All-Time Indians: Art Houtteman

The pitching staffs of the Cleveland Indians from the late 1940’s through the 1950’s were among the best in baseball history, but that didn’t keep the team and GM Hank Greenberg from continually trying to improve. One of those additions was Art Houtteman in 1953 and he wound up being a valuable asset for the team.

Houtteman began his career in Detroit after signing as an amateur in 1945 and and quickly made his Major League debut at the age of 17 thanks to a decrease in talent around the league due to World War II. Although he quickly made his emergence, he would spend the majority of his first two seasons in the minor leagues. It wasn’t until 1947 that he played a full season in the Majors and the next year his first as a Major League starter. By the age of 21, he was a major part of the Tigers rotation and in 1950 he was an All-Star, winning 19 games with a 3.54 ERA.

While he was too young to be drafted when he first became a professional player, Houtteman was drafted in 1951 and missed the entire season. He was allowed to leave quickly due to health issues, but didn’t return to his normal level of performance, losing a league high 20 games in 1952 with a 4.36 ERA. After a 5.90 ERA through 68.2 innings in 1953, the Tigers were through with Houtteman and he was sent to Cleveland in an eight man deal that also included Bill Wight coming to Cleveland and Ray Boone and Steve Gromek going to Detroit.

Houtteman was initially part of the Indians bullpen, but on June 21st, he joined the rotation and pitched complete games in each of his first four starts. While Mike Garcia, Bob Lemon, Early Wynn and Bob Feller were excellent and took most of the start, Houtteman still started 13 games and finished with a 3.80 ERA in 109 innings.

Nine seasons into his Major League career, Houtteman was still only 26 in 1954 when he had the best season of his career. Feeling the effects of age, Feller pitched effectively, but was limited to just 19 starts with Houtteman picking up the slack and throwing 25. All three of the main starters, Garcia, Lemon and Wynn, finished the year with an ERA below 2.75, but Houtteman wasn’t far behind with a 3.35. The fact that he could hold his own in a group that included three future Hall of Famers is impressive on it’s own.

In the World Series that year, the Indians used just a three man rotation and very quickly were eliminated by the New York Giants in four games, despite winning a record 111 times in the regular season. Houtteman pitched in only game three and just two innings in relief. He allowed one run in his second inning of work, but Garcia had allowed four runs in the first three innings and the Indians would only score twice, so in the end it didn’t really matter.

In 1955, the Rookie of the Year Herb Score took over the spot previously held by Feller and Houtteman and both pitchers were used mostly out of the bullpen. Houtteman was still used as a spot starter for 12 games, throwing 124.1 innings. As a team, the Indians won 93 games, their sixth consecutive season with at least 90 games and their last, but just like the 1954 World Series, 1955 was ultimately a disappointment. For Houtteman specifically, it would be his final quality season as he posted a 3.98 ERA and struck out 53.

He would stay in Cleveland for the 1956 season, but only pitch in 22 games and make four starts. In 46.2 innings, he held a 6.56 ERA and his effectiveness was gone completely. It was more of the same in 1957 with a 6.75 ERA through three games when he was sold to the Orioles. Houtteman didn’t stick around Baltimore long, throwing just 6.2 more innings before leaving the Major Leagues for good. The Tigers did bring him back in 1958, but he only pitched in AAA and after being released again, he pitched one more decent season in AAA for the Portland Beavers of the Kansas City Athletics. After this 1959 season at the age of 31, Houtteman retired from baseball.

In retirement, he would move back to his home town of Detroit and would go on to become a sports reporter. He stayed in Michigan until he died in 2003 at the age of 75. While he pitched longer in Detroit than anywhere else, Houtteman’s best years were in Cleveland and he finished his time with the Indians with 34 wins, 20 complete games and a 3.97 ERA in 472 innings.