Jim was a member of one of the best pitching staffs of the 1960s and 1970s that included Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Tom Phoebus, and Mike Cuellar.  He earned a championship ring in the 1970 World Series and was part of the dominant 1969 American League champs who lost that year's World Series to the "Miracle Mets".  An 18 game winner in 1968, Hardin pitched 4-1/2 years with Baltimore, half of one season with the Yankees and one year with the Braves. He finished his career with a record of 43-32 and a 3.19 ERA. 

 

Man in a Hurry

Oriole News, June-July 1969

When Jim Hardin is on the mound for the Orioles, he doesn't waste any time between pitches.  He gives the impression of being a young man in a hurry, and that about sums up his major league career to date.

Jim didn't get into a major league boxscore untilthe middle of the 1967 season, and since then has compiled an outstanding 16-6 record (thru June 26).

The fact that he made the big leagues at all is a surprise to some people, most certainly the Mets, who left him unprotected in the minors after the 1965 season and lost him to the Orioles for $12,000.

Jim is one of those pitchers who doesn't have an over-powering fastball or an outstanding breaking pitch but his physical ability is of major league caliber, make no mistake about it, and he's the type who squeezes every ounce out of what he has.

"I'm basically a very uncomplicated pitcher," he says.  "My pattern is to throw fastballs and breaking pitches and just keep moving the ball in and out, up and down.  I'd say that I pitch just about the same way to everybody.

"I'm not a spectacular pitcher  and I'm not going to strike out a lot of hitters," Hardin goes on, "but when my stuff is good, the batters will hit a lot of ground balls off me, and I won't have to throw a lot of pitches."

The Hardin philosophy is always one of challenging the hitter.  Although control is a big part of his success, he is not what is termed a "nibbler," constantly trying to pick off the corners of the plate.  "When my control is real good, I'm throwing on the outside of the plate, or the inside, most of the time," he explains, "but I try not to get behind on a hitter.

"I look at it this way - you can throw the ball right down the pipe on the first pitch and get away with it a lot more than you can when the count is 2-and-0 or 3-and-1.  When you're behind, the hitter can pick his pitch, and his spot an dif he gets it, then you've got big trouble."

Much of Jim's success, he freely admits, has come since Oriole pitching coach George Bamberger encouraged him to "challenge" the hitters.  At the time, Bamberger was the club's minor league pitching coach and Jim gives him much of the credit for speeding his progress to the majors.