Rollie Fingers

Rollie Fingers is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for three teams during his seventeen-year career: the Oakland Athletics, the San Diego Padres and the Milwaukee Brewers. Fingers helped redefine the role of the relief pitcher from a starter who just couldn't cut it, to a game-ending "fireman" groomed to enter the game during its tensest moments. All the while, Fingers did his nervy job with style, as evidenced by his signature throwback black handlebar moustache.

Fast Facts:

1. Born: August 25, 1946
2. Birthplace: Steubenville, Ohio
3. 1981 Cy Young Award Winner
4. 1974 World Series MVP
5. Uniform number retired by both Brewers and A's

Early Career

Even while Fingers was in the minors, he was specifically trained to be a late-innings closer. Prior to Fingers, games were usually finished by failed starters; after Fingers, relievers, and the saves that are their prize, became vital and heroic roles and statistics in professional baseball. Fingers made his debut in 1969, but began consistently finishing in the top tier of relievers in saves in 1971.

Dominance

In 1972, 1973, and 1974, Fingers helped lead the Oakland Athletics to three World Championships in a row, with the moustachioed reliever winning the World Series MVP Award in '74. In 1977 and 1978, as part of the San Diego Padres, Fingers finished first in the National League in saves; he led the American League in saves in 1981 after being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, and that year, won the Cy Young Award. Fingers was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992, and he is one of the few players in history to ever have his uniform number "34" retired by two different teams (the Brewers and A's).

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