Craig Anderson

From The Met Wiki

Norman Craig Anderson was a Mets pitcher from 1962 to 1964. He pitched 153 and two-thirds innings in 57 games with the team. Anderson had the unfortunate experience of losing 19 consecutive decisions with dismal Met teams.

After beginning his career with the Cardinals in 1961, Anderson was taken by the Mets in the expansion draft. In the team's inaugural '62 season, he led all Mets pitchers with 50 game appearances. At Philadelphia on May 6, Craig pitched four shutout innings and picked up the win as the Mets defeated the Phillies, 7-5, in 12 innings. In a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Braves on May 12, Craig was the winning pitcher in both games as the Mets recorded 3-2 and 8-7 victories at the Polo Grounds. These turned out to be Anderson's only wins as a Mets pitcher.

Anderson's losing streak began with a 4-2 defeat to the Dodgers in Los Angeles on May 24. Craig ended the '62 season with 16 straight defeats and a 5.35 earned run average for the year. In 1963, he spent the season at AAA-level Buffalo before rejoining the Mets in September. He was tagged with his 17th consecutive loss on September 18 as the Mets were defeated by the Phillies, 5-1, in the final game at the Polo Grounds. Ten days later in Houston, Anderson took another loss in the Mets' 9-2 defeat to the Colt .45s.

On May 23, 1964, Anderson's streak reached 19 games with a 4-0 loss at Houston. In the Mets' 23-inning game against the Giants on May 31, Craig pitched one-third of an inning in what would be his last major league appearance. He returned to Buffalo and continued to pitch in the Mets' system until 1966.

Anderson went on to a career as a pitching coach at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.