James Morris Easterly (born February 17, 1953) is an American 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 played in the
major leagues for the
Atlanta 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 Bos ...
(1974–79),
Milwaukee Brewers (1981–83) and
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 Fi ...
(1983–87).
On June 30, 1978, he gave up
Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey (January 10, 1938 – October 31, 2018), nicknamed "Stretch", "Mac" and "Willie Mac", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a mem ...
's 500th
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 ...
.
Easterly was a member of the Brewers' 1981 American League Eastern Division (2nd half) and 1982 AL pennant winning teams. He was traded along with
Gorman Thomas and
Ernie Camacho
Ernest Carlos Camacho (born February 1, 1955) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the major leagues from 1980 to 1981 and 1983 to 1990. His best season came with the 1984 Cleveland Indians, when he led the team with 23 saves. ...
from the
Brewers to the
Indians for
Rick Manning
Richard Eugene Manning (born September 2, 1954) is a former center fielder and current broadcaster in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for the Cleveland Indians (1975-) and Milwaukee Brewers (1983–1987), and has been a color commentator ...
and
Rick Waits
Michael Richard Waits (born May 15, 1952) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Waits, who threw left-handed, played all or part of twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers (1973), Cleveland Indians (1975 ...
on June 6, 1983.
"Gorman Thomas dealt to Tribe," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Tuesday, June 7, 1983.
Retrieved December 15, 2022.
He was released by the Cleveland Indians following the 1987 season, at which point he announced his retirement.
References
Sources
1953 births
Living people
Atlanta Braves players
Baseball players from Houston
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Cleveland Indians players
Denver Bears players
Greenwood Braves players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Milwaukee Brewers players
Navegantes del Magallanes players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Orlando Juice players
Richmond Braves players
Savannah Braves players
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