Rick Lamar Camp (June 10, 1953 – April 25, 2013), was an American professional baseball
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), ...
(MLB) for a total of nine seasons with the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
between 1976 and 1985.
Biography
Camp was born in
Trion, Georgia, and was best known for hitting a game-tying 18th-inning home run on
a game that began on July 4, 1985, and ended on July 5th, against the
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 ...
with two outs and an 0-2 count off
Tom Gorman; this was the only home run of his twelve-season pro career (including nine in the majors). Representing the tying run in the 19th inning, Camp struck out to end the game and was the losing pitcher. The Braves had run out of position players and had no choice but to let Camp bat in the 18th and 19th innings, even though his career batting average was .074. The game started on July 4 at 7:05 pm, but due to extra innings and three long rain delays, it did not end until 3:55 am on July 5, the second latest any major league game has ever ended. (After the last out, the night still wasn't over: the Braves gave their fans a promised fireworks show at four in the morning.)
In September 2005, Camp was sentenced, along with four other people, including former Georgia State Representative
Robin L. Williams, to a term in federal prison for conspiring to steal more than $2 million from the Community Mental Health Center in
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...
. Camp received a three year sentence, while Williams got ten years. Camp died on April 25, 2013 at his home at the age of 59.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camp, Rick
1953 births
2013 deaths
Atlanta Braves players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state)
American sportspeople convicted of crimes
Kingsport Braves players
Savannah Braves players
Richmond Braves players
West Georgia Wolves baseball players
People from Chattooga County, Georgia
People from Bartow County, Georgia
Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area