The free-spirited sinkerballer was one of baseball’s premier relievers in the 1950s. The durable Labine helped the Dodgers to four pennants in Brooklyn and another in Los Angeles. Labine was 13-5 in an NL-leading 60 appearances for the 1955 World Champions and led the league in saves the next two seasons. He retired Dodger-killer Stan Musial 49 consecutive times. After leaving the Dodgers, Labine pitched for the Pirates in the 1960 WS.
Two of Labine’s brightest moments came in the unaccustomed role of a starter, a 10-0 victory over the Giants in the second game of the 1951 NL playoff and a 1-0 10-inning shutout of the Yankees in Game Six of the 1956 WS. Although never a threat at bat, Labine’s three hits in 1955 were all home runs.
