|
Richard Arlin Billings (born December 4, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American former professional baseball player.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Dick Billings statistics )〕 He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, outfielder and third baseman for the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers (1968–74) and St. Louis Cardinals (1974–75).〔 ==Baseball career== Billings was drafted out of Michigan State University by the Washington Senators in the 25th round of the 1965 Major League Baseball Draft.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1965 Major League Baseball Draft- 25th Round )〕 He played as an outfielder and occasional third baseman in the Senators' minor league system for four years before making his major league debut as a pinch hitter on September 11, 1968.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Dick Billings minor league statistics )〕 Billings had his first appearance as a starting player on September 20, when he appeared as a left fielder in a game against the Detroit Tigers.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=September 20, 1968 Tigers-Senators box score )〕 Billings began the 1969 season with the Senators but, in June he returned to the minor leagues and was converted into a catcher.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1969 Dick Billings batting log )〕 In , he posted a .305 batting average with 15 home runs and 67 runs batted in while playing for the Denver Bears.〔 His performance earned him a late-season return to the major leagues in September 1970, where he served as a backup catcher behind Paul Casanova.〔 Billings won the starting catcher's job in July 1971 when Senators manager Ted Williams benched Casanova for weak hitting. Although he led American League catchers with 16 passed balls, he ended the season with a career-high .992 fielding percentage in 116 games.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1971 American League Fielding Leaders )〕 In 1972 the Senators relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and were renamed the Texas Rangers. Billings started the season in a platoon role alongside left-hand hitting catcher Hal King. King was sent to the minor leagues in July and, Billings eventually played in a career-high 133 games.〔 He also posted career-highs with a .254 batting average, 15 doubles, 5 home runs, and 68 runs batted in.〔 On August 13, , Billings produced 5 runs batted in on 4 hits in a 13 to 4 victory over the Kansas City Royals.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=August 13, 1972 Royals-Rangers box score )〕 Williams resigned as the Rangers' manager and was replaced by Whitey Herzog, who installed Billings into a platoon role alongside catcher Ken Suarez for the 1973 season. In May, he went on the 15-day disabled list. Billings was the Rangers catcher on July 30, when Jim Bibby pitched a no-hitter against the defending world champion Oakland Athletics.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=July 30, 1973 Rangers-Athletics box score )〕 Batting as the Rangers' cleanup hitter, his average dropped to .179 with 3 home runs and 32 runs batted in.〔 With the arrival of new manager Billy Martin in 1974, Billings found himself in a backup role behind defensive standout Jim Sundberg. In August he was purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals and, was sent to the minor leagues to play for the Tulsa Oilers.〔 He was called back up to the major leagues late in the season where he appeared in only one game on September 11.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1974 Dick Billings batting log )〕 Billings began the 1975 season with the Tulsa Oilers before being brought up to the Cardinals in June.〔 After only 3 games with the Cardinals, he was sent back to Tulsa in order to make room on the roster for outfielder Buddy Bradford. Billings retired at the end of the season at the age of 32.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dick Billings」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|