a "cheating spitballer," prompting Redlegs' GM Gabe Paul to lodge an official protest with the National League. NL President Warren Giles responded with a statement clarifying that it was okay for a pitcher to moisten his hands as long as he did not transfer the moisture to the baseball and said, "Until someone — the umpires or someone — presents evidence that Burdette is using the spitter, I'll do nothing about it." Burdette himself said, "It's the best pitch I've got — and I don't throw it." The rumors persisted, though: Don Hoak said, "Only once did I ever see water fly off a spitball, and the man who threw me that pitch was Burdette." The Sporting News wrote in 1967, "Perhaps no pitcher has engendered more controversy about the spitter than Lou Burdette." New York Times sportswriter Red Smith wrote, "There should be 3 pitching statistics for Burdette: Wins, Losses, and Relative Humidity." Burdette himself referenced this reputation, saying he retired because "they were starting to hit the dry side of the ball." Personal life Burdette was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. He died of lung cancer at age 80 in Winter Garden, Florida. In 1958, a reference to Burdette appeared in an episode of Leave It To Beaver. The text "Lew Burdette just hit a home run and Milwaukee leads seven to one in the series," appears briefly in a few frames showing a letter from the principal to Beaver's parents. Burdette also cut a record in the 1950s entitled "Three Strikes and Then You're Out". Burdette's grandson, Nolan Fontana, is a professional baseball player. Highlights Two-time All-Star (1957, 1959) Third in Cy Young Award voting (1958) Led league in wins (1959) Led league in games started (1959) Led league in complete games (1960) Twice led league in shutouts (1956, 1959) 5 times in top 4 in wins (1956–58, 1960–61) World Series MVP (1957) Player of the Month for August 1958 See also List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders List of Major League Baseball no-hitters References External links Lew Burdette at SABR (Baseball BioProject) Lew Burdette at Baseball Almanac Lew Burdette at The Deadball Era Cooperstown's Loss 1926 births 2007 deaths Amsterdam Rugmakers players Atlanta Braves coaches Baseball players from West Virginia Boston Braves players California Angels