Rollie Fingers

Professional career

Fingers turned down a $20,000 signing bonus from the Los Angeles Dodgers, believing he had little chance to reach the majors quickly due to their strong pitching staff and deep farm system. He signed with the Kansas City Athletics for a $13,000 bonus on Christmas Eve 1964. The Athletics initially considered making him an outfielder but assigned him as a pitcher to the Leesburg A's of the Class A Florida State League in 1965. He later played for the Modesto Reds (Class A California League) in 1966 and the Birmingham A's (Class AA Southern League) in 1968 and 1969.

On minor league opening day 1967 in Birmingham, nine days after marrying his high school sweetheart Jill, a hit ball broke his cheekbone and jaw and knocked out teeth. His jaw was wired shut for five weeks, and he struggled to regain confidence on the mound. Fingers was a starting pitcher throughout his minor league career.

Helping redefine modern relief pitching

When Fingers reached the majors, relief pitchers had a limited role; starters rarely left games with a lead. As team offense increased after 1968, and especially with the American League's introduction of the designated hitter in 1973, managers became more willing to replace starters in the late innings. Through the 1960s, annual saves leaders typically totaled 20–25 saves, and few pitchers remained in the role more than two or three years, except for Roy Face and Hoyt Wilhelm.

In the 1970s, Fingers's excellence allowed him to gradually increase his annual saves past 30. In 1980, he broke Wilhelm's record of 227 saves and finished with 341, a record that stood until Jeff Reardon passed it in 1992. Fingers is regarded as a pioneer of modern relief pitching, defining the closer role. Before his time, a former starter's success in the bullpen often led back to the rotation.

With the successes of Fingers and contemporaries such as Sparky Lyle and Goose Gossage, it became widely accepted that an excellent pitcher might provide greater benefit as a closer than as a third or fourth starter. Later teams have moved successful starters—notably Dennis Eckersley, Dave Righetti, and John Smoltz—to the permanent role of closer. In 2006, Bruce Sutter became the first pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame who never started a major league game.

Honors and later life

Rollie Fingers entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992 as only the second relief pitcher ever enshrined, alongside Hoyt Wilhelm. Since then, Bruce Sutter, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Lee Smith, Billy Wagner, and Dennis Eckersley have also been inducted. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him 96th on its list of the game’s all-time greats, and he was a finalist for the MLB All-Century Team. He later spent a season in the Senior Professional Baseball Association.

Fingers is among just ten players whose jersey numbers have been retired by more than one team. The San Diego Hall of Champions inducted him in 2000. His World Series ring from the Brewers fetched $75,330 at auction in December 2020.

A 2007 Sports Illustrated report claimed he owed Wisconsin over $1.4 million in back taxes and interest from his Brewers years. Fingers denied the debt, insisting his taxes were properly withheld. By August of that year, the Associated Press noted his name had been removed from the state’s delinquent tax list. Fingers confirmed the issue was resolved, saying he had worked through returns dating to 1981 and that the revenue department was satisfied.

In media

On April 1, 2009, Fingers and co-author Christopher 'Yellowstone' Ritter released 'Rollie's Follies: A Hall of Fame Revue of Baseball Lists and Lore, Stats and Stories', a non-fiction baseball book combining humor, anecdotal storytelling, odd lists, and historical trivia. A sequel, 'The Rollie Fingers Baseball Bible: Lists and Lore, Stories and Stats', was released on March 16, 2010. Fingers and four family members appeared on a 1983 episode of 'Family Feud'; host Richard Dawson led the crowd in a chorus of 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' in his honor.

Fingers appeared in two Pepsi Max commercials, playing himself in a Field of Dreams setting. In one, he removes his mustache and gives it to a delivery man, saying, 'Great save, kid. You deserve this.' In 1994/1995, a comedy segment titled 'Rollie TV' aired weekly on The Steve Dahl Radio Show on WMVP 1000 AM in Chicago, featuring a fictitious cable channel devoted to Fingers's life, created by Jeffery C. Johnson and Jim Toth.

Did You Know?

• He grew his waxed handlebar mustache to get a $300 bonus from Athletics owner Charles O. Finley after Reggie Jackson showed up with a beard in 1972 spring training.
• Fingers attended Upland High School in Upland, California, and spent one semester at Chaffey Junior College.