Gary Paul Lucas (born November 8, 1954) 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 professional baseball

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 ...

who pitched 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) with 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 ...

(1980–83),

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

(1984–85) and

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

(1986–87).

Career

Playing career

Lucas was drafted by the

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 ...

in the 1st round of the 1973 amateur draft. He failed to come to terms with the Reds on a contract and became re-eligible for the draft, subsequently being selected by the

in the 19th round of the 1976 amateur draft. Lucas made his major league debut on April 16, 1980, pitching one relief inning in a Padres' loss to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. He was used as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

for much of his rookie season before being used exclusively as a

reliever 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, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather ...

for the remainder of his major league career. In 1981, Lucas led all

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

pitchers by appearing in 57 games. In his final major league appearance, Lucas pitched innings of scoreless work to close out a Jack Lazorko win for the

on October 3, 1987. In eight major league seasons, he posted a career record of 29–44 with 63 saves and a 3.01

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in 669

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

Coaching career

Lucas has served as a pitching coach for a variety of minor league baseball teams. He was the pitching coach with the

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton, Wisconsin, Appleton in the Fox ...

, the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

' Class-A team in 2015 before spending the following two seasons as a coach with the Class-AA

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado Rockies for one. They played ...

. Wanting to be closer to his home in

Rice Lake, Wisconsin Rice Lake is a city in Barron County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 9,040. The city is located mostly within the Town of Rice Lake. History Rice Lake was named in 1870 after nearby Rice Lak ...

, Lucas asked to be reassigned back to Beloit, where he remained through 2012,For Twins minor league coach Gary Lucas, it's about giving back to the game http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_20934756/tom-powers-twins-minor-league-coach-gary-lucas when the Twins moved their Midwest League team to Cedar Rapids. Lucas spent one year in Cedar Rapids, before being moved to the Twins High-A franchise, the Fort Myers Miracle in 2014. Lucas was dismissed by the Twins following the 2014 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Gary 1954 births Living people Amarillo Gold Sox players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from California California Angels players Chapman Panthers baseball players Hawaii Islanders players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Montreal Expos players Palm Springs Angels players People from Rice Lake, Wisconsin Phoenix Firebirds players Reno Silver Sox players Riverside City Tigers baseball coaches Riverside City Tigers baseball players San Diego Padres players Walla Walla Padres players West Palm Beach Expos players Peninsula Oilers players Riverside Polytechnic High School alumni