Ray Semproch Detroit Tigers
Career: Roman "Ray" Semproch liked to make a splash. He signed with the Phils in 1951 and won 17 games in his first minor league season. He was 13-11 in his rookie year with the Phils in 1958. In between, he worked his way up the ladder, improving with each step, and spent a couple years in the employ of Uncle Sam.
Semproch led the NL in wins at the All-Star break in '58 with 11, but things got sidetracked from there. In '59 Semproch's results continued downhill and he was dealt to the Tigers in the off-season. He was traded again, to the Dodgers, before being taken by the Senators in the Rule 5 draft. The Nats turned right around shipped him to the Angels where he pitched very briefly and was soon out of baseball.
In 1960: Semproch worked in 17 games out of the Tigers' bullpen with an ERA of 4.00 and a 3-0 record before being traded to the Dodgers. He pitched the rest of the year with their Spokane club in the PCL. He won 11 games and had a 3.96 ERA which was very good in a hitters league.
Off The Charts: Semproch worked in his brother's Italian restaurant after baseball. He's 89 these days and I found a pic of him from 2019 with one of those stadium pieces which is drawn using the franchise's players' names.
89 and looking great. I wonder if he still builds model planes.
ReplyDeleteBut how do you pronounce his name?
ReplyDeleteI *think* it's Semp-rock', but I can't remember where I saw that.
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