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Charlie Hough
“No manager really wants a knuckleball pitcher … until he wins 15 in a row."
Charlie Hough pitched at the major-league level for a quarter of a century on the strength of his knuckleball – a pitch, coincidentally, that he learned in the minor leagues as an attempt to reinvigorate his stagnating professional baseball career. Commenting on his 1969 season in Albuquerque, Hough noted, “I was in Double-A with a bad arm. I couldn’t think about throwing 90, much less throw 90. Learning the knuckleball was my chance to stay in pro ball.” “It was no longer a question. I had average stuff, and now I had a sore arm. If you want to compete, you compete. You find something.”
Over his major-league career Hough logged 3,801⅓ innings. He pitched in 858 regular-season games. Nearly a quarter of the games Hough started, he finished: In his 440 starts, he pitched 107 complete games. He struck out 2,362 batters, walked 1,665, and surrendered 383 home runs. Hough threw 179 wild pitches, was called for 42 balks, and hit 174 batters. Quite a career for someone of whom Tommy Lasorda said, “You’ve got a Double-A fastball and a Double-A curve. And in a foot race with a pregnant woman, you’d finish third.” Hough concurred. "I throw ninety percent knuckleballs. The other ten percent are prayers," he said in 1986. "I probably could throw other pitches. The only reason I don't is that I love pitching in the Major Leagues."
He came up as multi-inning reliever with the Dodgers but made his name as a starter with the Rangers. After leaving the Rangers as their all-time leader in wins with 139 (Kenny Rogers wrapped up his career six wins shy), Hough would join the White Sox for two years and then become the first starter for the Marlins in 1993. It's only fitting that it was a 45-year-old who would get the first start and victory for a brand-new franchise. He pitched six innings against the Dodgers in the Marlins' debut, getting the victory in the Fish's 6-3 victory. - SABR & mlb.com
I used the very pink photo of him that was provided but turned the pink way down before trying to make the facegen. When the pink wouldn't go away, I just made the photo black & white. I also consulted other photos like the two shown. Hough in my mind is his older self but this should work as a Dodger version of him easily enough. I can see Hough in the CUF one but it is very, very over-smoothed. Did the best I could with your namesake, Charlie.
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