Jim Bunning

James Paul David “Jim” Bunning (born October 23, 1931) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and politician.

During a 17-year baseball career, he pitched from 1955 to 1971, most notably with the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1959, the right-hander struck out the side throwing just nine pitches as a reliever in the top of the ninth inning of Detroit's 5-4 loss to Boston at Briggs Stadium. Sammy White, Jim Mahoney and Ike Delock were the victims of his immaculate inning. When he retired, he had the second-highest total of career strikeouts in Major League history; he is currently 17th. Bunning pitched the seventh perfect game in Major League Baseball history on June 21, 1964, against the New York Mets. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.

After retiring from baseball, Bunning returned to his native northern Kentucky and was subsequently elected to the city council, and then the state senate, in which he served as minority leader. In 1986, Bunning was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 4th congressional district, and served in the House from 1987 to 1999. He was elected to the United States Senate from Kentucky in 1998 and served there from 1999 as the Republican junior U.S. Senator. In July 2009, he announced that he would not run for re-election in 2010, citing difficulty in raising campaign funds. Bunning gave his farewell speech to the Senate on December 9, 2010, and was succeeded by Rand Paul on January 3, 2011.

Education and family
Bunning was born in Southgate, Kentucky, the son of Gladys (née Best) and Louis Aloysius Bunning. He graduated from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati in 1949 and later received a bachelor's degree in economics from Xavier University.

In 1952, Bunning married Mary Catherine Theis. They had five daughters and four sons. One of Bunning's sons, David L. Bunning, is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Major League Baseball career
Bunning's first game as a major league pitcher was on July 20, 1955, with the Detroit Tigers, after having toiled in the minor leagues 1950–1954 and part of the 1955 season, when the Tigers club described him as having "an excellent curve ball, a confusing delivery and a sneaky fast ball". Bunning pitched for the Detroit Tigers (1955–63). He then went to the Philadelphia Phillies (1964–67), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1968 to mid-1969), and finished the 1969 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bunning then returned to the Phillies in 1970 and retired in 1971. He wore uniform number 15 on the 1955 Tigers, and then switched to 14 in 1956 for the rest of his time with Detroit. He stayed with number 14 on his jersey with the Phillies and Pirates. When he was traded to the Dodgers in 1969 he wore number 17. The Phillies retired his number 14 jersey in 2001 after his election to the Hall of Fame in 1996.

Bunning is remembered for his role in the pennant race of 1964, in which the Phillies held a commanding lead in the National League for most of the season, eventually losing the title to the St. Louis Cardinals. Manager Gene Mauch used Bunning and fellow hurler Chris Short heavily down the stretch, and the two became visibly fatigued as September wore on. The collapse of the 1964 Phillies remains one of the most infamous in baseball history. With a six and a half game lead as late as September 21, they lost 10 games in a row to finish tied for second place.

Bunning would routinely shake off catchers' pitch signs that he knew to be signaled into the game from the dugout by Mauch. This would have the effect of irritating Mauch, who broadly applied the practice of signalling pitches from the dugout to his catchers at a time when this was not typically done.

No-hitters
Bunning pitched his first no-hitter on July 20, 1958, for the Detroit Tigers against the Boston Red Sox. His second, for the Philadelphia Phillies, was a perfect game against the New York Mets on Father's Day, June 21, 1964.

In his first season with the Phillies, Bunning entered play on June 21 with a 6–2 record on the season. He was opposed on the mound by Tracy Stallard in the first game of a doubleheader. Through the first four innings, Bunning totaled four strikeouts through twelve batters. In the fifth inning, Phillies second baseman Tony Taylor preserved the perfect game with his strong defensive play. A diving catch and a throw from the knees kept Mets catcher Jesse Gonder off of the bases. Bunning also made plays at the plate, hitting a double and driving in two runs in the sixth inning. By the end of the game, even the Mets fans were cheering Bunning's effort; he had only reached a three-ball count on two batters, and retired shortstop Charley Smith on a pop-out, and pinch-hitters George Altman and John Stephenson on strikeouts, to complete the perfect game.

Bunning, who at the time had seven children, said that his game, pitched on Father's Day, could not have come at a more appropriate time. He remarked that his slider was his best pitch, just like the no-hitter I pitched for Detroit six years ago. Bunning posted the first regular-season perfect game since Charlie Robertson in 1922 (Don Larsen's prior perfect game was in the 1956 World Series). The Phillies also won the second game of the doubleheader, 8–2, behind Rick Wise.

