Robert Christian Knapp (born September 16, 1953) is an American former

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 ...

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 ...

, whose career totals include 122

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) games pitched, for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

(–) and

California 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 ...

(–). He won 12 and 14 games, respectively, in back-to-back seasons (–). Knapp stood and weighed . Royals Stadium 1976

After graduating from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

, Knapp was selected in the first round of the

1975 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1975 Major League Baseball draft. Many baseball draft experts consider the 1975 draft to be the weakest in MLB history. Other notable selections ''*'' Did not sign N ...

by the White Sox. He played parts of the , , and seasons with Chicago, although most of his time in the first two years of his career was spent in the White Sox

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

. In 1977 he appeared in five games for the Triple-A Iowa Oaks, and worked in 27 MLB games for the White Sox, 26 as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, posting a 12–7 record with four

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 ...

s. He was traded along with

Brian Downing Brian Jay Downing (born October 9, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from to , originally as a catcher before converting to an outfielder and designated hitter later in his career. Downin ...

and

Dave Frost Carl David Frost (born November 17, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player and a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The , right-hander was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 18th round of the 1974 Major League Base ...

to the Angels for Bobby Bonds,

Richard Dotson Richard Elliott Dotson (born January 10, 1959) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball in the 1980s. He is best noted for his 22-7 performance of , helping the Chicago White Sox win the American League West Division championship ...

and

Thad Bosley Thaddis Bosley Jr. (born September 17, 1956) is an American former professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels, California Angels (, ), Chicago White Sox (–), Milwaukee Brewers (), Seattle Mariners (), Chicago Cubs (–), Kansas ...

on December 5, 1977.Durso, Joseph. "Angels’ Bonds Is Acquired By White Sox," ''The New York Times'', Tuesday, December 6, 1977.
Retrieved June 6, 2020 Knapp then worked in 30 games for the 1978 Angels, 29 as a starter, and posted a 14–8 mark with six complete games. In 1979 and 1980, however, his effectiveness diminished, as he could win only seven of 23 decisions and his

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 ...

ballooned to 5.51 and 6.14, respectively. He was sent to the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

in . Knapp finished his career in the minors during the season, going winless in four starts. During his MLB career, Knapp allowed 642

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and 250

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

, with 355

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 and 15 total complete games.

References

External links

Chris Knapp
at Baseball Almanac 1953 births Living people Appleton Foxes players Baseball players from North Carolina California Angels players Central Michigan Chippewas baseball players Chicago White Sox players Iowa Cubs players Iowa Oaks players Kinston Blue Jays players Knoxville Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Salt Lake City Gulls players Syracuse Chiefs players People from Cherry Point, North Carolina {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub