Editing Hoyt Wilhelm (section)

===Middle career===
On February 26, 1957, Wilhelm was traded by the Giants to the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] for [[Whitey Lockman]].<ref name=br/> At the time of the trade, St. Louis manager [[Fred Hutchinson]] described Wilhelm as the type of pitcher who "makes us a definite pennant threat ... He'll help us where we need help the most."<ref name=Enthuse>{{cite news|title=Cards enthuse over getting Hoyt Wilhelm|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19570227&id=gllgAAAAIBAJ&pg=5089,4603147|access-date=January 18, 2015|work=[[Star-News|The Wilmington News]]|date=February 27, 1957|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106103913/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19570227&id=gllgAAAAIBAJ&pg=5089%2C4603147|url-status=live}}</ref> In 40 games with the Cardinals that season, he earned 11 saves but finished with a 1–4 record and his highest ERA to that point in his career (4.25). The Cardinals placed him on waivers in September and he was claimed by the [[Cleveland Indians]], who used him in two games that year.<ref name=br/>

In 1958, Cleveland manager [[Bobby Bragan]] used Wilhelm occasionally as a starter. Although he had a 2.49&nbsp;ERA, none of the Indians' [[catcher]]s could handle Wilhelm's knuckleball. General manager [[Frank Lane]], alarmed at the large number of [[passed ball]]s, allowed the [[Baltimore Orioles]] to select Wilhelm off waivers on August 23, 1958.<ref name=br/> In Baltimore, Wilhelm lived near the home of third baseman [[Brooks Robinson]] and their families became close friends.<ref name=obituary/> On September 20 of that year, Wilhelm [[no-hitter|no-hit]] the [[1958 World Series|eventual World Champion]] [[New York Yankees]] 1–0 at [[Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)|Memorial Stadium]], in only his ninth career start.<ref name=obituary/><ref>{{cite news |first=Benjamin |last=Hoffman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/20/sports/baseball/knuckleballers-have-a-history-as-colorful-as-their-pitch.html |title=When Knucklers Danced With Greatness |access-date=February 21, 2015 |date=June 20, 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=April 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424021742/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/20/sports/baseball/knuckleballers-have-a-history-as-colorful-as-their-pitch.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He allowed two baserunners on walks and struck out eight.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4IBPAAAAIBAJ&pg=2773,6140967|title=Hoyt Wilhelm knuckeballs no-hitter over Yanks|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[Ocala Star-Banner]]|date=September 21, 1958|access-date=November 12, 2011|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106103825/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4IBPAAAAIBAJ&pg=2773%2C6140967|url-status=live}}</ref> The no-hitter had been threatened at one point in the ninth inning when [[Hank Bauer]] bunted along the baseline, but Robinson allowed the ball to roll and it veered foul.<ref name=Brooks>{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Doug|title=Brooks: The Biography of Brooks Robinson|date=2014|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]]|isbn=978-1250033031|pages=76–77|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZYfqAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA76|access-date=January 20, 2015|archive-date=April 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417153409/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZYfqAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA76|url-status=live}}</ref> The no-hitter was the first in the franchise's Baltimore history;<ref>100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.212 </ref> the Orioles had moved from [[St. Louis]] after the 1953 season.

[[File:Hoyt Wilhelm 1959.png|thumb|right|180px|Wilhelm in 1959]]
Orioles catchers had difficulty catching the Wilhelm knuckleball again in 1959 and they set an MLB record with 49 passed balls.<ref name=obituary/> During one April game, catcher [[Gus Triandos]] had four passed balls while catching for Wilhelm and he described the game as "the roughest day I ever put in during my life."<ref name=SJournal>{{cite news|last1=Richman|first1=Milton|title=Wilhelm's knuckler helps set 'record'|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1798&dat=19590424&id=mxMfAAAAIBAJ&pg=4156,2652166|access-date=January 18, 2015|work=[[Sarasota Journal]]|date=April 24, 1959|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106103826/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1798&dat=19590424&id=mxMfAAAAIBAJ&pg=4156%2C2652166|url-status=live}}</ref> Author [[Bill James]] has written that Wilhelm and Triandos "established the principle that a knuckleball pitcher and a big, slow catcher make an awful combination."<ref name="James">{{cite book|last=James|first=Bill|title=The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3uSbqUm8hSAC&pg=PA407|access-date=January 20, 2015|date=May 11, 2010|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|isbn=978-1-4391-0693-8|page=407}}</ref> Triandos once said, "Heaven is a place where no one throws a knuckleball."<ref name=James/>