Bunning's perfect game was the first in the National League in 84 years. He is one of only seven pitchers to throw both a perfect game and an additional no-hitter, the others being Randy Johnson, Sandy Koufax, Addie Joss, Cy Young, Mark Buehrle, and fellow Phillie Roy Halladay, whose additional no-hitter came in Game 1 of the 2010 National League Division Series. He is also one of only five players to throw a no-hitter in both leagues, the others being Young, Johnson, Nolan Ryan and Hideo Nomo.

On August 2, 1959, Bunning struck out three batters on nine pitches in the ninth inning of a 5–4 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Bunning became the fifth American League pitcher and the 10th pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the nine-pitch/three-strikeout half-inning. Bunning's 2,855 career strikeouts put him in second place on the all-time list at the time of his retirement, behind only Walter Johnson. His mark was later surpassed by a number of other pitchers, and he is currently 17th all-time.

In 1996 he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame via the Veterans Committee.

Career stats
He played in the All-Star Games in 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1966. He is also tenth on the list of pitchers who have hit batsmen during their career.

Political career
Bunning was one of the Senate's most conservative members, gaining high marks from several conservative interest groups. He was ranked by National Journal as the second-most conservative United States Senator in their March 2007 conservative/liberal rankings, after Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC).

Local and state positions
First elected to office in 1977, Bunning served two years on the city council of Fort Thomas, Kentucky before running for and winning a seat in the Kentucky Senate as a Republican. He was elected minority leader by his Republican colleagues, a rare feat for a freshman legislator.

Bunning was the Republican candidate for governor in 1983. He and his running mate Eugene P. Stuart lost in the general election to Democrat Martha Layne Collins.

House of Representatives
In 1986, Bunning won the Republican nomination in Kentucky's 4th District, based in Kentucky's share of the Cincinnati metro area, after 10-term incumbent Republican Gene Snyder retired. He won easily in the fall and was reelected five more times without serious opposition in what was considered the most Republican district in Kentucky. After the Republicans gained control of the House in 1995, Bunning served as chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security until 1999.

First Senate term
In 1998, Senate Minority Whip Wendell Ford decided to retire after 24 years in the Senate—the longest term in Kentucky history. Bunning won the Republican nomination for the seat, and faced fellow Congressman Scotty Baesler, a Democrat from the Lexington-based 6th District, in the general election. Bunning defeated Baesler by just over half a percentage point. The race was very close; Bunning only won by swamping Baesler in the 4th by a margin that Baesler couldn't make up in the rest of the state (Baesler barely won the 6th).

Bunning was 67 years old when he entered U.S. Senate.

Among the bills that Bunning sponsored is the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004.

2004 Senate race
Bunning was heavily favored for a second term in 2004 after his expected Democratic opponent, Governor Paul Patton, saw his career implode in a scandal over an extramarital affair, and the Democrats chose Daniel Mongiardo, a relatively unknown physician and state senator from Hazard. Bunning had an estimated $4 million campaign war chest, while Mongiardo had only $600,000. However, due to a number of controversial incidents involving Bunning, the Democrats began increasing financial support to Mongiardo when it became apparent that Bunning's bizarre behavior was costing him votes, purchasing more than $800,000 worth of additional television airtime on his behalf.

During his reelection bid, controversy erupted when Bunning described Mongiardo as looking "like one of Saddam Hussein's sons." Public pressure compelled him to apologize. Bunning was also criticized for his use of a teleprompter during a televised debate with Mongiardo where Bunning participated via satellite link, refusing to appear in person. Bunning was further criticized for making an unsubstantiated claim that his wife had been attacked by Mongiardo's supporters, and for calling Mongiardo "limp wristed". Bunning's mental health was also questioned during the campaign.

In October, 2004 Bunning told reporters "Let me explain something: I don't watch the national news, and I don't read the paper. I haven't done that for the last six weeks. I watch Fox News to get my information."

The race turned out to be very close, with Mongiardo leading with as many as 80% of the returns coming in. However, Bunning eventually won by just over one percentage point after the western portion of the state broke heavily for him.

Second Senate term
As was expected in light of Bunning's previous career as a baseball player, he has been very interested in Congress's investigation of steroid use in baseball. Bunning has also been outspoken on the issue of illegal immigration taking the position that all illegal immigrants should be deported.

Bunning was also the only member of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to have opposed Ben Bernanke for Chief of the Federal Reserve. He said it was because he had doubts that Bernanke would be any different from Alan Greenspan.

