James Robert Dyck (February 3, 1922 – January 11, 1999) was a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

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), ...

who played for four different teams between

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

. Listed at , 200 lb., Dyck batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. Prior to his baseball career Dyck served in the US Navy during World War II. Dyck entered the majors in 1951 with the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

, playing for them three years before joining the

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 ...

(1954),

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) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

(1955–56) and

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

(1956). His most productive season came with the 1952 Browns, when he posted career-highs in

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 (15), RBI (64), runs (60), doubles (22) and games played (122), while hitting a .269

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 ...

. On July 16, 1953, he entered the books records when the Browns tied, by then, a major league mark with three successive home runs during the first inning of an 8–6 victory over the

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. Dyck hit his homer after solo shots belted by

Clint Courtney Clinton Dawson Courtney (March 16, 1927 – June 16, 1975), nicknamed Scrap Iron, was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1951), St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (1952 ...

and

Dick Kryhoski Richard David Kryhoski (March 24, 1925 – April 10, 2007) was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four different franchises between 1949 and 1955. Listed at and , he batted and threw lef ...

. Dyck also played every position in his career except for pitcher or catcher. In a six-season career, Dyck was a .246 hitter (242-for-983) with 26 home runs and 114 in 330 games, including 52 doubles, five triples, four stolen bases, and a .344 on-base percentage. Following his majors career, Dyck played during three seasons in the Pacific Coast League with the Indians and Reds affiliated teams, before retiring in 1960 to open a family bowling-alley business in Cheney, Washington.Jim Dyck , Society for American Baseball Research
Retrieved 2018-12-17. Dyck died in Cheney at the age of 76.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyck, Jim 1922 births 1999 deaths Baltimore Orioles players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from Nebraska Binghamton Triplets players Cincinnati Redlegs players Cleveland Indians players Fond du Lac Panthers players Indianapolis Indians players Joplin Miners players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball third basemen Nashville Vols players Newark Bears (IL) players Quincy Gems players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players St. Louis Browns players San Antonio Missions players Seattle Rainiers players Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska Vancouver Mounties players People from Cheney, Washington Norfolk Yankees players