A
control pitcher, Wyse was a
sinkerballer and a
curve specialist. Wyse was nicknamed "Hooks" in acknowledgment of his curveball, described by Wyse biographer Gregory Wolf as "knee-buckling". Wyse suffered a spinal injury that kept him from serving in
World War II. As a result, he wore a corset at times to pitch. Wyse debuted for the Chicago Cubs on September 7, 1942, and would remain a Cub thru the 1947 season. Wyse also pitched in the
American League with the
Philadelphia Athletics and
Washington Senators for parts of two seasons, playing his final game in the major leagues on June 14, 1951. In his eight-season
MLB career, Wyse posted a 79–70
won–lost record with a 3.52
ERA, 362
strikeouts, 11
shutouts, eight
saves, and 1257
innings in 251
games pitched, 159 as a
starter.
1945 season His most productive season came in 1945, when he helped the Cubs win the
National League pennant after going 22–10 with a 2.68 ERA. During that season he was, for his first and only time, selected as an
All-Star and pitched a
one-hitter on April 28 against the
Pittsburgh Pirates. His potential
no-hitter was broken up by
Bill Salkeld, who
singled in the 8th inning with one out. He would finish seventh in the 1945 National League Most Valuable Player vote. Wyse would pitch and be credited with a loss in the second game of the
World Series. He
relieved in Games 6 and 7. Until
Jon Lester pitched in the first inning of the
2016 World Series, Wyse was the last Cubs' pitcher to appear in a World Series game. The 1945 World Series would be Wyse's only
postseason appearance. ==Death==