Fred Holdsworth

Frederick William Holdsworth

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
• High School Northville High School
• Debut July 27, 1972
• Final Game September 21, 1980
• Born May 29, 1952 in Detroit, MI USA

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Biographical Information

A perennial pitching prospect who was never able to nail down a regular job, Fred Holdsworth opened the 1976 season by setting down the first 24 batters he faced with the Baltimore Orioles after being called up in mid-July. He pitched 4 2/3 perfect innings of relief against the California Angels on July 17th, then extended the perfect streak over a couple of shorter appearances against the Texas Rangers on July 21-22, before finally giving up a first hit to the Milwaukee Brewers in the first game of a doubleheader on July 24th. The 24 consecutive outs to begin a season are an Orioles franchise record. He went 4-1, 2.04 in 16 games, all in relief that season, but that still did not secure a regular job for him on an Orioles team that was oozing with young pitching talent.

He had first come up with the Detroit Tigers in 1972, making 2 starts as a 20-year-old, and also appeared for the same team for brief stints in 1971 and 1972, going 0-5, 5.97 over that span. The Orioles acquired him in a trade for hard-thrower Bob Reynolds in the middle of the 1975 season, which he spent entirely in the minor leagues. In spite of his good performance in 1976, he only pitched 12 times for them in 1977, going 0-1, 6.89. On July 14th, he was traded to the Montreal Expos for a player to be named, who turned out to be Dennis Blair, another pitcher who had come up to the big leagues at a very young age but failed to establish himself. He went 303, 3.19 in 14 games for the Expos at the end of the 1977 season, in what was his longest shot in the majors. He made 6 starts and pitched 42 1/3 innings. He was almost assured of a spot on the pitching staff in 1978 but had a sore arm in spring training, and while he made the team, he struggled in 6 relief outings, posting an ERA of 7.27 and was back in the minors in short order.

He was released by the Expos after the 1978 season then kicked around the minors for a couple of years before resurfacing with the Milwaukee Brewers at the end of the 1980 season. He had a 4.58 ERA in 9 games in what were his final major league appearances.