Despite the passed balls, Wilhelm won the [[American League]] ERA title with a 2.19 ERA.<ref name=br/> During the 1960 season, Orioles manager [[Paul Richards (baseball)|Paul Richards]] devised a larger mitt so his catchers could handle the knuckleball.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KfocAAAAIBAJ&pg=5293,4351335|title=Courtney Uses Out-Sized Mitt To Catch Wilhelm's Knuckler|first=Ed|last=Wilks|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[The Tuscaloosa News]]|page=7|date=May 28, 1960|access-date=November 13, 2011|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106103914/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KfocAAAAIBAJ&pg=5293%2C4351335|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Neyer |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Neyer |title=Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders |year=2006 |publisher=[[Fireside Books]] |location=New York City |isbn=0-7432-8491-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/robneyersbigbook0000neye }}</ref> Richards was well equipped with starting pitchers during that year. By the middle of the season, he said that eight of his pitchers could serve as starters.<ref name=Hensler>{{cite book|last1=Hensler|first1=Paul|title=The American League in Transition, 1965–1975: How Competition Thrived When the Yankees Didn't|year=2012|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-1476600178|page=88|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VL4MErYRKN8C&pg=PA88|access-date=January 18, 2015|archive-date=May 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505193012/https://books.google.com/books?id=VL4MErYRKN8C&pg=PA88|url-status=live}}</ref> Wilhelm started 11 of the 41 games in which he appeared. He earned an 11–8 record, a 3.31 ERA and seven saves. He started only one game the following year, but he was an All-Star, registered 18 saves and had a 2.30 ERA.<ref name=br/>

In 1962, Wilhelm had his fourth All-Star season, finishing with a 7–10 record, a 1.94 ERA and 15 saves. On January 14, 1963, Wilhelm was traded by the Orioles with [[Ron Hansen (baseball)|Ron Hansen]], [[Dave Nicholson]] and [[Pete Ward]] to the [[Chicago White Sox]] for [[Luis Aparicio]] and [[Al Smith (outfielder)|Al Smith]].<ref name=br/> Early in that season, White Sox manager [[Al López]] said that Wilhelm had improved his pitching staff by 40 percent. He said that Wilhelm was "worth more than a 20-game winner, and he works with so little effort that he probably can last as long as [[Satchel Paige]]."<ref name=Lopez>{{cite news|last1=Chamberlain|first1=Charles|title=Hurling gives Sox big boost|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19630416&id=_44lAAAAIBAJ&pg=1265,1063421|access-date=January 18, 2015|work=[[Gettysburg Times]]|date=April 16, 1963|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106103930/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19630416&id=_44lAAAAIBAJ&pg=1265%2C1063421|url-status=live}}</ref> He registered 21 saves and a 2.64 ERA.<ref name=br/>

In 1964, Wilhelm finished with career highs in both saves (27) and games pitched (73). His ERA decreased to 1.99 that season; it remained less than 2.00 through the 1968 season. In 1965, Wilhelm contributed to another passed balls record when Chicago catcher [[J. C. Martin (baseball)|J. C. Martin]] allowed 33 of them in one season. That total set a modern single-season baseball record for the category.<ref name=Murray/> Wilhelm's career-low ERA (1.31) came in 1967, when he earned an 8–3 record for the White Sox with 12 saves.<ref name=br/>

In the 1968 season, Wilhelm was getting close to breaking the all-time games pitched record belonging to [[Cy Young]] (906 games). Chicago manager [[Eddie Stanky]] began to think about using Wilhelm as a starting pitcher for game number 907. However, the White Sox fired Stanky before the record came up. Wilhelm later broke the record as a relief pitcher. He also set MLB records for consecutive errorless games by a pitcher, career victories in relief, games finished and innings pitched in relief.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uv0cAAAAIBAJ&pg=5199,4093365|title=45-year-old Hoyt Wilhelm set six records in 1968|first=Harry|last=Eisenberg|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[The Tuscaloosa News]]|date=December 15, 1968|access-date=November 13, 2011|archive-date=November 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106103828/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uv0cAAAAIBAJ&pg=5199%2C4093365|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite Wilhelm's success, the White Sox, who had won at least 83 games per season in the 1960s, performed poorly. They finished 1968 with a 67–95 record.<ref name=CWSBR>{{cite web|title=Chicago White Sox Team History & Encyclopedia|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHW/|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|access-date=January 28, 2015|archive-date=April 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406112522/http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHW/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Wilhelm was noted during this period for his mentoring of relief pitcher [[Wilbur Wood]], who came to the [[1967 Chicago White Sox season|1967 White Sox]] in a trade. Wood sometimes threw a knuckleball upon his arrival in Chicago, but Wilhelm encouraged him to throw it full-time. By 1968, Wood won 13 games, saved 16 games and earned a 1.87 ERA. He credited Wilhelm with helping him to master the knuckleball, as the White Sox coaches did not know much about how to throw it. Between 1968 and 1970, Wood pitched in more games (241) than any other pitcher and more innings―{{frac|400|1|3}}―than any other relief pitcher.<ref name=Wakefield>{{cite book|last1=Wakefield|first1=Tim|title=Knuckler: My Life with Baseball's Most Confounding Pitch|year=2011|publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]]|isbn=978-0547517711|pages=[https://archive.org/details/knuckler00timw/page/27 27]–28|url=https://archive.org/details/knuckler00timw|url-access=registration|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref>

After the 1968 season, MLB expanded and an [[1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft|expansion draft]] was conducted in which the new teams could select certain players from the established teams. The White Sox left Wilhelm unprotected, possibly because they did not believe that teams would have interest in a much older pitcher.<ref name=SABR>{{cite web|title=Hoyt Wilhelm (SABR BioProject) |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/hoyt-wilhelm/|publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]}}</ref> On October 15, 1968, Wilhelm was chosen in the expansion draft by the [[Kansas City Royals]] as the 49th pick. That offseason, he was traded by the Royals to the [[Los Angeles Angels|California Angels]] for [[Ed Kirkpatrick]] and [[Dennis Paepke]].<ref name=br/>