James Marlan Coughtry (September 11, 1934 – November 8, 2016) 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 ...

infielder who appeared in 35 total games played over two seasons for four

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), ...

clubs. Born in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, he batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed . For his MLB career, Coughtry posted a .185

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 ...

(10-for-54) with six runs and four

run 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 bat ...

(RBI). Coughtry played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

Long Beach City College Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus in Lakewood Village and the Pacific Coast Campus in central Long Beach ...

, and was signed by 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 ...

in 1954. He began his professional career with the Corning Red Sox, and had a .333

in 93 games with the team. In 1955, he was promoted to the San Jose Red Sox, and had a .295 batting average, 11 triples, and 11

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. He played in 72 games for the Albany Senators the following year, then spent 22 games with the

Oklahoma City Indians The Oklahoma City Indians was the primary name of an American professional baseball team representing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from 1904 though 1957, except for 1913 and three seasons during World War II. The team played in several different minor ...

in 1957. Coughtry missed the 1958 season, and spent both 1959 and 1960 between the

Allentown Red Sox The Allentown Red Sox (''A-Sox'') were a minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Boston Red Sox and based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that played from 1958 through 1960 in the Eastern League. At that time, the Eastern League was officia ...

and the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

. With Allentown in 1960, he had a .308 batting average and 13 home runs. In September 1960, the Boston Red Sox brought him up to the major league roster, and he made his debut on September 2, playing in 15 games for a seventh-place team during the closing weeks of that season. In

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1 ...

' final game for the Red Sox on September 28, 1960, Coughtry started at second base and collected two hits in three

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 hit a single and scored the tying run in the ninth inning to help give the Red Sox a win. The following season, Coughtry played for the

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were initi ...

, and had a .296 batting average in 148 games. After the 1961 season, the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

selected Coughtry in the rule 5 draft, and he played in 11 games for the Angels. On May 12, as they were cutting their roster from 28 to 25 men, the Angels traded Coughtry to 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 sea ...

for

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 ...

Gordie Windhorn Gordon Ray Windhorn (December 19, 1933 – May 21, 2022) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 95 games played over parts of three seasons (, and ) in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the New York Yankees, L ...

; then, on July 2, after six games with Kansas City, Coughtry's contract was sold to 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 ...

. He played three games for the Indians before being sidelined by a sore back, and he retired from professional baseball shortly afterward.

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coughtry, Marlan 1934 births 2016 deaths Albany Senators players Allentown Red Sox players Baseball players from Los Angeles Boston Red Sox players Cleveland Indians players Corning Red Sox players Kansas City Athletics players Long Beach City Vikings baseball players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Oklahoma City Indians players People from Hollywood, Los Angeles San Jose Red Sox players Seattle Rainiers players