Jim Lehew

James Anthony Lehew

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut September 13, 1961
• Final Game May 6, 1962
• Born August 19, 1937 in Baltimore, MD USA
• Died December 23, 2016 in Grantsville, MD USA

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Biographical Information

Jim Lehew pitched for the Baltimore Orioles in 1961 and 1962.

Lehew was born in Baltimore, MD and signed with the Orioles as a free agent in 1958. He was immediately successful in the minors, going 20-9 with the Pensacola Dons in 1958. He worked his way up the Orioles system, and after going 10-7 for the Little Rock Travelers in 1961, he made his major league debut in mid-September. In two innings of work he gave up no runs.

Lehew was 23 at the time. The 1961 Orioles were a fairly young team, with the starting rotation including 23-year-old Steve Barber, 23-year-old Chuck Estrada, 22-year-old Jack Fisher and 22-year-old Milt Pappas, as well as 36-year-old Hal Brown. Third baseman Brooks Robinson was 24 while veteran Hoyt Wilhelm was 38.

Jim also pitched for the Orioles in 1962, appearing in 6 games with an ERA of 1.86. However, he spent most of the season in the minors with the Rochester Red Wings. He had good ERA's in the minors in both 1963 and 1964 but didn't make it back to the majors.

The April 1962 issue of Baseball Digest featured an article about him called The Rookie Who Deals from under the Table. The reason was because he was a submariner. The article said that during a tremendous first minor league season at Pensacola, he developed a back injury that required surgery and plagued him his second year.