Athletes - Clem Labine

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	Athletes - Clem Labine

Clement Walter Labine (born August 6 1926 in Lincoln, Rhode Island) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. As a key member of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 1950s, Labine is prominently featured in Roger Kahn's classic book The Boys of Summer.

After compiling a 5-1 won/loss mark for Brooklyn in 1951, Labine shut out the New York Giants in Game 2 of the National League pennant playoff, 10-0. He was almost summoned to relieve in the ninth inning of Game 3, but reportedly was having trouble harnessing his curveball in the bullpen; Dodger manager Chuck Dressen called on Ralph Branca instead. As history would have it, Branca threw the pitch that Bobby Thomson hit for a pennant-wnning, three-run home run that brought the Giants back from a 4-1 deficit - labeled as baseball's "Shot Heard 'Round the World."

Labine went on to enjoy several stellar seasons for the Dodgers as a relief pitcher. He led the NL with 60 games pitched and 10 relief victories in 1955, the year the Dodgers finally brought a world championship to Brooklyn. Although the save was not yet an official statistic, he has been retroactively credited with leading the NL twice (1956-57) in that category and was an All-Star both years.

Labine accompanied the Dodgers to Los Angeles when they relocated in 1958, and finished his career with the Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates and - very briefly - the New York Mets, pitching in three games during the Mets' debut 1962 season. Over all or parts of 13 seasons, he appeared in 513 games, winning 77 and losing 56 (.579) with a 3.63 earned run average. He appeared in 13 World Series games, winning two and losing two, with a 3.16 ERA.

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