Donald Loren Gile (April 19, 1935 – March 5, 2021) was a

utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosopher ...

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 ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

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), ...

who played for one full season and parts of three others between 1959 and 1962 for 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 eight ...

. Nicknamed "Bear" — he was listed at and — Gile batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. He was signed by Boston out of the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

. While at Arizona, Gile competed in the

1954 College World Series The 1954 NCAA baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1954 NCAA baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination ...

. Over all or part of four MLB seasons, Gile hit .150 (18-for-120) with three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and nine RBI in 58 games, including 12 runs, 2 doubles and 1

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

. Gile played 31 games at first base and committed 4 errors in 224

chances Chances may refer to: * ''Chances'' (TV series), an Australian soap opera * ''Chances'' (Philippine TV series), a prime-time soap opera * '' Chances: The Women of Magdalene'', a 2006 documentary film * ''Chances'' (novel), a 1981 novel by Jac ...

for a .982 fielding%. In 19 appearances as a catcher, he posted a perfect 1.000 F% in 39 chances. Gile played only one full year—1962—in the majors and went hitless in 34

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

through September 25. In the first game of a doubleheader on September 30, he collected his first

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

of the season. Then, in the nightcap, he collected his second hit of the campaign, a bottom-of-the-ninth, two-run

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not ...

, in his final MLB

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

, to give Boston a 3–1 victory over the Washington Senators. Gile played in minor league baseball in 1963 before leaving the game.

Personal life

Gile was born on April 19, 1935 in

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Gile died on March 5, 2021.

References

External links

1935 births 2021 deaths Allentown Red Sox players Arizona Wildcats baseball players Baseball players from Modesto, California Boston Red Sox players Greensboro Patriots players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball first basemen Memphis Chickasaws players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players San Jose JoSox players San Jose Red Sox players Seattle Rainiers players Tacoma Giants players {{US-baseball-first-baseman-stub

Personal life

See also

References

External links