Michael Duane "Bo" McLaughlin (born October 23, 1953) is a former baseball relief pitcher

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), ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

from 1976 to 1982 for the Houston Astros,

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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

, and Oakland Athletics. McLaughlin is best known for being hit by a line drive that almost ended his career and his alias "Grim Bimbledon". On May 26, , McLaughlin was pitching in the eighth inning of a game against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. He threw a sinker to

Harold Baines Harold Douglas Baines (born March 15, 1959) is an American former right fielder and designated hitter (DH) in Major League Baseball who played for five American League (AL) teams from 1980 to 2001, and is best known for his three stints with th ...

, who hit a line drive into McLaughlin's face. The pitch broke McLaughlin's left cheekbone and his eye socket in five different places. McLaughlin vomited blood and went into shock. It took two surgeries to wire his cheekbone and left eye socket, and doctors at Oakland's Merritt Hospital feared that he would not survive the night. McLaughlin recovered to play a few games in September that year and then spent 1982 with the A's. He was demoted to the Minors in 1983 and played three seasons of Triple-A baseball. He later went into the real estate business and coached in the minor leagues for the Chicago Cubs and

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 ...

systems before moving on to his current job with the Rockies. As a hitter, McLaughlin went hitless in his six-year major league career. He had 37 at-bats without a hit, reaching base three times by bases on balls in 45

plate appearances In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

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1953 births Living people Houston Astros players Atlanta Braves players Oakland Athletics players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from California Columbus Astros players Memphis Blues players Charleston Charlies players Richmond Braves players Tacoma Tigers players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Phoenix Giants players Lipscomb Bisons baseball players Colorado Rockies (baseball) coaches Major League Baseball pitching coaches {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub