Joe McIntosh

Joseph Anthony McIntosh

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 185 lb.
• School Washington State University
• High School Billings Senior High School
• Debut April 5, 1974
• Final Game September 27, 1975
• Born August 4, 1951 in Billings, MT USA

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Biographical Information

Joe McIntosh spent the entire 1975 season in the starting rotation of the San Diego Padres, going 8-15, but with a decent 3.69 ERA. He had gone 0-4 the preceding season, giving him a career mark of 8-19, which doesn't reflect the fact that he was a perfectly fine pitcher those two seasons.

McIntosh was rushed to the majors by the pitching-poor Padres. He was drafted in the 13th round of the 1973 amateur draft, out of Washington State University, where he had played for the United States team in the 1971 Pan American Games in Colombia managed by his college coach, Bobo Brayton. He also was on Team USA when they won Silver in the 1972 Amateur World Series. He pitched for the Class A Walla Walla Padres in the Northwest League that season, going 8-6, 2.44 in 14 starts. In 1974, he was promoted all the way to the major leagues in what can only be described as a puzzling move. He actually pitched fairly well out of the bullpen over the first two weeks of April, putting up a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings, then was sent down to the AAA Hawaii Islanders. There, he was hit pretty hard, to the tune of a 5.27 ERA in 152 innings; he gave up 162 hits and 80 walks during that span, but somehow had a decent 9-11 record. He came back to the Padres in September and was inserted in the starting rotation. He lost his first four major league starts, although he never gave up more than three earned runs in any of them. In his last outing on September 25th against the San Francisco Giants, he pitched his best game, giving up only 2 runs - only 1 of them earned - over 7 innings but ended up with a no-decision.

Joe earned a spot in the Padres' starting rotation out of spring training in 1975 and started out red hot. He won his first three starts, beating the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 in his first start on April 12th for his first major league win. He pitched hs first complete game in beating the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-1, in his third start on April 23rd, then after a loss, put together four more good starts, culminating in his first major league shutout over the St. Louis Cardinals, a 1-0 win on May 21st. On June 8th, he beat the Montreal Expos in the first game of a doubleheader to run his record to 6-3, 2.20. That game was memorable because his opponent on the mound that day the only other native of Billings, Montana in the major leagues at the time, Dave McNally. After the game, McNally unexpectedly announced his retirement, ending a stellar career. For McIntosh, it would be all downhill from there. He was knocked out of the box before the end of the 2nd inning in his next 3 starts and would go 2-12 the rest of the year, with his ERA gradually climbing to 3.69. Overall, he made 28 starts in 37 outings (he was used out of the bullpen a few times in the second half as his inability to win became more pronounced), pitching 183 innings during which he gave up 195 hits and 60 walks, striking out 71.

After the season, McIntosh was traded to the Houston Astros along with reliever Larry Hardy in return for third baseman Doug Rader, who had been a very good player in Houston over the previous decade. However, Hardy put up a 7.06 ERA in 15 games for Houston in 1976, Rader was a major disappointment for the Padres, being given away to the Toronto Blue Jays shortly into the 1977 season, and McIntosh never pitching another major league game. He had suffered a torn rotator cuff during his rookie year, which amounted to a death sentence for a pitching career at the time. He underwent surgery, tried to come back in 1979, pitching for the GCL Astros, but quickly gave it up. He went to law school while attempting to rehab and earned his degree, then specialized in tax law. He also served as agent for John Olerud when he first reached the majors in 1990. He had known John's father, John Olerud Sr., a fellow Washington State graduate, for a long time, which is how this line of work came about.

McIntosh is a member of the Washington State University Hall of Fame.

Related Sites

• Article from Washington State University on-line magazine