A rhyme from the past

Spahn & Sain by Gerald V. Hern

First we'll use Spahn
then we'll use Sain
Then an off day
followed by rain
Back will come Spahn
followed by Sain
And followed we hope
by two days of rain.

from BaseballAlmanac.com

Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain were pitchers for the Boston Braves and that poem is based on a battle cry of Brave fans in 1948 as their team was pushing for the NL pennant. "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain."

Why that poem today?

From the Chicago Tribune All-Star pitcher Johnny Sain dies

Johnny Sain went from accomplished student to expert teacher in one of sports' most difficult disciplines: pitching a baseball.

Sain's major-league accomplishments were remarkable and varied but were not deemed impressive enough to earn him entry into Baseball's Hall of Fame.

Sain, best known locally as a highly effective White Sox pitching coach in the 1970s, died Tuesday at Resthaven West Nursing Home in Downers Grove after a long illness. He was 89.

Sain was masterful in a variety of roles from starting pitcher to reliever to pitching coach.A right-hander, Sain was a 20-game winner four times. He completed more than half the games he started and was a three-time All-Star in an 11-year career shortened by extensive military service in World War II.

If his 139-116 career record was merely good, his feats in the 1948 season were near mythic, particularly in September of that year. Sain pitched nine complete games in 29 days, winning seven and teaming with Warren Spahn to lead the Boston Braves to the National League pennant.

He capped the streak by beating Bob Feller and the Cleveland Indians 1-0 in the first game of the World Series.

Here is a quote from Appleton Baseball Hall of Fame member Roland Hemond:

"He had a fine pitching career as well as an incomparable career as a pitching coach, so he should be in Baseball's Hall of Fame," said fformer White Sox general manager Roland Hemond, who hired Sain as Sox pitching coach late in the 1970 season. "I don't know of a greater pitching coach in my career."

As pitching coach for the White Sox, Yankees, Twins and Tigers, Sain tutored 16 pitchers who won 20 or more games in a season. Jim Kaat, of the Twins and the White Sox, and Jim Bouton of the Yankees credit him with rejuvenating their careers.

"Johnny Sain belongs in the Hall of Fame for a combination of his accomplishments as a great pitcher and pitching coach," Bouton said. "He's the greatest pitching coach who ever lived."