Robert Ralph Moose Jr. (October 9, 1947 – October 9, 1976) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
player. He played his entire career 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), ...
as a right-handed
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 ...
for the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
from through . Moose was a member of Pirates teams that won five
National League Eastern Division
The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title.
The division was created when the National Leag ...
titles in six years between and and, won the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
in .
His best season came in 1969 when he posted a 14–3 won-loss record and a 2.91
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 ...
working equally as a starter and reliever. On September 20 of that year, he
no-hit
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
the eventual
World Series champion 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 ...
. He is also known for his
wild pitch
In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third stri ...
in the bottom half of the ninth inning which allowed
George Foster to score the winning run in the fifth and deciding game of the
1972 NLCS, sending 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 ...
to the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
after Pittsburgh had a one-run lead entering the bottom of the ninth.
During the 1974 season, Moose suffered a blood clot under the shoulder of his pitching arm. Surgery was required to remove the clot plus one of Moose's ribs.
Moose was killed on his 29th birthday in a two-vehicle auto accident on Ohio Route 7 in
Martins Ferry as he was returning from a tournament at
Bill Mazeroski
William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936), nicknamed "Maz" and "The Glove", is an American former second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956 to 1972. A 7-time All-S ...
's golf course in
Rayland, Ohio
Rayland is a village in southern Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 389 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area.
History
Rayland was originally called Portland ...
.
Bucs' Bob Moose Killed In Crash
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' (October 11, 1976).
See also
*List of baseball players who died during their careers
This is a list of baseball players who died during their careers. These deaths occurred during a game, due to illness, results of accidents, acts of violence, or suicide.
Repeated studies have shown that Major League Baseball players have a greate ...
*List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
Below is a list of Major League Baseball no-hitters, enumerating every no-hitter pitched in Major League Baseball history. In addition, all no-hitters that were broken up in extra innings or were in shortened games are listed, although they are no ...
*
References
External links
*
1947 births
1976 deaths
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Pennsylvania
People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Road incident deaths in Ohio
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