Nov. 29, 1963 - Gary Peters, the young southpaw pitcher of the Chicago White Sox, today was named the American League’s rookie of the year for 1963 by the 20-man committee of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Unlike Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds, who scored a landslide victory in the National League with 17 votes, the 26-year-old Peters encountered stiff opposition. He was named on 10 ballots. The White Sox third baseman, Pete Ward, polled 6 votes. Jimmie Hall, the slugging young outfielder of the Minnesota Twins, received the remaining four. However, there was no denying that Peters, who had to struggle through four spring-training trials with the White Sox before he finally latched on, merited the award. Peters’ superlative pitching performance left no doubt that the young southpaw from Mercer Pa., belonged with the best. He finished the season with a 19-8 record and an earned-run average of 2.33. He walked 68 and struck out 189. His only disappointment came when he lost his last 2 starts and missed his 20-victory goal.
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