Robert Leroy Bowman (May 10, 1930 – January 27, 2017) 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 ...

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

and

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

, who played all or part of five 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), ...

(MLB) for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(1955–1959). Late in his career, Bowman saw action as a

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 (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

, as well. He batted and threw

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 ...

, standing and weighing , during his playing days. Bowman attended

Abraham Lincoln High School (San Jose, California) Abraham Lincoln High School is a high school located in San Jose, California, in the San Jose Unified School District. It is a magnet school for "Academic, Visual, and Performing Arts" (AVPA). The current principal is Joseph Heffernan, Ed.D. Act ...

and played right field for the Phillies from 1955 to 1958 and was noted for his strong throwing arm. The Phillies briefly tried converting Bowman to pitcher in 1959 when they were short arms in the bull pen. He made his first appearance pitching against the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 28. Bowman's first pitch was hit out by Smoky Burgess, but Bowman went on to pitch the rest of the game with two scoreless innings. He appeared six times overall in the majors. His only decision came on September 18, his final appearance in the major leagues, losing to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, 5–4, with Alvin Dark hitting a RBI double to score the winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning. When he returned to the minor leagues in 1960, he also returned to the outfield, pitching just four more times. Bowman holds two major league records with the highest pinch hitting batting average in 1958 and most pitching appearances as a position player with six appearances in 1959. Bowman died in 2017 in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, at the age of 86.

References

External links

Bob Bowman
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Bob Bowman
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) 1930 births 2017 deaths Baseball players from Mendocino County, California Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Klamath Falls Gems players Licoreros de Pampero players Major League Baseball outfielders Miami Marlins (International League) players People from Laytonville, California Philadelphia Phillies players Salt Lake City Bees players San Jose State Spartans baseball players Schenectady Blue Jays players Spokane Indians players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Wilmington Blue Rocks (1940–1952) players
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