Robert Edwards Chakales ha-kuh'-les(August 10, 1927 – February 18, 2010) was a

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 ...

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), ...

who played with four clubs between the

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

seasons. Listed at 6'1", 185 lb., Chakales batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

. Originally a starter, Chakales also filled various roles coming out from the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

, as a closer or

middle reliever In baseball, a middle reliever or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League pri ...

. He reached the majors in 1951 with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

, spending three and a half years with them before moving to 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

(1954),

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 p ...

(1955), Washington Senators (1955–57) and

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 ...

(1957). In his rookie year Chakales recorded two of his three wins helping himself with the bat, going 7–for–20 (.350) with one

home run 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 six RBI. His most productive season came in 1954, when he posted career highs in wins (5),

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s (47),

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 ...

(3.43) and

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 ...

(99.2) in 41 pitching appearances (six as a starter). After that, he was part of various trades that included players as

Vic Wertz Victor Woodrow Wertz (February 9, 1925 – July 7, 1983) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. He had a 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1947 to 1963. He played for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Brown ...

Don Ferrarese Donald Hugh Ferrarese (born June 19, 1929), is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardi ...

Clint Courtney Clinton Dawson Courtney (March 16, 1927 – June 16, 1975), nicknamed Scrap Iron, was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1951), St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (1952 ...

Johnny Groth John Thomas Groth (July 23, 1926August 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball outfielder and scout who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played with the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Washingt ...

Jim Busby James Franklin Busby (January 8, 1927 – July 8, 1996) was an American center fielder and coach in Major League Baseball who played with the Chicago White Sox (1950–52, 1955), Washington Senators (1952–55), Cleveland Indians (1956–57), Ba ...

Milt Bolling Milton Joseph Bolling (August 9, 1930 – January 19, 2013) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1952 through 1958 for the Boston Red Sox (1952–1957), Washington Senators (1957) and Detroit Tigers (1958). Bolling batted a ...

and

Faye Throneberry Maynard Faye Throneberry (June 22, 1931 – April 26, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. A native of Fisherville, Tennessee, he was a backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1952, 1955–57), ...

. In a seven-season career, Chakales went 15–25 with 187 strikeouts and a 4.54 ERA in 171 games, including 23 starts, three

complete games In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

, one

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 ...

, 10 saves, and 225 walks in innings of work. As a hitter, he posted a .271 average (26–for–96) with one home run and 9 RBI. Chakales died in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, at the age of 82.

Sources

Retrosheet - player page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chakales, Bob 1927 births 2010 deaths American people of Greek descent Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Asheville, North Carolina Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Hawaii Islanders players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Oklahoma City Indians players Portland (NEL) baseball players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Utica Blue Sox players Wilkes-Barre Indians players Wilmington Blue Rocks (1940–1952) players