Richard Raymond Radatz (April 2, 1937 – March 16, 2005) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "The Monster", the , right-hander had a scorching but short-lived period of dominance for the Boston Red Sox in the early 1960s. He got his nickname by striking out several New York Yankees in a row at a game in Fenway Park in 1963. Early years Born in Detroit, Radatz attended Berkley High School. He was a star basketball and baseball player at Michigan State University before signing with the Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1959. Originally a starting pitcher when he began his professional career, Radatz compiled a 16–10 record and 3.48 earned run average in his first two seasons in the Red Sox farm system. A sore arm led Seattle Rainiers manager Johnny Pesky to convert him into a reliever in 1961 against Radatz's will. The experiment worked, as Radatz earned a job out of spring training the following season as a non-roster invitee. Sporting News "Fireman of the Year" Radatz was immediately dominant at the major league level, as he pitched 18.1 innings and recorded six saves before surrendering his first earned run on May 15, 1962 against the Yankees (a game which the Red Sox won, and Radatz earned his seventh save). He went on to lead the American League in saves (24), games (62) and relief wins (9), while posting a 2.24 ERA in 124.2 innings his rookie season, earning the AL's Fireman of the Year by The Sporting News. Yankee manager Ralph Houk, who said, "For two seasons, I've never seen a better pitcher," added Radatz to his 1963 AL All-Star squad after a 33 scoreless inning streak saw his ERA dip to 0.88 on June 14. He gave up one earned run in two innings pitched, but impressed with strikeouts of Willie Mays, Dick Groat, Duke Snider, Willie McCovey and Julián Javier. For the season, he saved 23 games and went 15–6 with a 1.97 ERA, becoming the first pitcher in history to have consecutive 20-save seasons and finishing fifth in MVP voting despite Boston's seventh-place finish. The Red Sox toyed with the idea of converting Radatz back into a starter for the 1964 season. Instead, he remained in the bullpen, and earned his second Fireman of the Year award in 1964 for his league-leading 29 saves with 16 wins