Frederick John Bruckbauer (May 27, 1938 – October 14, 2007) was a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

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), ...

. Listed at and , Bruckbauer batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

New Ulm, Minnesota New Ulm is a city in Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,120 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Brown County. It is located on the triangle of land formed by the confluence of the Minnesota River and the Co ...

. Bruckbauer was one of the better pitchers in

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...

history before making one appearance for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

during the

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

season. In two years with the Gophers, Bruckbauer posted a 16–5 record and received one of the bigger signing bonuses of its time, estimated at $50,000 ($ today), from the original Washington Senators in 1959. That year, he was named Outstanding Rookie of the Three-I League while pitching for the

Fox Cities Foxes Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

under

Jack McKeon Jack Aloysius McKeon (; born November 23, 1930), nicknamed "Trader Jack," is an American former Major League Baseball manager and front-office executive. In , at age 72, he won a World Series as manager of the Florida Marlins. Two full seasons ...

. He had a chance to play in the majors when the Senators moved to Minnesota in 1961, but a shoulder injury had robbed much of his promise. His Major League career, statistically speaking, was only slightly different than that of

Eddie Gaedel Edward Carl Gaedel (June 8, 1925 – June 18, 1961) was the smallest player to appear in a Major League Baseball game. Gaedel gained recognition in the second game of a St. Louis Browns doubleheader on August 19, 1951. Weighing and standing t ...

Moonlight Graham Archibald Wright "Moonlight" Graham (November 12, 1876 – August 25, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and medical doctor who appeared as a right fielder in a single major league game for the New York Giants on June 29, 190 ...

. On April 25, 1961, Bruckbauer appeared in a game against the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

at Municipal Stadium. He faced four batters, allowing three runs on three hits and one

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

without recording an out. Coming into the game in the fourth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

in relief of

Lee Stange Albert Lee Stange (October 27, 1936 – September 21, 2018) was an American professional baseball player and coach. During his playing career, the right-handed pitcher appeared in 359 games pitched in Major League Baseball over all or parts of ten ...

with the Twins already trailing 7–2, Bruckbauer allowed a

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 ...

Dick Howser Richard Dalton Howser (May 14, 1936 – June 17, 1987) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop, coach, and manager who was best known as the manager of the Kansas City Royals during the 1980s and for guiding them to the franchise's first ...

, an RBI

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Jay Hankins Jay Nelson Hankins (November 7, 1935 – January 20, 2020) was a professional baseball player who played two seasons for the Kansas City Athletics of Major League Baseball. Hankins attended the University of Missouri The University of M ...

, a walk to

Jerry Lumpe Jerry Dean Lumpe ( ; June 2, 1933 – August 15, 2014) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He had a 12-season career in Major League Baseball, primarily as a second baseman, for the New York Yankees (1956–1959), Kansas City ...

, and a two-run double to

Lou Klimchock Louis Stephen Klimchock (born October 15, 1939) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves, Washington Senators, New York Met ...

. Bruckbauer then departed and his successor, Chuck Stobbs, temporarily stemmed the tide. Kansas City eventually won the contest, 20–2.1961-4-25 box score from Retrosheet
/ref> When rosters were reduced from 28 to 25 players, he was sent back to the minors and never appeared in another Major League game, making him one of only 19 pitchers in MLB history with a career

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 ...

of infinity. Following his baseball career, Bruckbauer worked for

Deere & Company Deere & Company, Trade name, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy e ...

for 34 years. He died in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

, at the age of 69.

References

External links

Around the MajorsKCA 1961 season
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruckbauer, Fred 1938 births 2007 deaths Baseball players from Minnesota People from New Ulm, Minnesota Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Fox Cities Foxes players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball players Minnesota Twins players Syracuse Chiefs players University of Minnesota alumni

See also

References

External links