Bobby Sprowl

Who is Bobby Sprowl?

Robert John Sprowl is a retired professional baseball player who was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1981. He played for the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros.

Sprowl was a star pitcher at the University of Alabama, leading the nation in strikeouts per nine innings in 1977. He was selected by the Red Sox in that year's amateur draft.

Sprowl is best known for losing two critical games in the 1978 pennant race between the Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Before he was called up to the majors, Sprowl had compiled a 9-3 record in the AA Eastern League. Boston's minor league organization claimed that he "had ice water in his veins," and manager Don Zimmer gave Sprowl three starts late in the season.

His second start was against the New York Yankees. Zimmer passed over veterans Bill "Spaceman" Lee and Luis Tiant, who had dominated the Yankees during their careers. Sprowl allowed four walks, one hit and one run in the first inning before being pulled.

Sprowl went 0-2 with a 6.39 earned run average. The following season, he was traded to the Astros. He pitched in 19 games over the next three years, mostly in middle relief.