Fritzie Lee Connally (born May 19, 1958) is a former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player. A right-handed

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, he played parts of two seasons in

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), ...

for 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 ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. After a career at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

, Connally was drafted by the Cubs in the 7th round of the 1980 June amateur entry draft. Connally worked his way through the minors for four seasons, getting a late-season call-up to the Cubs in 1983. He made his debut with the Cubs on September 9 as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

for Tom Grant.

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 ...

pitcher

Neil Allen Neil Patrick Allen (born January 24, 1958) is an American baseball former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). Playing career New York Mets The New York Mets drafted Allen out of Bishop Ward High School in Kansas City, Kansas, in the elevent ...

struck him out. Connally had six more pinch-hit appearances that year, as well as one start at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, but didn't get his first major league hit until his final at-bat of the year, October 2 against the Cardinals, when he was again called upon to pinch-hit for Grant. This time, Connally singled against

Dave Rucker David Michael Rucker (born September 1, 1957) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1981 to 1988, primarily as a relief pitcher. Rucker attended Eisenhower High School and University ...

. He remained in the game to play third base in what would prove to be his last game as a Cub. On December 7, Connally was sent to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

as part of a three-team trade involving (among others)

Craig Lefferts Craig Lindsay Lefferts (born September 29, 1957) is a German-American former relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Ranger ...

, Carmelo Martinez, and Scott Sanderson. Connally spent 1984 with the Las Vegas Stars, the Padres' AAA affiliate, before being traded February 7, 1985 to the Orioles for

Vic Rodriguez Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

. He made Baltimore's Opening Day roster and made most of his appearances at third base, also seeing time at

first base 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 ...

and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

. Connally's first two major league

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 were notably grand slams. The first came off the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Doyle Alexander Doyle Lafayette Alexander (born September 4, 1950) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue J ...

, and the second came at the expense of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Matt Young Matthew John Young (born August 9, 1958) is an American former professional baseball player. Young played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball for a variety of teams over his career, and is best known for his unofficial no-hitter against the ...

. Though he was batting .280 in early June, Connally fell into a 3-for-31 slump, dropping his average to .232, before being sent down to AAA Rochester for the remainder of the campaign. Connally retired after the 1985 season.

Personal

Connally lives in Arlington, Texas.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connally, Frtizie Major League Baseball third basemen Chicago Cubs players Baltimore Orioles players Geneva Cubs players Quad Cities Cubs players Midland Cubs players Iowa Cubs players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Rochester Red Wings players Baseball players from Texas 1958 births Living people