Jim Duckworth, a Brooklyn Dodgers prospect who went on to play four major league seasons for the Washington Senators and Kansas City A’s, has died. He was 86.
A right-handed pitcher, Duckworth compiled a 7-25 record and a 5.26 ERA in 97 games (29 starts) from 1963-66.
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Duckworth signed his first professional contract with Brooklyn as an 18-year-old, and went 10-2 with a 3.09 ERA in his first minor league season (1957).
While the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, Duckworth moved up a level on the minor-league ladder but struggled to repeat his success. The Cincinnati Reds selected him in the minor league draft in November 1959, and he would spend the next three seasons (1960-62) in the Reds’ farm system.
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Washington Senators manager Mickey Vernon was short on quality pitchers entering the 1963 season. Duckworth, who was renowned to possess a hard fastball from a whip-like delivery, seemed like a good fit.
Duckworth was one of 11 players selected in the November 1962 Rule 5 draft. He joined the Senators’ rotation for the 1963 season and went 4-12 with a 6.04 ERA.
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To persist in the big leagues, Duckworth had to overcome his fear of flying in an era when coast-to-coast expansion made air travel a necessity.
A more difficult obstacle proved to be an arm injury Duckworth suffered early in his career with the Senators. From 1964-65, he started irregularly and shuttled between the majors and the minors. Duckworth went 3-8 with a 4.13 ERA (88 ERA+) in 47 games with Washington.
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In June 1966, Duckworth was 0-3 with a 5.02 ERA when the Senators traded him to the Kansas City A’s to complete an earlier trade for first baseman Ken Harrelson.
Duckworth would make only eight appearances with the A’s, allowing 12 runs in 12 innings. In July, the A’s traded him back to the Senators.
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In February 1967, Duckworth retired from baseball. He returned to his home in Southern California and ultimately took a job with the California Highway Patrol.
Duckworth rose the ranks of the CHP to sergeant and lieutenant, serving as statewide director of emergency medical training, and founding the CHP physical fitness program.
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