R C Stevens (July 22, 1934November 30, 2010) was a

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), ...

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 was signed by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

before the 1952 season and traded to the Washington Senators on December 16, 1960. He played for the

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

from 1958 to 1960, and for the Washington Senators in 1961. He threw left-handed, batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Stevens was the first player to appear 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 ...

in modern Washington Senators history. On April 10, 1961, in the bottom of the ninth inning, he came into the game to bat for

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

Pete Daley Peter Harvey Daley (born January 14, 1930) is a former catcher in Major League Baseball. From 1955 through 1961, Daley played for the Boston Red Sox (1955–59), Kansas City Athletics (1960) and Washington Senators (1961). He batted and threw rig ...

against

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 (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

Frank Baumann. He hit a grounder to third, which advanced baserunner

Jim Mahoney James Thomas Mahoney (born May 26, 1934) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. He was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies before the 1953 season and played for the Boston Red Sox (1959), Washington Senators (1961), Cleveland Indians (196 ...

from first to second. The next batter made the third out, and the Washington Senators lost to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, 4–3. Stevens had a lifetime batting average of .210, with eight

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, 21 RBI, a

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

of .395 in 210

at bat 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 ...

s and scored 21 runs in 104 games. Defensively, Stevens committed only two errors in 426 total chances for a .995

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

in 388.1

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

at first base.

External links

RetrosheetVenezuelan Baseball League statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, R. C. 1934 births 2010 deaths African-American baseball players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Batavia Clippers players Burlington-Graham Pirates players Columbus Jets players Hollywood Stars players Industriales de Valencia players Major League Baseball first basemen Pittsburgh Pirates players Quad Cities Angels players St. Jean Canadians players Salt Lake City Bees players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople