Neil Stephen Fiala 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), ...

player. He played in five games in the majors in September , all as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

. He pinch-hit three times for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

without a hit, then 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 ...

on September 10 along with pitcher Joe Edelen for veteran reliever

Doug Bair Charles Douglas Bair (born August 22, 1949) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for 15 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons — from 1976 to 1990 — for seven teams. Career Pittsburgh Pirates Bair was drafted by the ...

. In his first appearance for the Reds on September 16, Fiala got his one and only major league hit, a single against Mike Rowland of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. Fiala drove in one run with the hit, and scored another run later in the inning. Coincidentally, the player for whom he was pinch-hitting was Edelen.Box score of Neil Fiala's hit from Baseball Reference
/ref> His final appearance came 12 days later—again pinch-hitting for Edelen—when he struck out against

Alan Hargesheimer Alan Robert Hargesheimer (born November 21, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched in parts of four seasons between and for three different teams. Since his retirement, Hargesheimer has worked as a scout for several teams, i ...

. In the minor leagues, Fiala was used mostly as a second baseman. Originally drafted by the Cardinals in , he retired following the season. From until , Fiala served as manager for the

River City Rascals The River City Rascals were a professional baseball team based in O'Fallon, Missouri, in the United States. The Rascals were a member of the West Division of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 1999 ...

of the independent

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiala, Neil St. Louis Cardinals players Cincinnati Reds players Gastonia Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Arkansas Travelers players Southern Illinois Salukis baseball players Springfield Redbirds players Indianapolis Indians players Baseball players from Missouri 1956 births Living people