Four-Time World Series-Winning Pitcher Dead At 78

OAKLAND, CA – MAY 25: President David Kaval of the Oakland Athletics presents Sal Bando and Ken Holtzman as members of the Athletics 50th Anniversary Team during a pregame ceremony prior to the game between the Athletics and the Arizona Diamondbacks at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on May 25, 2018 in Oakland, California. The Diamondbacks defeated the Athletics 7-1. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) Michael Zagaris/Getty Images

Ken Holtzman, a former MLB All-Star pitcher with four World Series championships, died at age 78.

His brother, Bob, told the St. Louis Post Dispatch’s Benjamin Hochman, that Holtzman was hospitalized for three weeks with a heart issue before passing away Sunday night. Holtzman spent nine of his 15 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, who mourned the loss on social media.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Cubs pitcher Ken Holtzman,” the Cubs wrote. “Ken was a Cub from 1965-1971 and 1978-1979. He posted a 3.76 ERA in 237 games with the club, including two no-hitters, cementing himself as one of the best left-handed pitchers in Cubs history. We send our condolences to Ken’s family and friends during this time.”

Holtzman joined the Cubs as a 19-year-old in 1965. The lefty tossed no-hitters in 1969 and 1971, the first of which remains the only no-no completed without a strikeout.

Traded to the Oakland Athletics in 1972, Holtzman won 77 games with a 2.92 ERA over four seasons. The two-time All-Star was a pivotal part of three consecutive World Series champions.

Holtzman has a career 2.30 ERA in 70.1 postseason innings, all for Oakland. That includes 11 innings of one-run ball in a 1973 ALCS win over the Baltimore Orioles and 5.1 innings with one run allowed to defeat the New York Mets in Game 7 of the Fall Classic.

In 1976, Holtzman went to the New York Yankees as part of a trade for star slugger Reggie Jackson. Although he didn’t pitch in the playoffs, he received a fourth World Series ring in 1977.

With 174 victories, Holtzman tops Sandy Koufax as the all-time winningest Jewish pitcher in MLB history.