In April 2006, Time magazine called him one of America's Five Worst Senators. The magazine dubbed him The Underperformer for his "lackluster performance", saying he "shows little interest in policy unless it involves baseball", and criticized his hostility towards staff and fellow Senators and his "bizarre behavior" during his 2004 campaign.

On December 6, 2006, only Bunning and Rick Santorum voted against the confirmation of Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense, with Bunning saying that "Mr. Gates has repeatedly criticized our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan without providing any viable solutions to the problems our troops currently face. We need a secretary of defense to think forward with solutions and not backward on history we cannot change."

Jim Bunning reportedly blocked the move to restore public access to the records of past United States Presidents which had been removed under Executive Order 13233.

A September 2009 state-wide opinion poll said Bunning had a 35% approval rating, with 55% disapproving of his performance.

In January 2009, Bunning missed more than a week of the start of Congress in January 2009. Bunning said by phone that he was fulfilling "a family commitment six months ago to do certain things, and I'm doing them." Asked whether he would say where he was, Bunning replied: "No, I'd rather not."

In February 2009, at the Hardin County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner, while discussing conservative judges, Bunning predicted that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would likely be dead from pancreatic cancer within nine months. Bunning later apologized if he had offended Ginsburg with his remarks and offered his thoughts and prayers to Ginsburg.

Bunning was the only senator to miss the Senate's historic Christmas Eve 2009 vote on the health care reform bill; he cited family commitments as his reason for missing the vote. The bill passed without any Republican votes, 60–39.

On February 25, 2010 Bunning objected to a proposal of unanimous consent for an extension of unemployment insurance, COBRA, and other federal programs, citing that this extension was not pay-as-you-go. He proposed an amendment which sought to find the funds to pay for the bill from the Stimulus Bill of 2009, and declared that he supported the unemployed, but that a bill such as this only adds to the growing deficit and that it should be paid for immediately. Talk show radio host Mike Malloy stridently, forcefully and colorfully describes how damaging not passing such legislation affects everyday families on several YouTube videos, in conjunction with John Kyl. I have offered to do the same thing for the same amount of time. The only difference that I have....is that I believe we should pay for it....There are going to be other bills brought to this floor that are not going to be paid for, and I'm going to object every time they do it.

Senator Bob Corker joined Bunning, while other senators worked to cease his objections until 11:48 pm EST. When Senator Jeff Merkley urged him to drop his objections to vote on a 30-day extension of benefits, Bunning responded "tough shit." On March 2, Bunning finally agreed to end his objection to the bill in exchange for a vote on his amendment to pay for the package. It failed 53–43 on a procedural vote. The extension of unemployment benefits then passed by a vote of 78–19.

Aborted 2010 re-election campaign


In January 2009, when asked whether Bunning was the best candidate to run or whether there were better GOP candidates for Bunning's Senate seat, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn said: "I don't know. I think it's really up to Senator Bunning." Bunning replied: "Anybody can run for anything they choose. I am gearing up, and I look forward to the challenge of taking on whoever comes out of the Democrat primary in May of 2010." Kentucky State Senate President David L. Williams was reportedly considering running against Bunning in the primary. Bunning responded by threatening to sue the National Republican Senatorial Committee if they recruited a candidate to run against him in the primary. He also attacked NRSC Chairman John Cornyn: "'The NRSC never helped me last time and they're probably not going to help me this time ... [David Williams] owes me $30,000 and he said he'll repay me. I was short in my FEC money and he asked me if I would help save two state senate seats ... I told him if I did it I would have to have it replaced at the first of the year. So far he has not.'"

As of the end of September 2008, Bunning had $175,000 in his campaign account. By comparison, all other Republican senators facing competitive 2010 races had at least $850,000 at that point. In the last quarter of 2008, the senator's campaign committee Citizens for Bunning had raised $27,000 from 26 separate contributions, ending the year with $150,000 in cash. In mid-April, KYWORDSMITH.com reported that of the $263,000 that Bunning collected during the first quarter of 2009, over 77% ($203,383) was received from out of state, while over 10% ($28,100) was actually untouchable for another 13 months as it was contributed exclusively for use in a general election. Bunning had two fund raisers scheduled in the first half of April.

In an April 2009 poll, Bunning's approval rating was just 28%, and he trailed the four most likely Democratic candidates in hypothetical contests. 54% of voters in the state disapproved of Bunning's performance. Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson announced on April 30, 2009, that he would form an exploratory committee to run for Bunning's seat. It was speculated that this was a precursor to Bunning's retirement. "He (Bunning) told Trey to do this," one senior congressional official said of Bunning. "Why else would he tell his main rival to prepare for a run?" However, Bunning said at a Lincoln Day dinner in Kentucky on 9 May that he still planned to run: "The battle is going to be long, but I am prepared to fight for my values."

