Minor Leagues
Linde's first taste of minor league action came in 1942, when he signed with the Green Bay Bluejays of the Wisconsin State League. His performances that season included a near-no-hitter that was lost in the ninth inning in a 5–2 victory over the Fond du Lac Panthers. Linde was also given the most valuable player award for a week in July after a pitching performance, also against Fond du Lac, in which he struck out 14 batters in a 5–0 shutout victory. He finished the season with 13 wins, eight losses, and a 2.91 ERA in 22 pitching appearances. After the season ended, the league folded temporarily, and Linde enlisted with the United States Army Air Forces to serve in World War II.
After returning from military service, Linde joined the Greenville Spinners, the Chicago White Sox minor league affiliate of the Sally League. He tried out for the Milwaukee Brewers, but was unable to make the team, and as a result was sent to Greenville to gain experience. Linde pitched in 29 games for the Spinners. In those 29 games, he had ten wins, eight losses, a 3.50 ERA, and 121 innings pitched. After the conclusion of the season, in early November, Linde was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the rule 5 draft.
The following season, Linde pitched for the Oklahoma City Indians, the Indians minor league affiliate of the Texas League. He spent most of the season with Oklahoma City, and in a pitching appearance in August, threw a no-hitter and narrowly missed pitching a perfect game. In 32 appearances for Oklahoma City, Linde won 14 games, lost 13, and had an ERA of 2.85 in 202 innings pitched. At the end of the minor league season, Linde was called up to the Indians' major league roster along with Ernest Groth in order to build up the end of the bullpen.
Read more about this topic: Lyman Linde
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