James Bernard Driscoll (born May 14, 1944 in

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...

) is a former

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), ...

second baseman and

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 ...

who played in two seasons with the

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 ...

and Texas Rangers. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Playing career

Driscoll was drafted by the

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 ...

as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in June . That November, he was drafted by the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

in the 1962 first-year draft. He was in the A's minor league system when the team moved to

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

in , and made his major league debut with the A's in , appearing in 21 games for the major league club that season. He began the season with the Triple-A Iowa Oaks then was acquired by the Washington Senators during that season. The Senators assigned him to the Triple-A

Denver Bears Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, where he spent the remainder of the 1971 season. The following season, the Senators moved to

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

and became the Texas Rangers. Driscoll appeared in 15 games with the Rangers in their inaugural season in Arlington, but he spent most of the season in Denver. Following the 1972 season he was traded to 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 ...

along with

Hal King Harold King (February 1, 1944 - March 23, 2019) was an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball and the Mexican League as a catcher from to for the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Cinci ...

in exchange for

Jim Merritt James Joseph Merritt (born December 9, 1943) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. Minnesota Twins Merritt originally signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Edgewood High School in West Covina, California, but was plucked f ...

. He played in the Reds and later the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

minor league systems but never appeared in a major league game for either club. He retired after the season at age 31.

External links

1944 births Living people Baltimore Orioles scouts Birmingham Barons players Baseball players from Massachusetts Burlington Bees players Denver Bears players Dublin Braves players Indianapolis Indians players Iowa Oaks players Lewiston Broncs players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Mobile A's players Oakland Athletics players Sportspeople from Medford, Massachusetts Texas Rangers players Trois-Rivières Aigles players Vancouver Mounties players {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub