Gary Alan Kolb (March 13, 1940 – July 3, 2019) was an American
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
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...
. An
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
and
utilityman, Kolb played all or parts of seven seasons (1960; 1962–65; 1968–69) of
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), ...
with the
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 hav ...
,
Milwaukee Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...
,
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
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 ...
. He threw right-handed, batted left-handed, stood tall and weighed .
Kolb signed with the Cardinals in 1960 after attending the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...
. He spent much of the 1963 season with the Cardinals and
batted .271 in 96
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 ...
. On September 29, 1963 he came in as a
pinch-runner
In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...
, replacing
Stan Musial
Stanley Frank Musial (; born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American baseball outfielder and first baseman. Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consis ...
after Musial's final career hit. He was traded to the Braves on the eve of the 1964 campaign for
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 ...
Bob Uecker
Robert George Uecker ( ; born January 26, 1934) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and current sportscaster, comedian, and actor.
Facetiously dubbed "Mr. Baseball" by TV talk show host Johnny Carson, Uecker has served as a ...
. In part-time service over the rest of his MLB career his batting average never exceeded .218. He was a versatile performer who appeared at every position except
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
and
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
at the big league level (although he played every position in the
minor leagues
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
).
In his seven-season Major League career, Kolb batted .209 with six
home runs
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 ...
and 29
runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...
. He was the last Cardinal to wear uniform #20 before
Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
outfielder
Lou Brock
Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis Car ...
, who was acquired two months after Kolb's trade in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
. The number has since been retired in Brock's honor.
Kolb collected his last base hit and two RBIs in his final major league at-bat when he singled in the 8th inning on September 1, 1969.
Kolb died on July 3, 2019.
References
External links
, o
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolb, Gary
1940 births
2019 deaths
Baseball players from Illinois
Charleston Charlies players
Columbus Jets players
Denver Bears players
Florida Instructional League Pirates players
Illinois Fighting Illini baseball players
Jacksonville Suns players
Keokuk Cardinals players
Lancaster Red Roses players
Major League Baseball catchers
Major League Baseball outfielders
Major League Baseball third basemen
Milwaukee Braves players
Navegantes del Magallanes players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
New York Mets players
People from Rock Falls, Illinois
Pittsburgh Pirates players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
Winston-Salem Red Birds players