Johnathan Tift Briggs (January 24, 1934 – December 25, 2018) 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 ...

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

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), ...

for all or parts of five seasons for the Chicago Cubs (1956–58),

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 ...

(1959–60), and

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 sea ...

(1960). Born in Natoma, a district of Folsom, California, the

right-hander 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 subjecti ...

was listed as tall and . Briggs initially signed with his hometown team, the

Sacramento Solons The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909–1914, 1918–1960, 1974–1976). The current Sacramento River Cats began pl ...

of the Open-Classification Pacific Coast League, in 1952. In 1954, he led the Class A

Western International League The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league baseball circuit in the Pacific Northwest United States and western Canada that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942 and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International Leagu ...

in strikeouts (233) and

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(2.50) and won 20 of 28 decisions as a member of the

Salem Senators The Salem Senators are the longest lasting name used by several minor league baseball teams based in Salem in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team name derived from Salem being the capital of Oregon. The team was founded in 1940. The current incar ...

. After two three-game trials with the Cubs in 1956 and 1957, he rejoined the Cubs in the midst of the 1958 campaign and took a spot in their

starting rotation R rabbit ears :Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for their own good. A player who becomes nervous or chokes when opposing players or fans yell at or razz them is said to have rabbit ears. Also, an umpire ...

. He split ten decisions in 20 games pitched (with 17 starts) and put up an ERA of 4.52. He threw what would be his only MLB

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

on June 24, scattering eight hits and four bases on balls to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3–0. In January 1959 Briggs was sent to the Indians in a waiver deal that also featured

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...

, pitcher Morrie Martin and utilityman

Earl Averill, Jr. Earl Douglas Averill (September 9, 1931 – May 13, 2015) was an Americans, American professional baseball player who was a catcher and outfielder in the Major League Baseball, Major Leagues in 1956 and from 1958 to 1963 for the Cleveland Ind ...

Although he pitched effectively in three spring appearances for Cleveland, Briggs spent most of the 1959 season in Triple-A 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 penn ...

, where he went 14–6 (2.60). That led to Briggs's only full season of Major League experience, 1960. He worked in 21 games for the Indians, all but two of them as a

relief pitcher 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 weat ...

, and compiled a 4–2 mark with one save. His contract then was sold to the Athletics on July 30. But Briggs treated roughly in his first five appearances for Kansas City, allowing 14 hits, seven bases on balls and 13

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s in seven innings pitched. During that skein, he lost his only starting assignment to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

on August 4, failing to record an out and allowing a three-run, first-inning

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 ...

to veteran

Vic Wertz Victor Woodrow Wertz (February 9, 1925 – July 7, 1983) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. He had a 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1947 to 1963. He played for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Brown ...

. Briggs finished the 1960 season 4–4 with a 6.42 earned run average. The following winter, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds with fellow right-hander John Tsitouris for veteran southpaw pitcher

Joe Nuxhall Joseph Henry Nuxhall (; July 30, 1928 – November 15, 2007) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Cincinnati Reds. Immediately after retiring as a player, he became a radio broadcaster for the Reds f ...

. Briggs never appeared in regular season game for Cincinnati, playing two more years of Triple-A before his 1962 retirement. During his MLB career, Briggs appeared in 59 games and 165 innings pitched, allowing 174 hits and 82 bases on balls. He struck out 80, had three complete games and the one save he recorded in 1960. Briggs died on December 25, 2018.Jonathan Briggs Obituary
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Johnathan (John) 1934 births 2018 deaths Baseball players from California Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Fort Worth Cats players Idaho Falls Russets players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Athletics players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Folsom, California Portland Beavers players Sacramento Solons players Salem Senators players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Sportspeople from Sacramento County, California