Bobby Gene Tiefenauer (October 10, 1929 – June 13, 2000) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...
and
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
. A
knuckleball
A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This cha ...
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 ...
, he pitched for six
Major League teams during a ten-year MLB career that stretched between and : the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
(1952, 1955, 1961),
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 Fi ...
(1960, 1965–67),
Houston Colt .45s
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...
(1962),
Milwaukee Braves (1963–65),
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
(1965) and
Chicago Cubs (1968). Tiefenauer was born in
Desloge, Missouri
Desloge ( ) is a city in St. Francois County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,054 as of the 2010 census.
History
The city was founded by Firmin V. Desloge II, son of Firmin René Desloge, who migrated from France, settled in Pot ...
; he threw and batted
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 ...
and was listed as tall and .
Tiefenauer signed with the Cardinals in 1948, beginning his 21-year pitching career, but spent only two full seasons ( and ) on a major league roster. In 1964, with the Milwaukee Braves, he had one of his better seasons,
saving
Saving is income not spent, or deferred consumption. Methods of saving include putting money aside in, for example, a deposit account, a pension account, an investment fund, or as cash. Saving also involves reducing expenditures, such as recur ...
13 games (eighth best in the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
) with an
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 ...
of 3.21. All told, Tiefenauer worked in 179 MLB
games pitched, exclusively as a relief pitcher. He posted a 9–25
won–lost mark, with 23 career saves. In 316
innings pitched, he allowed 312
hits and 87
bases on balls, with 212
strikeouts. His career ERA was 3.84.
Tiefenauer collected only one hit in 39
at-bats for a career
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
of .026. The hit occurred in the fourth inning of the game between the Houston Colt .45s and 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 ...
on September 29, 1962, and it was an extra base hit, a
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* ...
, struck off one of the best pitchers in baseball that year,
Jack Sanford
John Stanley Sanford (May 18, 1929 – March 7, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Sanford was notable for the meteoric start to his career when, he led ...
, who would win 24 games for the
pennant-winning 1962 Giants. Tiefenauer pitched six innings in relief that day, and also came up to bat in the sixth inning when he grounded out to shortstop.
After his active career, Tiefenauer joined the
Philadelphia Phillies' organization as a
minor league pitching coach from 1970 into the 1980s, and served one year, , as the bullpen coach on the Phils' MLB staff.
Tiefenauer enjoyed multiple brilliant seasons in the
Triple-A International League during the late 1950s and early 1960s, posting a composite won–lost record of 49–15 over four seasons between 1958 and 1963. He was posthumously elected to the
International League Hall of Fame
The International League Hall of Fame is an American baseball hall of fame which honors players, managers, and executives of the International League (IL). It was created by the International League Baseball Writers' Association in 1947 to honor t ...
in 2008.
References
External links
Bobby Tiefenauerat SABR (Baseball BioProject)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiefenauer, Bobby
1929 births
2000 deaths
Atlanta Crackers players
Baseball players from Missouri
Charleston Marlins players
Charleston Senators players
Chicago Cubs players
Cleveland Indians players
Houston Buffaloes players
Houston Colt .45s players
Knuckleball pitchers
Major League Baseball bullpen coaches
Major League Baseball pitchers
Milwaukee Braves players
New York Yankees players
Omaha Cardinals players
People from St. Francois County, Missouri
Philadelphia Phillies coaches
Portland Beavers players
Rochester Red Wings players
St. Louis Cardinals players
San Juan Marlins players
Tacoma Cubs players
Tallassee Indians players
Toledo Mud Hens players
Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players
Winston-Salem Cardinals players