Aubrey Lee Gatewood (November 17, 1938 – June 5, 2019) was an American

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

who appeared in 68

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

over all or portions of four seasons for the Los Angeles/California Angels and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

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), ...

. Born in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

, he threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

and was listed as tall and .

Playing career

Gatewood was a graduate of

North Little Rock High School North Little Rock High School is a public school in North Little Rock, Arkansas, that is administered by the North Little Rock School District. As of the 2016–17 school year, the high school consists of one campus, which holds 9th - 12th grade. ...

and

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osa ...

. He signed with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in 1960 and won 11 games in his debut pro season, which was split between the Class C Northern League and Class B

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. During the offseason, he was selected by the brand-new

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

with the 11th pick in the 1960 American League expansion draft. Gatewood struggled to a 3–10 record and a mediocre 4.64

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

for three teams ranging from Class B to Triple-A in 1961. His poor record notwithstanding, he was taken from the Angels in the 1961 Rule 5 draft by another

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

, the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, who were set to enter the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in . But when Gatewood could not crack the Mets' maiden roster in

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, he was offered back to the Angel organization, where he divided his 1962 campaign between Triple-A and Class B affiliates. Gatewood spent the full minor league season of with the Double-A

Nashville Vols The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. Known only as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they were officially named the Nashville Volunteers (often sh ...

, where he made 20 starts and posted a 3.95 ERA. His campaign earned him a September call-up to the Angels for his first taste of major league service. In his first-ever MLB game, on September 11, 1963, he started against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Chavez Ravine Chavez Ravine is a shallow L-shaped canyon in Los Angeles, California. It sits in a large promontory of hills north of downtown Los Angeles, next to Major League Baseball's Dodger Stadium. Chavez Ravine was named for Julian A. Chavez, Julian Cha ...

and earned a complete game, 4–1 victory. Gatewood permitted only four hits and one

base on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

five. Gatewood had a

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

until the ninth inning, when Red Sox slugger

Dick Stuart Richard Lee Stuart (November 7, 1932 – December 15, 2002), nicknamed "Dr. Strangeglove", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1958 to 1966 then, played in the Nippon Prof ...

led off with a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

and scored two batters later on

Russ Nixon Russell Eugene Nixon (February 19, 1935 – November 8, 2016) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1957 to 1969. A veteran of 55 years in professional basebal ...

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

. Gatewood would make another dozen starts as a big leaguer, but his MLB debut would witness his only career complete game. He appeared in four total games that September and put up a stellar ERA of 1.50 in 24

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. After he spent the first three months of at Triple-A, Gatewood returned to the Angels in July. He once again posted a strong earned run average (2.24, in 15 total games, including seven starts, and 60 innings pitched). That performance paved the way for Gatewood's only full year in the majors, . Working in 46 games, among them three starts, he won four of nine decisions and compiled a 3.42 ERA in 92 innings. But 1965 would be Gatewood's last year in an Angel uniform. He was sent to the minor leagues in , then acquired by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, signaling a journeyman phase of his career that would see him pitch for five different MLB organizations through 1971. Only during the midpoint of the season would Gatewood again experience the major leagues, when he worked in three games in relief for the

. His first two appearances as a Brave were effective ones; but in his third, on July 8, Gatewood allowed six runs (although only one was earned) in only one-third of an inning in a 13–0 pasting at the hands of 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 Yor ...

. It was Gatewood's last game in the big leagues. During his 68-game MLB career, he compiled an 8–9 won–lost record and a 2.78 career

; in 178 innings pitched, he permitted 166 hits and 67 bases on balls, striking out 75. Gatewood's last pro season was 1971. He died in North Little Rock on June 5, 2019.

References

External links

, o
Venezuelan Winter League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatewood, Aubrey 1938 births 2019 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Arkansas State Red Wolves baseball players Arkansas State University alumni Arkansas Travelers players Atlanta Braves players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players California Angels players Dallas Rangers players Des Moines Demons players Duluth-Superior Dukes players Durham Bulls players El Paso Sun Kings players Hawaii Islanders players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Nashville Vols players Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides players Richmond Braves players Rochester Red Wings players Savannah Indians players Shreveport Braves players Baseball players from Little Rock, Arkansas Tacoma Cubs players Tigres de Aragua players Tri-City Braves players