Pete Ladd

Little did Pete Ladd know that one year after he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, that he would play a crucial role in the magical season that was 1982. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound righthander—known as Big Foot because of his size 15 cleats—started the season at Triple-A Vancouver.

In mid-July, Ladd was called up to the big club when pitcher Jamie Easterly went on the disabled list. Ladd played an understudy role to closer Rollie Fingers, but when Fingers was lost for the season with a torn forearm muscle in early September, Ladd moved into the closer’s job the last month of the season. He notched two saves in the ALCS with California but was largely forgotten in the World Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Peter Linwood Ladd was born in Portland, Maine but moved to Atlanta and played high school ball at Henderson HS and then attended the University of Mississippi. The Boston Red Sox selected him in the 25^th round of the 1977 MLB Amateur Draft. After three seasons in the Sox organization, Ladd was traded to the Houston Astros. He pitched 10 games for the Astros in 1979 and then spent the next two seasons in the minors before his trade to the Brewers.

Ladd earned two saves in his first two games after taking over the closer spot but then lost two games in a five-game span mid-month and lost his high leverage job. He pitched three times in blow-out games late in the season. Ladd earned saves in Game 3 and Game 5 of the ALCS as the Brewers defeated the Angels to advance to the World Series. In three outings, Ladd was perfect in 3.1 innings, striking out five in a dominant showing.

But he pitched only one time in the Series, while lefty Bob McClure appeared in five games, earning two saves. The Cards would win the Series in seven games and even to this day, Brewers fans think their team would have been victorious had Fingers been healthy.

Ladd had his best season in 1983, saving a team-high 25 games, but became a medium-leverage/long reliever the next two seasons before being released by the Brewers after the 1985 season. He pitched well for the Seattle Mariners in 1986, posting an ERA+ of 111 in 52 appearances. His career ended after pitching at Triple-A Albuquerque in 1987.

Ladd passed away in October 2023 after a short battle with cancer.