeks back I named my closer in my ongoing Baseball Stars (NES) season after him. Next time I bring him in it will be with a bit of sadness.