Long before radar guns lit up scoreboards and bullpens became rolling assemblies of 98-mph specialists, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a 5-foot-8 right-hander with a forkball and a funny nickname.
They called him “The Baron of the Bullpen.” And in many ways, he built the blueprint for what relief pitching would become.
When Elroy Face broke in with the Pirates in 1953, relief pitching was an afterthought. Starters were expected to finish what they began. Relievers were often failed starters, innings-eaters, placeholders. But Face changed that.
Under manager Danny Murtaugh, Face transitioned full-time to the bullpen in 1957.