Bobby Bolin, a former Giants pitcher who was one of the original inductees to the team’s Wall of Fame, died June 2 at 84, according to an online obituary.
A cause of death was not given.
Bolin was a right-handed starter and reliever in the majors for 13 seasons with the Giants, Brewers and Red Sox.
A reliable pitcher, Bolin finished in the top 10 in the National League three times for ERA and twice for shutouts and winning percentage.
“I was never classified as a starter or as a reliever, so I mostly sat on a tarp between the bullpen and the dugout because I didn’t know which one I’d be doing,” he once said.
In 1968, a season known as The Year of the Pitcher, Bolin went 10-5 with a 1.99 ERA in 34 appearances, including 19 starts, with six complete games and three shutouts.
Cardinals ace Bob Gibson famously pitched to a microscopic 1.12 ERA that season but on September 6, Bolin outdueled the St. Louis star in a 3-2 win.
Bolin grew up in South Carolina and pitched four no-hitters in one season at Hickory Grove High School.
He grew up as a Dodgers fan but when Giants scout Tim Murchison explained he would have a better chance of making the big leagues with the Giants, Bolin signed.
Bolin made his MLB debut in 1961 and was on the 1962 pennant-winning Giants, appearing in two games in the World Series against the Yankees, a series San Francisco would lose in seven games.
The sidearmer went a career-best 14-6 in 1965.
The following season he set career-highs with 10 complete games and four shutouts despite a pedestrian 11-10 record.
Bolin pitched for the Giants through the 1969 season and finished his career in the American League with the Brewers and Red Sox.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Irene White Bolin, as well as two children, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
