Ladd, Peter (2009)

Peter Linwood Ladd was born in Portland and lived there until he and his family relocated to Georgia when Peter was in the 9th grade. The right-handed pitcher, who eventually grew to six feet three inches tall, attended Henderson High School in Atlanta, and earned a baseball scholarship to the University of Mississippi. He was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 1977 June free agent draft.

Pete garnered 15 wins and 27 saves in two years in the Red Sox farm system before being traded to the Houston Astros in a deal that brought big league standout Bob Watson to Boston on June 13, 1979. After a 13-game stint with Houston’s AA Southern League affiliate in Columbus, Georgia, Ladd made his major league debut with the Astros on August 17, 1979 in a home game against the Phillies. He finished with a 2.92 ERA, four saves, and a win (August 26th in Philadelphia) in ten big league contests….an impressive debut!

Pete was relegated to the minor leagues for the next two years, but the Milwaukee Brewers took note of his 34 saves for the AAA Tucson Toros in 1981 and traded for him after the season. Ladd was called up to the big club in mid-1982 and responded with a win and three saves in 16 games. The Brewers won the American League Eastern Division title, earning a spot in the League Championship Series against the California Angels. Milwaukee lost the first two games in the best-of-5 series, but came roaring back to win the pennant thanks largely to Ladd’s two saves, the second of which came in the deciding game, which he entered with a 4-3 lead, a runner at first, and no one out. After a sacrifice bunt moved the tying run to second base Ladd clinched the series by inducing a pair of ground outs, the second of which came off the bat of future Hall-of-Famer Rod Carew. Ladd didn’t allow a run in his lone appearance in the World Series, which the Brewers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

In 1983 Pete notched 25 saves for the Brewers. He pitched two more years for Milwaukee before going to Seattle in 1986, where he won eight games and saved six more for the Mariners. Pete retired from pro ball after earning four wins and four saves for the Pacific Coast League’s Albuquerque Dukes in 1987.

Altogether Ladd notched 17 wins and 39 saves in a 205-game big league career. Along the way he was a teammate of Baseball Hall of Fame members Wade Boggs, Don Sutton, Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Rollie Fingers.