Lyman Linde - Cleveland Indians and Portland

Cleveland Indians and Portland

Linde made his major league debut with the Indians on September 11, 1947, which ended up being his only appearance of the season. In that one appearance, he pitched ⅔ of an inning and allowed two earned run, finishing the game and season with an ERA of 27.00. During the off-season, Linde played basketball with the Olo Soaps, a team located in his native Beaver Dam. He took part in spring training with the rest of the Indians roster for the 1948 Cleveland Indians season. In late March, however, he was struck on the chin from a line drive hit by Indians manager Lou Boudreau, causing him to be sidelined for several days. By the end of spring training, Linde remained a part of the Indians roster. He pitched three games for the Indians early on in 1948, pitching ten innings, allowing six earned runs and finishing the season with a 5.40 ERA. After three games, he was demoted to the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. He spent the rest of the 1948 season as a starting pitcher for Baltimore. His performances included a one-hit victory in his first appearance for the club. Linde finished the season with a 5–9 record and a 4.50 ERA.

Linde spent 1949 with the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). He tried to earn a spot with the Indians during spring training but was unable to. He spent the season as a starting pitcher for San Diego, and threw three shutouts over the course of the season, allowing only three hits to the Los Angeles Angels in his third one. He finished the season with a 14–15 record in 35 pitching appearances (32 starts), a 4.41 ERA, 105 strikeouts, and 226⅓ innings pitched. He brought the Padres to the playoffs, and pitched in game six of the championship against the Hollywood Stars, where he earned the 8–4 loss as the Stars won the PCL pennant and the Governors' Cup.

At the start of the 1950 season, Linde signed a new contract with the Indians, but was released in February and sent to the Portland Beavers in the PCL. Over the course of the season, Linde won 5 games and lost 13 in 47 appearances, 18 of them starts, and amassed an ERA of 4.66. The following year, in 1951, Linde became a regular starter on the team, and before the end of April he had won as many games as he had won all of last year. He finished the season with a 12–12 record and a 4.29 ERA in 32 starts. In 1952, Linde remained part of the core starting rotation of the past couple years alongside Red Adams and Marino Pieretti. His performances included one against the Angels in which Linde kept the team to five hits as the Beavers won 4–3 in 11 innings. He won 11 games, lost 15, threw 119 strikeouts, and brought his ERA down to 3.10 in 41 season appearances, 28 of them starts. In 1953, Linde started the season strong unlike his fellow pitchers, opening his season with a 2–1 victory against the Angels on April 3. In early May, he ended Ted Beard's streak of hitting safely in 12 straight at-bats, which tied the PCL record at the time. Shortly afterward, Linde won what was considered an odd performance as he allowed 15 hits and 20 runners on base, yet won a game against the Sacramento Solons 8–3. In his final professional season, Linde pitched in 36 games and finished with a 13–10 record and a 3.36 ERA.