Clarence Edward Metzger (born May 23, 1952) is an American former 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 and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

. He played 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 ...

from through 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 Yor ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

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 ...

, and the

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 ...

. Metzger was named the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year in , his first full year in the major leagues.

Professional career

After playing high school baseball at John F. Kennedy high school in Sacramento, California, Metzger was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1970 amateur draft by the

. Metzger made his major league debut on September 8, 1974 with the San Francisco Giants. Metzger played limitedly, pitching 12.7

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s and posting a 3.55

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

In , Metzger was with a different team, the

, after being traded from the Giants with

Tito Fuentes Rigoberto Fuentes Peat (born January 4, 1944) is a retired professional baseball player. He played for 13 seasons in the major leagues between 1965 and 1978, primarily as a second baseman. Fuentes played for most of his career with the San Fra ...

in exchange for utilityman

Derrel Thomas Derrel Osbon Thomas (born January 14, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman and utility player from to . Thomas was a member of the 1981 World Series winning ...

. Metzger pitched limitedly again, having control issues (he had walked 16 men in his 17.3 innings of career pitching). In , Metzger was able to successfully control his pitches, and had a great year for a rookie. He posted a 2.92 ERA, along with an 11-4 record, 89

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, 52 walks and 16 saves in 123.3 innings of work. He was co-voted

National League Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

for with

Pat Zachry Patrick Paul Zachry (born April 24, 1952) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball from to , and is likely best remembered as one of the players the Cincinnati Reds sent to the New York Mets in the infamous ...

. Metzger did not start the 1977 season well, walking 12 in 22.7 innings while only getting 6 strikeouts. On May 17, 1977, he was traded to the

for pitcher

John D'Acquisto John Francis D'Acquisto (born December 24, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball player who pitched for six teams in his ten-year career that spanned from to . He is the cousin of former major league pitcher Lou Marone. Career San Francisc ...

and

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Pat Scanlon. Metzger posted better numbers with the Cardinals, collecting 7 saves while posting a 3.11

and a record of 4 wins and 2 losses. However, Metzger was placed on waivers by the Cardinals and picked up by the

on April 5, 1978. Metzger had a disappointing season, giving concern to the Mets about his control issues. His contract was subsequently purchased by the

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 ...

on July 4, 1978 and he was sent back to the minors. Metzger never made it back to the major league level and was released by the Phillies on March 19, 1979. He works today as a scout. In his five seasons of baseball, Metzger had an 18-9 record with a 3.74 ERA and 23 saves. He pitched 293.1 innings, gave up 289 hits, walked 140, and struck out 175.

External links

, o
Retrosheet
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Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzger, Butch 1952 births Living people Amarillo Giants players Baseball players from Indiana Caracas Metropolitanos players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Decatur Commodores players Great Falls Giants players Hawaii Islanders players Magic Valley Cowboys players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners New York Mets players Oklahoma City 89ers players Phoenix Giants players Richmond Braves players Sportspeople from Lafayette, Indiana San Diego Padres players San Francisco Giants players St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers scouts