Gary Wayne Alexander (born March 27, 1953) is an American former professional

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 tea ...

player. He played 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), ...

(MLB) as a

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 ...

from 1975 through 1981 for 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 ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

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 ...

, and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. Alexander was traded along with

Gary Thomasson Gary Leah Thomasson (born July 29, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 to 1980, most prominently as a member of the San Francisco Gian ...

Dave Heaverlo David Wallace Heaverlo ( ;

John Henry Johnson John Henry Johnson (November 24, 1929 – June 3, 2011) was an American professional football player who was a running back. He was known for his excellence at the fullback position as both a runner and a blocker. His first professional stint ...

Phil Huffman Phillip Lee Huffman (born June 20, 1958) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played two seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles. Early life and education Huffman played high sch ...

Alan Wirth Alan Lee Wirth (born December 8, 1956) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Wirth pitched in parts of three seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1978 until 1980, for the Oakland Athletics. Career Wirth was originally drafted ...

and $300,000 from the Giants to the Athletics for

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

on March 15, 1978.

Mario Guerrero Mario Miguel Guerrero Abud (born September 28, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who played for four teams in an eight-year career from to . Career Guerrero signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in . After fo ...

was sent to the Athletics just over three weeks later on April 7 to complete the transaction. In a seven-season major league career, Alexander posted a .230

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 55

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 202 RBI in 432

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. His best statistical season was in 1978 when he hit 27 home runs and had 84 RBI's, 57 runs, 112 hits and 20 doubles in 148 games played, all career-highs. On September 26, 1978, his home run with two outs in the ninth inning ended a no-hit bid by Mike Flanagan of 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 ...

. Alexander caught

John Montefusco John Joseph Montefusco Jr. (born May 25, 1950), nicknamed "The Count," is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1986, most notably as a member of the Sa ...

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

in . Alexander is now a captain in the Los Angeles (CA) Fire Department.https://www.facebook.com/gary.alexander.5648?comment_id=Y29tbWVudDo1OTQxODAzNjExNjgyMzlfNTk0NTE4MDQ3ODAxMTM3

References

External links

1953 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Azules de Coatzacoalcos players Bradenton Explorers players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Cleveland Indians players Decatur Commodores players Fresno Giants players Great Falls Giants players Lafayette Drillers players Leones de Yucatán players Leones del Escogido players Los Angeles Harbor Seahawks baseball players Major League Baseball catchers Oakland Athletics players Phoenix Giants players Pittsburgh Pirates players San Francisco Giants players Baseball players from Los Angeles 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{US-baseball-catcher-1950s-stub