Indiana native, MLB great Carl Erskine dies at 97
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Carl Erskine, the Indiana native who starred as a pitcher for the Dodgers and became a champion for athletes with special needs, died Tuesday. He was 97.
Erskine, a native of Anderson who returned to the city after his playing career ended, was a pitcher with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948-1959.
During that time, he finished his career with a record of 122-78. He also won two World Series championships and threw two no-hitters.
“You didn’t have to be a lifelong Dodger fan to be a huge fan of Carl Erskine and the remarkable character with which he led his life,” Mitch Daniels, former Purdue President and noted baseball fan, said in a statement. “When asked by his documentary filmmakers to sum him up, I blurted out ,’He’s the best we’ve got.’ I can’t improve on that, and like millions, I’ll miss him very much.”
The Erskine documentary, “The Best We’ve Got,” was shown last January at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
In 2023, Erskine became the sixth person to receive the John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The award is “presented to an individual for extraordinary efforts to enhance baseball’s positive impact on society,” according to a news release.
In 2010, he received the Sachem Award, the State of Indiana’s highest honor, in recognition of his lifetime of excellence and moral virtue.
Indiana native, MLB great Carl Erskine dies at 97
Dodger greats Carl Erskine, left, Sandy Koufax, center and Don Newcombe throw out first pitch in the season opener against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium in the season opening game Monday, March 31, 2008.
Erskine, a native of Anderson, Indiana, died Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at the age of 97. (Photo by Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
