Marine Corps veteran Wendlestedt attended the University of Maryland, where he played baseball and basketball. He played a crucial role in Don Drysdale‘s streak of 58 consecutive scoreless innings for the Dodgers in 1968. In a game at Dodger Stadium, the Giants had the bases loaded with none out in the ninth and catcher Dick Dietz hitting. Drysdale’s 2-and-2 pitch hit Dietz, but Wendlestedt ruled that he had made no effort to get out of the way and called the pitch “ball three.” Dietz eventually flied out, and Drysdale kept his streak by finishing his fifth straight shutout.
