Baseball’s “galloping gourmet,” a restaurateur, published poet, chess player, and table-tennis whiz, Stone was Thurman Munson‘s batterymate at Kent State and a mediocre pitcher who never won more than 15 games until his tenth ML season, when he went 25-7 for Baltimore to capture the 1980 AL Cy Young Award. He pitched three perfect innings in the All-Star Game that year, and led the AL in victories and winning percentage (.781). A flamethrower with the Giants, Stone had arm trouble and became a control pitcher. He joined Baltimore as a free agent in 1979, found a “metaphysical” approach to the game, switched his uniform to Koufax’s #32, and helped the Orioles to a pennant. He became a Cub broadcaster in 1983.
