The guy Sandberg was named after.

http://www.newschief.com/article/20110108/NEWS/101085026/-1/news02?Title=Former-Yankee-Duren-dies-at-age-81


Former Yankee Duren dies at age 81

Polk County Sports Marketing

LAKE WALES -- Ryne Duren, one of the premier relief pitchers in Major League Baseball in the late 1950s, died Thursday in his winter home in Lake Wales at the age of 81.

Duren was an integral part of the New York Yankees American League championship teams of 1958 and 1960 and played a major role in defeating the Milwaukee Braves in the 1958 World Series.

Known for his ability to throw a baseball in excess of 100 mph and the thick glasses he wore to correct his 20/200 vision, Rinold George Duren also was famous for being a bit wild, both on and off the field, during his playing days. He parlayed his throwing speed and controlled wildness on the mound into an effective career. During his 10-year Major League career, Duren pitched for the Yankees, Orioles, Phillies, Reds, Angels, Athletics and Senators. While playing for the Yankees in 1958 and 1959, Duren posted a 1.95 ERA and threw 183 strikeouts in 152 innings while leading the league in saves.

He was a teammate of baseball greats Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, Moose Skowron and Yogi Berra.

At the suggestion of Yankees coach Frank Crosetti, after Duren threw a warm-up pitch into the screen behind home plate, Duren incorporated one of those pitches into the screen into every warm-up session, drawing the attention of all the fans and announcers, and making the on-deck batter apprehensive about digging in. Today, 45 years after Duren retired from the game, his name is mentioned whenever a pitcher uncorks a pitch high and wild over a batter's head.

Throughout his career, Duren was plagued by an alcohol addiction that shortened his career, which ended with the Washington Senators in 1965

In 1968, Duren achieved his sobriety and then proceeded to save innumerable other individuals and families through his work, beginning with his founding of the Alcohol Rehabilitation Education program at Stoughton Community Hospital.

For the past 40 years, Duren remained active, speaking to civic groups and youth organizations. During the past 13 years, he was an active speaker for Winning Beyond Winning, a charitable organization devoted to providing life skills programs. Duren's autobiography, "I Can See Clearly Now," has been used by professional teams to educate their players.

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