Former pitcher Curt Simmons died today, Tuesday. He helped the Phillies to the pennant in 1950 and then won a World Championship with the Cardinals in 1964:

His daughter, Susan D’Acquisto, confirmed that death. She said Simmons had a hip replacement years ago that had been compromised and caused him to become bedridden and ultimately debilitated.

NYTimes.com

My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Hank Aaron found him a tough opponent:

“I wasn’t fooled very often,” Aaron told The New York Times in 1976, but “Curt Simmons was the toughest to read because he hid the ball so long behind his hips.”

Simmons limited both walks and hits, the latter despite a somewhat low K per 9 IP. He peaked somewhat early, accumulating 16.6 of his 42.6 WAR between the ages of 21 and 25 (he missed a season in military service). He also had a late surge, collecting eight war in his age 34 and 35 seasons. He drove his walk rate way down in the mid-30s surge to gain success.