Alan Lee Wirth (born December 8, 1956) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. Wirth pitched in parts of three seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, from 1978 until 1980, for the Oakland Athletics.

Career

Wirth was originally drafted by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

in the 3rd round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft. After four seasons in its organization, he was part of a 7-for-1 trade in which he along with Gary Thomasson, Gary Alexander, Dave Heaverlo,

John Henry Johnson John Henry Johnson (November 24, 1929 – June 3, 2011) was an American professional football player who was a running back. He was known for his excellence at the fullback position as both a runner and a blocker. His first professional stint ...

, Phil Huffman and $300,000 were sent to the A's for

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

on March 15, 1978.

Mario Guerrero Mario Miguel Guerrero Abud (born September 28, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who played for four teams in an eight-year career from to . Career Guerrero signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in . After fo ...

was sent to the Athletics just over three weeks later on April 7 to complete the transaction. Wirth started the 1978 season with Oakland, but was sent to the minors in June. He also split the next two seasons between the major league A's and their minor league

Ogden A's The Ogden A's were a minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League, based in Ogden, Utah. They were the Triple-A farm club of the Oakland Athletics, and replaced the San Jose Missions as the tenth team in the PCL. The Ogden A's exi ...

farm team. In all, Wirth pitched in 23 games over three seasons for Oakland before being released during spring training in 1981. He was signed by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

, and spent the 1981 season with their top farm team, the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

. After spending the 1982 season in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and Detroit Tigers organizations, he retired.

Personal life

Wirth's daughter Christina was an All-American basketball player for the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...

, and later played one season for the Indiana Fever. His oldest daughter Alana played basketball at

Barry University Barry University is a private Catholic university in Miami Shores, Florida. Founded in 1940 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, it is one of the largest Catholic universities in the Southeast and is within the territory of the Archdiocese of Mia ...

, and a third daughter, Theresa, played at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

. His son, Joe, played high school soccer for Mountain View and went on to play for

Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale Community College is a public community college in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is on the eastern boundary of the city on 160 acres (650,000 m2) of land belonging to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The lease was taken out i ...

. His youngest daughters, identical twins Jenn and LeeAnne, currently play at

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the ...

, with Jenn sharing West Coast Conference

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

honors in 2021 with BYU's Shaylee Gonzales.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wirth, Alan 1956 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Arizona Birmingham Barons players Evansville Triplets players Fresno Giants players Great Falls Giants players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Oakland Athletics players Ogden A's players Rochester Red Wings players Spokane Indians players Sportspeople from Mesa, Arizona Tigres del México players Vancouver Canadians players Waterbury Giants players