James Thomas Obradovich (September 13, 1949 – March 3, 2012) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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who appeared in ten Major League games for the Houston Astros in September of , mostly as a pinch hitter, but also as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He threw and batted

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

, stood tall and weighed . A native of

Fort Campbell, Kentucky Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...

, and the son of a military officer, Obradovich attended high school in

Fort Knox, Kentucky Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold rese ...

, and signed with the Minnesota Twins in 1967 after being taken in the 24th round of the

1967 Major League Baseball Draft The 1967 Major League Baseball draft (or "first-year player draft") recruits amateur baseball players into the American Major League Baseball league. The players selected in 1967 included many talented prospects who later had careers in the prof ...

. He missed the 1971 and 1972 minor league seasons while serving in

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for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. He was in his tenth full professional baseball season when he was recalled by Houston in 1978, after he batted a career-high .306 with 21 home runs and 85

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 ba ...

for the Triple-A

Charleston Charlies The Charleston Charlies were a Triple-A minor league baseball team located in Charleston, West Virginia. Two separate Charlies franchises played in the International League from 1971 to 1983. The team was the relocated Columbus Jets. In 1977 the f ...

. Obradovich started three games at first base for Houston during the season's final weeks. In 17

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 ...

, he collected three hits, including one

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

— hit off eventual

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Gaylord Perry Gaylord Jackson Perry (September 15, 1938 – December 1, 2022) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for eight different teams from 1962 to 1983. During a 22-year baseb ...

of 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 penn ...

on September 16. The blow knocked in the only Astro run in a 2–1 defeat.Information
at

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After spending the 1979 season at Charleston, he spent the next three seasons in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

before retiring.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obradovich, Jim 1949 births 2012 deaths Baseball players from Kentucky Charleston Charlies players Columbus Astros players Gulf Coast Twins players Houston Astros players Lynchburg Twins players Major League Baseball first basemen Orlando Twins players Savannah Braves players Tacoma Twins players St. Cloud Rox players Piratas de Campeche players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico