Richard Stanley Such (born October 15, 1944) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

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). A right-handed hurler who batted left-handed, Such stood tall and weighed .

Playing career

Born in

Sanford, North Carolina Sanford is a city in Lee County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 30,261 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lee County. History Sanford was named for C.O. Sanford, a railroad civil engineer instrumental in the building ...

, Such attended

Elon College Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctorate ...

and pitched on the

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 t ...

team. On June 8, 1965, he was drafted by the

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 ...

in the 40th round of the

1965 Major League Baseball draft The 1965 Major League Baseball Draft is the first year in which a draft took place for Major League Baseball. It was held on June 8–9 in New York City. In Major League Baseball's first Free Agent Amateur Draft, the Kansas City Athletics selec ...

, but did not sign. Drafted by the Washington Senators in the 8th round of the 1966 MLB draft (January secondary phase), Such would sign his first professional contract later that spring and would pitch in 14 games for the Burlington Senators in the single-A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, finishing with a respectable 6-8 record and 3.13 ERA. In his second season in minor league baseball, 1967 with the

York White Roses The York White Roses was the name of a minor league baseball team in the city of York, Pennsylvania, US, that existed from 1894–1969. History Early years The York White Roses began as members of the short-lived Keystone Association in 1884. ...

, Washington's Double-A Eastern League affiliate, Such allowed only 108 hits in 128 innings pitched, hurled eight complete games, and compiled an excellent 2.81

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 ...

(ERA) — but he also amassed a frustrating 0–16

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

. Such would return to Burlington in 1968 and, while toiling for another last-place team, Such would lose 17 games while winning only 10. After starting the season with Washington's AAA

Denver Bears Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, he would receive his only major league duty in 1970. Such’s big league career consisted of 21 games (starting five) while compiling a won-lost mark of 1-5 in 50 innings pitched with a 7.56 earned-run average. Such would be back at Denver in 1971, but would take a step backward (finishing with a 6.12 ERA in 24 games). Such spent the next two years in the Washington/ Texas Rangers organization, returning to single-A Burlington in 1972, before calling it a career during the 1973 season after laboring to a 1-1 record and 7.71 ERA in 8 games at AA

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

Coaching career

Following his retirement, Such would become a pitching coach and roving pitching instructor in the Ranger's farm system from 1975 through 1982. From 1983 through the midseason of 1985, he was the Rangers' Major League pitching coach, serving on the staff of skipper

Doug Rader Douglas Lee Rader (born July 30, 1944), nicknamed "The Red Rooster", is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who was known primarily for his defensive ability, winning five straight Gold Glove Awards from 1970 to 1974. Rader's career ...

. Such then moved to the Minnesota Twins, where he would serve as pitching coach under skippers Ray Miller and Tom Kelly for the next 16 years (1986–2001), including the team's

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

victories in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

and

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. Following the retirement of Kelly after the 2001 season, new Twins manager

Ron Gardenhire Ronald Clyde Gardenhire (born October 24, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played as a shortstop for the New York Mets from 1981 through 1985. After another year playing in the minor leagues, he se ...

would replace Such with his longtime friend Rick Anderson. In 2007, after taking off time from baseball, Such was named the pitching coach of the Camden Riversharks of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Atlantic League. He would stay with the team through the 2008 season. Such was then the pitching coach of the

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Carolina League. Ho ...

, the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

affiliate of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, in 2009 and 2010. On December 22, 2010, he was named as pitching coach for the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

, Boston's

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

farm club; Such served in that role for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Starting in 2013, he was pitching coach with the rookie league

GCL Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

. , Such’s role is to provide "seasonal" assistance to the GCL pitching staff.

Sources

*''1982 Texas Rangers Organizational Record Book.'' St. Petersburg, Florida: Baseball Blue Book, 1982.

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Such, Dick 1944 births Living people Baseball players from North Carolina Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burlington Rangers players Burlington Senators players Denver Bears players Elon Phoenix baseball players Florida Instructional League Astros/Senators players Florida Instructional League Senators players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minnesota Twins coaches Minor league baseball coaches People from Sanford, North Carolina Pittsfield Rangers players Savannah Senators players Texas Rangers coaches Washington Senators (1961–1971) players York White Roses players