The Brewers announced that former big leaguer Pete Ladd has died after a fight with cancer. The man was 67 years old and from Portland, Maine
The club released a statement saying, “We learned today of the passing of Pete Ladd, a key member of the great Brewers teams of the early 1980s. Pete was a man with a big personality and an even bigger heart.” Our sympathies and best wishes are with his family.
Selected by the Red Sox in the 25th round of the 1977 draft, Ladd spent two seasons in the minor leagues as a relief pitcher before making his big league debut with the Astros in 1979. Even though Ladd only pitched 12 1/3 innings in his first outing, he made an impression in what little time he had, posting a 2.92 ERA at the time, which was 25% better than the league average. Ladd didn’t play in the major leagues again until the 1982 campaign, during which he threw for the Brewers in 16 regular season games and finished with an 8.00 ERA in 18 innings pitched.
Due to an injury suffered by Hall of Fame bullpen pitcher Rollie Fingers during the 1982 season, Ladd was called up to fill the role of closer for Milwaukee. In place of Fingers, the right-hander performed admirably, pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings against the Angels during the ALCS and striking out five in the process to lead the Brewers to their first and so far only World Series appearance in club history. In the World Series against the Cardinals, Ladd also recorded two outs while avoiding giving up a run by pitching around a hit and two walks.
Ladd would play three more seasons with the Brewers after the team’s 1982 World Series success. This included the 1983 season, which ended up being Ladd’s finest to date. In 49 1/3 innings (44 appearances), he recorded a 2.55 ERA, which was 48% better than the league average for the day by ERA+, and a 2.92 FIP while striking out 21.1% of hitters faced. Despite winning 87 games and placing fifth in the AL East, Milwaukee was sadly unable to make the postseason that year.
Ladd, who was 29 at the time, left the Brewers after the 1985 season and finished his big league career in Seattle. In his 52 appearances and 70 2/3 innings pitched, he had an above-average 3.82 ERA with the Mariners in 1986. Even though he joined the Dodgers in 1987 to resume his playing career, he struggled at Triple-A and was not able to make the big league team, which caused him to retire at the end of the 1987 season. Over the course of his six-year MLB career, Ladd made 205 appearances, going 17–9 with an ERA of 4.14, 39 saves, and 209 strikeouts in 287 innings pitched.
