Alfred James Pilarcik (July 3, 1930 – September 20, 2010) was an American professional baseball player. An outfielder, he appeared in 668 Major League games between and for the Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox. Pilarcik stood tall, weighed and threw and batted left-handed. Primarily a right fielder, Pilarcik played in over 100 games for three successive seasons (–) as a member of the Orioles. In

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

, his last season in Baltimore, Pilarcik saw less service, but he was stationed in right field at Boston's Fenway Park on September 28, 1960, Ted Williams' final game as an active player. He caught Williams' long drive to right field at the bullpen wall in the fifth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

, then, three frames later, watched helplessly as Williams' 440-foot (134-metre) blast carried over the bullpen for Williams' 521st and final career home run — in the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

hitter's last

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

in the Major Leagues. Pilarcik's career lasted one more season, split between the 1961 Athletics (in his second turn for that franchise) and the White Sox. All told, in six MLB campaigns, he compiled a career batting average of .256 with 22

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 143 runs batted in. Defensively, he recorded a .986

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

playing at all three outfield positions. He was signed by Yankees scout Lou Maguolo. After baseball, he went into the teaching profession and taught at Lake Central High School for 33 years, retiring in 2001.Obituary
/ref>

References

External links

Career statistics
from Baseball Reference
Obituary
from Northwest Indiana Times {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilarick, Al 1930 births Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Indiana Chicago White Sox players Kansas City Athletics players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball right fielders People from Whiting, Indiana Joplin Miners players Quincy Gems players Muskegon Clippers players Beaumont Roughnecks players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Syracuse Chiefs players Birmingham Barons players Columbus Jets players 2010 deaths People from St. John, Indiana