Raymond Joseph Robert Daviault (May 27, 1934 – November 6, 2020) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. The

right-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 subjecti ...

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 ...

, a native of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, had an 11-season (1953–63) professional career, but spent only part of one season in the Major Leagues, appearing in 36

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

(all but three in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

) for the 1962

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, the first season in that

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

's history. He stood tall and weighed .

Career

Daviault had been selected by the Mets with the 18th pick in the

1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft The 1961 MLB Expansion Draft was held by Major League Baseball on October 10, 1961, to fill the rosters of the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s, the new franchises which would enter the league in the 1962 season. The pool of players out of ...

, even though he had yet to pitch a single

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

in the Majors. In 1961, his ninth season in the minors, he had appeared in 58 games and 105

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

for the Triple-A Tacoma Giants, fashioning a 10–9 record and an

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 ...

of 3.17. In 1962, Daviault broke

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

camp on the Mets' inaugural roster, and made his MLB debut on April 13 at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

against 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 ...

— the first regular-season home game in Mets' history. Entering the contest in the eighth inning with the Mets down, 3–2, he walked

Dick Groat Richard Morrow Groat (born November 4, 1930) is a former professional baseball and basketball player who was an eight-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series champion in Major League Baseball. He rates as one of the most accomplished t ...

, threw a

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third stri ...

, retired

Bob Skinner Robert Ralph Skinner (born October 3, 1931) is an American former professional baseball outfielder / first baseman, manager, coach, and scout, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for three National League (NL) teams. In all, Skinner spent o ...

on a

ground ball In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

(with Groat advancing to

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

), then uncorked a second wild pitch to score Groat and increase the Pirate lead to 4–2. He also walked three batters in the ninth inning but allowed no further scoring as Pittsburgh ended up winning, 4–3. Daviault earned his only MLB victory on July 7 against 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 hav ...

, also at the Polo Grounds. He came into a 3–3 tie in the eighth inning, and immediately dodged a bullet when Cardinal baserunner

Dal Maxvill Charles Dallan Maxvill (born February 18, 1939) is a retired shortstop, coach and general manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). During his career, Maxvill played, coached, or was an executive for four World Series winners and seven league champ ...

failed to touch third base and was called out to kill a St. Louis rally. Then, in the ninth, Daviault surrendered a go-ahead

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 the Cardinals'

Curt Flood Curtis Charles Flood (January 18, 1938 – January 20, 1997) was an American professional baseball player and activist. He was a center fielder who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Redlegs, St. Louis Cardinals, ...

. But, in the bottom of the inning, the Mets'

Marv Throneberry Marvin Eugene Throneberry (September 2, 1933 – June 23, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball player. Affectionately known as "Marvelous Marv", he was the starting first baseman for the 1962 New York Mets, a team which set the modern rec ...

hit a two-run,

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not ...

off

Ernie Broglio Ernest Gilbert Broglio (; August 27, 1935 – July 16, 2019) was a professional baseball pitcher. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1966. After attending high school and junior college in ...

to give New York and Daviault a come-from-behind, 5–4 win. That 1962 Mets team had a record of 40–120, still the modern-era record for most losses by a Major League Baseball team in a single season. In 36 MLB games and 81 innings pitched, Daviault allowed 92 hits and 48 walks; he

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

51. In August 2017, a baseball field was dedicated to Raymond Daviault in

Pointe-aux-Trembles Pointe-aux-Trembles was a municipality, founded in 1674, that was annexed by Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1982. This was the last city to be merged into Montreal until the 2002 municipal reorganization. On January 1, 2002 this neighbourhood at ...

. It is now home to the Montreal Brewers of the Ligue de Baseball Majeur du Québec.

Personal life

He was predeceased by his wife, Lisette Lesperance. Daviault had three kids – predeceased by one of them. He had six grandchildren. He died on November 6, 2020. He was 86-years-old. His death was recorded to be in

Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci is a municipality in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Matawinie Regional County Municipality. Demographics Population Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 619 (total dwellings: 1206) Lang ...

, where he had lived for many years. The obituary in ''Le Journal de Montréal'' did not list a cause of death, and reported that he had been in good health.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daviault, Ray 1934 births 2020 deaths Asheville Tourists players Baseball people from Quebec Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Cocoa Indians players Des Moines Bruins players French Quebecers Hornell Dodgers players Macon Dodgers players Major League Baseball players from Canada Montreal Royals players New York Mets players Pueblo Dodgers players Rio Grande Valley Giants players Baseball players from Montreal Syracuse Chiefs players Tacoma Giants players