Richard Charles Simpson (born July 28, 1943) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
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), ...
right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...
and
center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...
. He played from 1962-1969 for the
Los Angeles / California Angels,
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
,
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 ...
,
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
,
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
and
Seattle Pilots
The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball, professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington during the 1969 Major League Baseball season. During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their ho ...
. During an 8-year baseball career, Simpson
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
.207, 15
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 56
runs batted in (RBI). He was listed at 6'4" and 176 lbs.
Originally signed by the Angels as a free agent in 1961, he made his debut with them on September 21, 1962 at age 19 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 ...
. He pinch hit for pitcher
Fred Newman and singled off
Mudcat Grant
James Timothy "Mudcat" Grant Jr. (August 13, 1935 – June 11, 2021) was an American baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos ...
, driving in
Leo Burke
Léonce Cormier (born June 29, 1948) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for both Puerto Rico's World Wr ...
in his only
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 batt ...
. Simpson appeared in five more games for the Angels that season, then returned to the team in 1964. Before the 1964 season began, Angels general manager
Fred Haney
Fred Girard Haney (April 25, 1896 – November 9, 1977) was an American third baseman, manager, coach and executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a manager, he won two pennants and a world championship with the Milwaukee Braves. He later se ...
touted Simpson as a possible
Rookie of the Year candidate. He batted .301 with 22
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* Th ...
s, 12
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
* ...
s, 24 home runs, 29
stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...
s and 79 RBI with the
Angels' Triple-A affiliate in Seattle in 1965.
[Vanderberg, Bob. ''Frantic Frank Lane: Baseball's Ultimate Wheeler-Dealer''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2013.](_blank)
Retrieved October 16, 2020 He was dealt from the Angels to 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 ...
for
Norm Siebern
Norman Leroy Siebern (July 26, 1933 – October 30, 2015) was an American professional baseball player and scout. He appeared in 1,406 games over a 12-year career in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder for the New York Yankee ...
on December 2, 1965. Simpson replaced
Curt Blefary
Curtis Leroy "Clank" Blefary (July 5, 1943 – January 28, 2001) was an American professional baseball left fielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1968), Houston Astros (1969), New York Yankees (1970–1971), ...
as the young outfielder traded along with
Milt Pappas
Milton Steven Pappas (May 11, 1939 – April 19, 2016) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Nicknamed "Gimpy", the 17-year veteran pitched for the Baltimore Ori ...
and
Jack Baldschun
Jack Edward Baldschun (born October 16, 1936) is an American former professional baseball player. He was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for all or part of nine seasons (1961–67; 1969–70), for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinn ...
from the Orioles to the Reds for
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of bot ...
one week later on December 9.
Other major transactions
[Baseball Reference Baseball Reference](_blank)
/ref>
*On January 11, 1968, the Reds traded him to the Cardinals for Alex Johnson
Alexander Johnson (December 7, 1942 – February 28, 2015) was an American professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), from to , for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, California ...
.
*The Cardinals
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
traded him along with Hal Gilson
Harold "Hal" Gilson (born February 9, 1942 in Los Angeles, California, died June 20, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros in 1968.
Nicknamed "Lefty", he was o ...
to the Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division, having moved to the div ...
for Ron Davis before the trade deadline on June 15, 1968.
*On December 4, 1968, he was traded by the Astros to the Yankees for Dooley Womack.
*Was traded for José Vidal of the Seattle Pilots by the Yankees on May 19, 1969.
*Was traded by the Pilots, along with Steve Whitaker, to 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 ...
for Bobby Bolin
Bobby Donald Bolin (born January 29, 1939) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who appeared 495 games in Major League Baseball over 13 seasons (1961–1973) for the San Francisco Giants (–), Milwaukee Brewers () and Boston Re ...
on December 12, 1969.
Other information
*Was the second youngest player in 1962, trailing only Ed Kirkpatrick.
*Was considered one of the fastest players of his day, but still only stole 10 career bases.
*Did not play in the major leagues in 1963.
*Hit a leadoff home run on the first pitch from Mickey Lolich
Michael Stephen Lolich (born September 12, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1963 until 1979, almost entirely for the Detroit Tigers. A three-time All-Star, ...
in a June 9, 1969 game. This would end up being the only run Lolich gave up in the game, a game in which he struck out 16 batters. That was the final home run of Simpson's career.
*His uniform numbers: 10 (1962, 1964–1965), 20 (1966–1967), 12 (1968), 37 (1968), 9 (1969), 16 (1969).
*He earned $7,000 in 1965 and $16,000 in 1969.
*Collected his final career hit off Fred Talbot
Frederick Wilson Talbot (born 17 December 1949) is a Scottish former television presenter. He spent much of his career in North West England. In February 2015, and again in May 2017, he was found guilty of a string of indecent sexual assaults ...
on August 12, 1969.
*He is the father of Colton Simpson, author of the book ''Inside the Crips'', and serving a 126-year sentence under California's 3-strikes law.NC Times
/ref>
References
External links
, o
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Dick
1943 births
African-American baseball players
Baseball players from Washington, D.C.
California Angels players
Cincinnati Reds players
Estrellas Orientales (VPBL) players
Hawaii Islanders players
Houston Astros players
Living people
Los Angeles Angels players
Major League Baseball right fielders
New York Yankees players
Phoenix Giants players
St. Louis Cardinals players
San Jose Bees players
Seattle Pilots players
Statesville Owls players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
Venice High School (Los Angeles) alumni