Next up on the "1976 Project" hit parade is a "career capper" of
sorts for pinch-hitter extraordinaire Gates Brown of the Detroit Tigers.
Take a look:
Brown closed out a wonderful 13-year career in 1975, all for the Tigers, playing in 47 games.
He hit .171 with six hits in 35 at-bats in his final season, but
don't let that fool you, he was THE man off the bench for the Tigers,
and one of the top pinch-hitters in baseball history.
Between 1963 and 1975 he collected 582 hits, with 107 of them as a pinch-hitter, and of those 107 pinch-hits 16 were home runs.
It's interesting to note that during the "year of the pitcher" in
1968, when Carl Yastrzemski led the American League with a .301 average,
and Danny Cater finished second with a .290 average, Brown, in the role
of pinch-hitter, finished with an amazing
.370 average in just under 100 at-bats.
Certainly not a full season by any means, but he was raking it nevertheless as part of the eventual World Champion team.
If none of you have read up on the man, I suggest you at least
Google him to read some of the anecdotes attributed to him, as well as
his interesting life story and how he eventually made it to the Major
Leagues.
Definitely one of those great baseball characters that live on forever in my eyes.