Marion Sylvester "Bud" Zipfel (born November 18, 1938) is a retired 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 ...

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 is ...

who appeared in 118

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over two 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), ...

for the 1961–1962 Washington Senators. Born in

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city and the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The p ...

, he was a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

who batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed .

Baseball career

After graduating from Belleville High School in 1956, Zipfel signed with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. He steadily progressed through the Yankees' minor league system over the next five years, showing some potential as a powerful, left-handed-hitting first baseman. He exceeded the 20-

homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

mark twice, in the Class D

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

(21 in 1958) and the Class A Eastern League (28 in 1960). On December 14, 1960, Zipfel was chosen by the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

in the 29th round of the

1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft The 1960 MLB expansion draft was held by Major League Baseball on December 14, 1960, to fill the rosters of the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators. The Angels and Senators (who later became the Texas Rangers) were new franchises that ...

and was then immediately traded to the expansion edition of the Senators for infielder

Ken Hamlin Ken Hamlin (born January 20, 1981) is a former American football safety in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft and also played for the Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens an ...

. Zipfel had an "impressive"

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

with the Senators in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

and, after continuing his powerful hitting in the minor leagues - he had his best statistical season in 1961 playing for the

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batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

.312 with 18 home runs over 101 games - Zipfel made his major league debut with Washington on July 26, 1961. He remained on the big league squad for the rest of the season as a backup first baseman, but was less impressive, and hit .200 with only four home runs over 50 games. Zipfel was drafted into the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

soon after the 1961 baseball season but completed his service in time to rejoin the Senators at the end of spring training in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

. He began the season in the minor leagues and was recalled to the major league squad on June 26, 1962. Zipfel remained with the Senators for the rest of the season, splitting time between first base and left field. He again struggled to hit major league pitching, batting .239 with six home runs over 68 games. The highlight of his season was a 16th inning home run (the last of his major league career) that provided the winning margin in a game in which teammate Tom Cheney struck out a record 21 batters in a 228 pitch

complete game 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 ...

on September 12. The Senators sold Zipfel's contract to 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 ...

at the end of the 1962 season. For the next four years, he played for minor league affiliates of the Reds,

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

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 ...

and

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 hav ...

. He was not recalled to the major leagues and he retired from baseball after the 1966 season. Bud Zipfel is best remembered for hitting the game-winning home run on September 12, 1962, where Tom Cheney set the Major League Baseball record for strikeouts in a regular-season game. Cheney pitched brilliantly in 16 innings of work, giving up only one run while striking out a record 21 Baltimore Orioles. Cheney had 13 strikeouts through nine innings. It was not until the bottom of the 16th inning that teammate Bud Zipfel hit the game-winning home run off Orioles pitcher Dick Hall giving the Senators a hard-fought 2–1 victory and Cheney a win and a major league record that still stands today. To this day, Roger Clemens, Kerry Wood, and Max Scherzer have come threateningly close to Cheney's record, but all four have failed, each striking out 20 men in their respective 9-inning regulation games.

After baseball

After returning to Bellevelle, Zipfel became a successful real estate agent and developer.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zipfel, Bud 1938 births Living people Arkansas Travelers players Auburn Yankees players Baseball players from Illinois Belleville High School-West alumni Binghamton Triplets players Businesspeople from Illinois Fargo-Moorhead Twins players Greenville Majors players Houston Buffs players Jacksonville Suns players Knoxville Smokies players Macon Peaches players Major League Baseball first basemen Military personnel from Illinois Quincy Gems players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Sportspeople from Belleville, Illinois Syracuse Chiefs players Tidewater Tides players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players