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Jerome Holtzman dies (split from dead thread)

Valadius Jul 21 2008 07:28 PM

Jerome Holtzman, 82, creator of the save: ]CHICAGO (AP)—Jerome Holtzman, a longtime baseball writer who made the Hall of Fame, created the saves rule and later became Major League Baseball’s official historian, has died. He was 82. Holtzman died Saturday in Evanston. “As a baseball writer, columnist and historian for more than 50 years, Jerome Holtzman was a beloved figure and made an incredible impact on the game,” Commissioner Bud Selig said Monday in a statement. Holtzman won the J.G. Spink Award and a spot in the Hall of Fame in 1989. The award is given annually to the one baseball writer who has exhibited “meritorious contributions” to baseball writing. Known as “The Dean,” Holtzman worked at the Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily Times, its predecessor, before joining the Chicago Tribune in 1981. He retired in 1999, when Selig named him MLB’s official historian. Holtzman began his career as a 17-year-old copy boy in 1942, and served two years in the Marine Corps during World War II before returning to journalism. He was assigned the baseball beat in 1957. “He was amazing baseball people, I don’t just want to say writer. He was a baseball fan. He did a lot of things for baseball,” said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who was a Sox player during Holtzman’s time at the Tribune. “He gave his life to baseball and we’ll always remember how great he was. “Jerome was a classy man and a great man to have around. I was lucky enough to be covered by him for a few years.” Feeling that earned run averages and won-lost records were not the most accurate reflection of relievers’ effectiveness, Holtzman created the formula for “saves” in 1959. A decade later, in 1969, it was adopted by the game’s Official Rules Committee. “In the case of Jerome, every one of the closers over the last 30 years … should take out their checkbooks and write a gigantic check to whatever foundation or charity the family directs,” broadcaster and former White Sox pitcher Steve Stone said. “He’s really the person responsible for being able to quantify what has become one of the most important positions on the field.” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said baseball “lost a great advocate and fan … and I lost a dear friend. “I will miss his visits to the ballpark and his phone calls during the season to discuss the latest baseball news,” he said. Holtzman also wrote six books, including “No Cheering in the Press Box,” in which he interviewed other well-known writers. The funeral will be private and a memorial service will be held later, the White Sox said.

MFS62 Jul 22 2008 05:57 AM

I remember reading his stuff in The Sporting News. RIP Later

Benjamin Grimm Jul 22 2008 07:05 AM

]Feeling that earned run averages and won-lost records were not the most accurate reflection of relievers’ effectiveness, Holtzman created the formula for “saves” in 1959. A decade later, in 1969, it was adopted by the game’s Official Rules Committee. “In the case of Jerome, every one of the closers over the last 30 years … should take out their checkbooks and write a gigantic check to whatever foundation or charity the family directs,” broadcaster and former White Sox pitcher Steve Stone said. “He’s really the person responsible for being able to quantify what has become one of the most important positions on the field.” I wonder if Holtzman had any regrets about inventing the save. (I regret that he did!) It's not his fault, of course. He was just looking for a way to measure what was happening on the field. I'm sure he never imagined that the tail would end up wagging the dog.

AG/DC Jul 22 2008 07:14 AM

The save, for all its faults, is certainly no more deceptive than the win or the loss. The problem is not its invention, but the lack of will to accept continual sensible refinement of analysis.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 22 2008 07:20 AM

My problem with the save is that it's influenced how managers make in-game decisions. The only other rule that I can think of that's had that effect, but to a much lesser degree, is the 5-inning minimum for a starter to be eligible for a win.

AG/DC Jul 22 2008 07:32 AM

No doubt. Other external factors interfere with a manager's strategemizing, though --- contracts, a GM's commitment to a young player, showcasing, veteran's privilege (the last of which cost the Sox the winning run in game six). The real problem is a culture where managers' independence is compormised. They are poorly paid compared to the players, easier to jettison, rhetorically battered by millions who think they know more, and emasculated into conservatism by sportswriters who portray you as aloof/smug/superior/contemptuous if you do anything unconventional.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 22 2008 07:41 AM

All very true. AG/DC wrote: veteran's privilege (the last of which cost the Sox the winning run in game six). Obviously you're referring to Bill Buckner in 1986, but when I first read that I thought you meant Pedro Martinez in 2003.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 22 2008 07:51 AM

"No Cheering in the Press Box" (oral history of baseball writers) is a classikc. Remember Holtzman for that.

G-Fafif Jul 22 2008 12:23 PM

ESPN is giving Francisco Rodriguez the "chasing history" treatment every time he records a save in pursuit of Bobby Thigpen's record of 57. A record's a record and 57 saves is an impressive total, but have you ever heard or thought, "Generations believed Thigpen's mark was unassailable! Will anybody break Thigpen's mark? Move over Bobby Thigpen!"

seawolf17 Jul 22 2008 12:40 PM

I can't wait until they break live into Baseball Tonight in September for the record-setting feat. I hope they have Thigpen on hand to participate in this epic moment in baseball history. I think Bobby Thigpen was the moment that the save jumped the shark.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 22 2008 12:42 PM

It may have been Thigpen. I blame Eckersley though.