Rod Gaspar | |
---|---|
Outfielder | |
Born: Long Beach, California, U.S. | April 3, 1946|
Batted: Switch Threw: Left | |
MLB debut | |
April 8, 1969, for the New York Mets | |
Last MLB appearance | |
July 19, 1974, for the San Diego Padres | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .208 |
Home runs | 1 |
Runs batted in | 17 |
Stats at Baseball Reference | |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Rodney Earl Gaspar (born April 3,1946) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder.
A switch hitter,Gaspar played for the New York Mets (1969–70) and San Diego Padres (1971,1974).
A former player at Long Beach State and Long Beach City College,Gaspar played 178 games in his career,118 of them in his rookie year,1969. He began the year as the Mets’starting right fielder,then became a utility outfielder (he also played left and center field on occasion) after Ron Swoboda became the regular right fielder. That year,he hit .228,recorded in 14 of his 17 career runs batted in,and hit his only Major League home run,off Mike McCormick of the San Francisco Giants on May 30. He also excelled defensively,leading all Mets outfielders in assists with 12,and leading the National League in double plays with six.
That year,Gaspar was a member of the Miracle Mets team that unexpectedly won the World Series in five games over the Baltimore Orioles. Before the Series,Orioles' outfielder,Frank Robinson said,"Bring on the Mets and Ron Gaspar!" He was then told by his teammate,Merv Rettenmund,"It's Rod,stupid." He then retorted by saying,"OK. Bring on Rod Stupid!" In Game Four of that Series,Gaspar scored the winning run on a controversial play at Shea Stadium. With the score tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the tenth,Gaspar pinch-ran for Jerry Grote,who had led off the inning with a double. An intentional walk to Al Weis followed,after which J. C. Martin,pinch-hitting for Tom Seaver,bunted to the pitcher. Both runners advanced,and as Martin ran to first,Pete Richert's throw hit him on the hand and ricocheted away,the error allowing Gaspar to score the winning run. (Replays would later show that Martin had been running inside the baseline,which could have resulted in him being called out for interference;however,the umpires said they didn't make the call because they felt Martin didn't intentionally interfere with the play.) [1] [2]
Frank Robinson,nicknamed "the Judge",was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams over 21 seasons:the Cincinnati Reds (1956–1965),Baltimore Orioles (1966–1971),Los Angeles Dodgers (1972),California Angels (1973–1974),and Cleveland Indians (1974–1976). In 1975,Robinson became the first Black manager in big-league history,as the player-manager of the Indians.
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Brady Kevin Anderson is an American former baseball outfielder and executive who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2002) for the Boston Red Sox,Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians. He spent the majority of his career as a center fielder and leadoff hitter for the Orioles in the 1990s,where he was a three-time All Star,and,in 1996,became the 15th player in major league history to hit 50 home runs in one season. Anderson bats and throws left-handed,stands 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall,and weighs 199 pounds (90 kg).
In baseball,interference occurs in situations in which a person illegally changes the course of play from what is expected. Interference might be committed by players on the offense,players not currently in the game,catchers,umpires,or spectators. Each type of interference is covered differently by the rules.
The 1969 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1969 season. The 66th edition of the World Series,it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Baltimore Orioles and the National League (NL) champion New York Mets. The Mets won the series,four games to one,to accomplish one of the greatest upsets in Series history,as that particular Orioles team was considered to be one of the finest ever. The World Series win earned the team the sobriquet "The Miracle Mets". This was the first World Series of MLB's divisional era.
Brady William Clark is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Brady is a class of 1991 graduate of Sunset High School in Beaverton,Oregon,and 1996 graduate of the University of San Diego,where he played college baseball for the Toreros from 1992 to 1995. He was named to the All-West Coast Conference Team in 1995.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1969 throughout the world.
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