Baseball just lost one of its oldest links to the sport’s golden era. A World Series Champion, accomplished college coach, and the oldest living survivor of the New York Giants died at the age of 97. The entire baseball community mourns the passing of Al Worthington, a 14-season MLB veteran. He was a great pitcher, but his influence went far beyond the baseball field.

Allan Fulton Worthington was a University of Alabama athlete from Birmingham. He started his major league journey with the New York Giants in 1953. Worthington spent most of his career as a star relief pitcher for the Minnesota Twins. But his baseball story began with a championship. He was a member of the Giants’ 1954 World Series championship team. The same team that is remembered for Willie Mays’ iconic ‘The Catch’ in Game 1. However, Worthington didn’t play in the World Series, despite being a part of the roster. But his 3.50 ERA was enough to help them reach the postseason. 

Worthington earned a lot of attention early in his career with back-to-back shutout games in his first two outings with the Giants. He spent multiple years between the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and Cincinnati Reds before joining Minnesota in 1964. He is widely considered the first great closer in Minnesota. 

Worthington helped the Twins reach the World Series with a 2.13 ERA and 21 saves the very next year. Over 600 MLB appearances, Al recorded 75 wins and 111 saves. He was a premier reliever of his era. 

After retiring from the big league in 1969, he started his coaching career in 1972 as the pitching coach with the Twins. He then played an instrumental role in 1974 in building the Liberty Flames Baseball Team at Liberty University (then Lynchburg Baptist College).

He led the Flames for 13 years, recording 343 wins and coaching future major leaguers like Sid Bream, Lee Guetterman, and Randy Tomlin. Following his tenure as a coach, the World Series winner served as athletic director and earned induction into multiple halls of fame. The Alabama Sports Hall of Famer passed away on June 16.

The Liberty Flames Baseball Stadium was later named after him as Worthington Field. Yet, all these accolades only tell part of his story. 

Al Worthington’s legacy is defined by integrity

Worthington made his MLB comeback in 1956 after spending a year with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, the Minneapolis Millers. He spent 3 more years and saw them transitioning to San Fransico. 

However, in September 1959, he found out that the team was using spyglasses to steal signs from the opposition catchers. And the Giants have a history with this. During their famous 1951 season, the team used a telescope to steal signs and win the pennant.

Al confronted the manager and long-time friend, Bill Rigney, regarding the same, and demanded that they stop.

“I told Bill that I had been talking to church groups, telling people you don’t have to lie or cheat in this world if you trust Jesus Christ,” Worthington said in a 1964 interview with the Saturday Evening Post. “How could I go on saying those things if I was winning games because my team was cheating?”

Reportedly, the manager promised to stop the malpractice. Unfortunately, after completing the season, he was traded away to Boston in the offseason. 

The White Sox decided to purchase his contract from the Red Sox in August 1960. But he played only four games before finding out that the Chicago team was involved in the same sign-stealing practices. He packed his bags and left the club with one month remaining in the season. 

Long after he retired from his playing and managerial roles, the Houston Astros were caught using heavy technology to steal signs. Worthington’s stance on cheating remained the same, and the old-school baseball pitcher condemned the same. 

Al Worthington was loved and respected by the entire baseball community. And the way he was honored by different organizations tells how great a player and mentor he was. But more than that, he was a person with integrity. 

Worthington never had a second thought before standing up against unfair practices or walking away from a lucrative career to refuse to take part in cheating. The baseball world mourns the loss of a great player and an incredible human being.