In a press conference on May 19, Bunning called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a "control freak": "If Mitch McConnell doesn't endorse me, it could be the best thing that ever happened to me in Kentucky."

On July 27, 2009, Bunning announced he would not run for re-election in 2010, blaming fellow Republicans for doing "everything in their power to dry up my fundraising." On April 14, 2010, in a further show of disdain for GOP leadership and insiders, Bunning announced his support for outsider candidate Rand Paul over establishment favorite Trey Grayson.

Committee assignments

 * Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
 * Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment (Ranking Member)
 * Committee on the Budget
 * Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
 * Subcommittee on Energy
 * Subcommittee on National Parks
 * Subcommittee on Water and Power
 * Committee on Finance
 * Subcommittee on Health Care
 * Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure (Ranking Member)
 * Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness

Jim Bunning Foundation
On December 18, 2008, the Lexington Herald Leader reported that Sen. Bunning's non-profit foundation, the Jim Bunning Foundation, has given less than 25 percent of its proceeds to charity. The charity has taken in $504,000 since 1996, according to Senate and tax records; during that period, Senator Bunning was paid $180,000 in salary by the foundation while working a reported one hour per week. Bunning Foundation board members include his wife Mary, and Cincinnati tire dealer Bob Sumerel. In 2008, records indicate that Bunning attended 10 baseball shows around the country and signed autographs, generating $61,631 in income for the charity. "The whole thing is very troubling," said Melanie Sloan, Executive Director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Electoral history
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%" ! Year ! ! Democrat ! Votes ! Pct ! ! Republican ! Votes ! Pct !
 * + Kentucky's 4th congressional district: Results 1986–1996
 * 1986
 * |Terry L. Mann
 * align="right" |53,906
 * |44%
 * |Jim Bunning
 * align="right" |67,626
 * |56%
 * 1988
 * |Richard V. Beliles
 * align="right" |50,575
 * |26%
 * |Jim Bunning
 * align="right" |145,609
 * |74%
 * 1990
 * |Galen Martin
 * align="right" |44,979
 * |31%
 * |Jim Bunning
 * align="right" |101,680
 * |69%
 * 1992
 * |Floyd G. Poore
 * align="right" |86,890
 * |38%
 * |Jim Bunning
 * align="right" |139,634
 * |62%
 * 1994
 * |Sally Harris Skaggs
 * align="right" |33,717
 * |26%
 * |Jim Bunning
 * align="right" |96,695
 * |74%
 * 1996
 * |Denny Bowman
 * align="right" |68,939
 * |32%
 * |Jim Bunning
 * align="right" |149,135
 * |68%
 * |62%
 * 1994
 * |Sally Harris Skaggs
 * align="right" |33,717
 * |26%
 * |Jim Bunning
 * align="right" |96,695
 * |74%
 * 1996
 * |Denny Bowman
 * align="right" |68,939
 * |32%
 * |Jim Bunning
 * align="right" |149,135
 * |68%
 * |Denny Bowman
 * align="right" |68,939
 * |32%
 * |Jim Bunning
 * align="right" |149,135
 * |68%
 * align="right" |149,135
 * |68%

* In 1986, Walter T. Marksberry received 735 votes, W. Ed Parker received 485 votes, and other write-ins received 11 votes.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%" !|Year ! !|Democrat !|Votes !|Pct ! !|Republican !|Votes !|Pct ! !|3rd Party !|Party !|Votes !|Pct !
 * + Kentucky Senator (Class III) results: 1998–2004
 * 1998
 * |Scotty Baesler
 * align="right" |563,051
 * |49.2%
 * |Jim Bunning
 * align="right" |569,817
 * |49.7%
 * |Charles R. Arbegust
 * |Reform
 * align="right" |12,546
 * align="right" |1.1%
 * 2004
 * |Daniel Mongiardo
 * align="right" |850,855
 * |49%
 * |Jim Bunning
 * align="right" |873,507
 * |51%
 * |Daniel Mongiardo
 * align="right" |850,855
 * |49%
 * |Jim Bunning
 * align="right" |873,507
 * |51%
 * align="right" |873,507
 * |51%

Awards
In 2005 Bunning received the United States Sports Academy's highest honor, the Eagle Award, which is given in recognition of an individual's significant contributions to international sport.

The 1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was dedicated to Bunning and fellow Phillies legends Richie Ashburn, Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts and Mike Schmidt, all of whom threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

= Resources =