Robert Malcolm Tufts (November 2, 1955 – October 4, 2019) was an American
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)
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 played for 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 Y ...
and
Kansas City Royals between 1981 and 1983.
Early life
Tufts was born in
Medford, Massachusetts, and raised in
Lynnfield, Massachusetts
Lynnfield is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 13,000.
Lynnfield initially consisted of two distinct villages with a single governing body. Lynnfield Center comprises mostly ...
, where he attended
Lynnfield High School
Lynnfield High School is a four-year, coeducational public high school for students in grade nine through twelve residing in the town of Lynnfield, Massachusetts, United States.
Athletics
Lynnfield High School is a member of the Cape Ann League ...
.
He attended
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
, where he earned a degree in Economics in 1977.
In 1975, he played
collegiate summer baseball with the
Harwich Mariners
The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League.
Baseball career
Tufts was drafted by the Giants out of Princeton University in the 12th round of the
1977 Major League Baseball Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1977 Major League Baseball draft.
Other notable Selections
''*'' Did not sign
Background
The White Sox surprised some when they passed on right-handed pitcher Bill ...
.
In 1979 he led the
Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
in wins and complete games (12) as he was 14-10 with a 2.45 ERA for the
Shreveport Captains
The Shreveport Captains (1971–2000) and Shreveport Swamp Dragons (2001–02) were a professional minor-league baseball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana. They were affiliated with the California Angels (1971–72), Milwaukee Brewers (1973–74 ...
.
He made his debut for the Giants in 1981, and pitched in 11 games for them that season. He held the distinction of being the last
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
baseball player to appear in a
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), ...
game until
Chris Young debuted with the Rangers on August 24, 2004.
The following spring, Tufts was traded to the Royals along with
Vida Blue
Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...
. During the 1982 and 1983 seasons he appeared in 16 games for the Royals. In 1982 he was 2nd in the
American Association American Association may refer to:
Baseball
* American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891
* American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997
* American Association of Profe ...
in games (59), and 3rd in saves (12), and had a 1.60 ERA, as he pitched for the
Omaha Royals
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...
. Midseason in 1983, he was traded to the
Cincinnati Reds for
Charlie Leibrandt
Charles Louis Leibrandt, Jr. (; born October 4, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1979 to 1993 for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, and Texas Rangers. Leibrandt was a productive pitcher thr ...
, but never appeared in a major league game again.
Tufts converted to Judaism,
one of six major league baseball players who converted to
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...
during their careers. He was a participant in a 2005 seminar at the
Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on Jews and Baseball, and also performed baseball clinics in Israel.
Personal life
Tufts earned an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
degree in finance from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1986.
He lived in
Forest Hills, New York
Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeas ...
.
He worked in futures and foreign exchange sales and trading, and worked at
Bear Stearns
The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was a New York-based global investment bank, securities trading and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 as part of the global financial crisis and recession, and was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chase. The comp ...
,
Credit Agricole
Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt) ...
,
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, a ...
, Thomson McKinnon, and
Jefferies Financial Group
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is an American financial services company based in New York City and listed on the Fortune 1000.
Investments
The company's major holdings are as follows:
Financial Services
* Jefferies Group (100%) - investment ...
.
He was an adjunct professor at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
, where he taught business development.
He also taught sports marketing and management and principles of entrepreneurship as a Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor at the
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.["About YU]
on the Yeshiva Universi ...
Sy Syms School of Business
Syms School of Business (formerly the Syms School of Business) is Yeshiva University business school. It offers both undergraduate and graduate business programs at the Wilf Campus in New York Washington Heights neighborhood, and at the Beren Ca ...
and organization behavior in sports at
Manhattanville College
Manhattanville College is a private university in Purchase, New York. Founded in 1841 at 412 Houston Street in lower Manhattan, it was initially known as Academy of the Sacred Heart, then after 1847 as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart ...
.
His wife,
Suzanne Israel Tufts, served as Assistant Secretary of Administration at the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Ur ...
(HUD) in 2018. They have a daughter, Abigail Tufts.
In 2009, he was diagnosed with
multiple myeloma. He underwent pill-based and liquid
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...
and reached a recovery point at which he could undergo and
autologous stem cell transplant
Autologous stem-cell transplantation (also called autogenous, autogeneic, or autogenic stem-cell transplantation and abbreviated auto-SCT) is autotransplantation, autologous transplantation of stem cells—that is, transplantation in which stem cel ...
. As of May 2010, he was in almost complete remission.
Tufts was a patient advocate and founder of My Life Is Worth It. He was an active speaker and frequently tweeted about issues regarding the need to involve patients more in the healthcare process.
Tufts died on October 4, 2019, from an infection brought on by complications from a
stem cell transplant
Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood in order to replicate inside of a patient and to produce ...
on August 23.
He was 63. He was buried in Beth Israel Cemetery in
Woodbridge Township, New Jersey
Woodbridge Township is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is both a regional hub for Central New Jersey and a major bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York metropolitan area located within the ...
.
See also
*
Notes
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tufts, Bob
1955 births
2019 deaths
Baseball players from Massachusetts
Columbia Business School alumni
Converts to Judaism
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Deaths from multiple myeloma
Harwich Mariners players
Jewish American baseball players
Jewish Major League Baseball players
Kansas City Royals players
Major League Baseball pitchers
People from Forest Hills, Queens
Princeton Tigers baseball players
San Francisco Giants players
Sportspeople from Medford, Massachusetts
21st-century American Jews