Dennis Michael Riddleberger (born November 22, 1945) is an American former

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), ...

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 ...

. Listed at , , Riddleberger threw left-handed and batted right-handed. Dennis attended

Churchland High School Churchland High School is a public high school in Portsmouth, Virginia in the United States. It is administered by Portsmouth Public Schools. The school colors are black and orange. The mascot is a "Trucker". Churchland is designated as a magne ...

and then

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, Riddleberger was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in . He was 24–16 with a 3.22

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 ...

over four seasons in their

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 ...

when he was traded to the Washington Senators for

George Brunet George Stuart Brunet (June 8, 1935 – October 25, 1991) was an American professional baseball pitcher who also went on to a Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame career in Mexico. Brunet pitched for nine different Major League clubs during ...

on August 31, . That September, he was called up by the Senators, making his major league debut against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. Riddleberger spent the entire season in the majors, but after getting off to a slow start (11.12 ERA in April), found himself doing mostly mop-up duty. The Senators were 14-43 in games in which Rittleberger pitched. He ended the season with a 3-1 record and a far more respectable 3.23 ERA. He earned his only career save on July 5 against the

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 F ...

. Shortly after the Senators moved to the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...

and were rebranded as the Texas Rangers, Riddleberger was traded along with

Del Unser Delbert Bernard Unser (born December 9, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder and utility player from to , most prominently with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was a ...

Terry Ley Terrence Richard Ley (born 21 February 1947, Portland, Oregon) is a retired baseball pitcher who began his career in the season for the New York Yankees. He was a student of University of Oregon before he was drafted in the 3rd round of the Janu ...

and Gary Jones to the Indians for Roy Foster,

Rich Hand Richard Allen Hand (born July 10, 1948) is an American retired professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played for four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and California Angels. Bo ...

Mike Paul Michael George Paul (born April 18, 1945 in Detroit, Michigan) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1968 to 1974 for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs. Career Drafted in the 20th round of the ...

and

Ken Suarez Kenneth Raymond Suarez (Born April 12, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1966 to 1973. The , . right-handed hitter is best remembered for a suit he filed against t ...

at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 2, 1971.Durso, Joseph. "White Sox Add Bahnsen, Ship McKinney to Yanks," ''The New York Times'', Friday, December 3, 1971.
Retrieved December 4, 2021 Despite a below league average 2.50 ERA in 54

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 ...

in , Riddleberger again found himself in mop up duty (the Indians were 4-34 in games in which he appeared). He spent with the Indians' triple A affiliate, the

Oklahoma City 89ers Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

before retiring.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddleberger, Denny 1945 births Living people Baseball players from Virginia Batavia Trojans players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Jets players Gastonia Pirates players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Clifton Forge, Virginia Oklahoma City 89ers players Old Dominion Monarchs baseball players Salem Rebels (baseball) players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players