Richard Wayne Ownbey (born October 20, 1957 in
Corona, California
Corona (Spanish for "Crown") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 157,136, up from 152,374 at the 2010 census. The cities of Norco and Riverside lie to the north and north ...
) 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), ...
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 ...
. He played in parts of four seasons in the majors, between and , for 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 ...
and
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 ...
.
Amateur career
Ownbey attended
Savanna High School
Savanna High School (SHS) is a public high school in the Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD), located in the city of Anaheim, California in the United States. Savanna was established in 1961 and is one of eight comprehensive high schools ...
in
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
but, standing only and being only 16 years old as a senior, he failed to make the school's baseball team which featured players such as
Glenn Hoffman and
Marty Castillo
Martin Horace Castillo (born January 16, 1957) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman and catcher. Castillo, who is of Mexican descent, is an alumnus of Savanna High School in Anaheim, California.
Drafted by the Detroit Tigers ...
. Ownbey entered the workforce after high school and began working at a lock factory for $5 per hour while pitching in an amateur baseball league. By the time he was 20, he had grown to and had attracted the attention of the head baseball coach at
Santa Ana Junior College
Santa Ana College is a public community college in Santa Ana, California.
History
In 1915, Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors to 25 students as a department of Santa Ana High School. It was the second community college founded in Orange ...
, his former high school
gym
A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...
teacher. Against the advice of friends and family, he quit his job at the lock factory in order to play
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 pl ...
.
Professional career
Mets
While pitching at Santa Ana, Ownbey drew the attention of 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 ...
, who drafted him in the fourth round of the
1979 Major League Baseball draft. However, he did not sign.
A year later, the Mets drafted him in the thirteenth round. In his first season of professional ball, Ownbey was 9–1 with a 1.80
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 ...
for the
Lynchburg Mets Lynchburg is a toponym that may refer to:
*Lynchburg, California
*Lynchburg, Mississippi
*Lynchburg, Missouri
*Lynchburg, North Dakota
*Lynchburg, Ohio (in Clinton and Highland counties)
*Lynchburg, Columbiana County, Ohio
*Lynchburg, South Carolina ...
and
Jackson Mets
The Jackson Mets were a professional baseball team based in Jackson, Mississippi, from 1975 through 1990. As of 2010, they were the longest-tenured club to be based in the Jackson metropolitan area. For their entire sixteen seasons of existence, t ...
.
Ownbey made his major league debut on August 17, 1982, at
Riverfront Stadium as the
starting pitcher
In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...
against 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 ...
. He gave up five runs in five
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 ...
and took the loss. Ownbey was a combined 2–5 over his two seasons with the Mets before being traded with
Neil Allen
Neil Patrick Allen (born January 24, 1958) is an American baseball former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB).
Playing career
New York Mets
The New York Mets drafted Allen out of Bishop Ward High School in Kansas City, Kansas, in the elevent ...
to the St. Louis Cardinals for
Keith Hernandez
Keith Hernandez (born October 20, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played the majority of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets. Hernandez was a five-time All-Star who shared the 1979 NL MVP ...
on June 15, 1983.
Hernandez traded to Mets
/ref>
Cardinals
Ownbey went 7–5 with a 3.63 ERA for the Louisville Redbirds
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
of the American Association American Association may refer to:
Baseball
* American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891
* American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997
* American Association of Profe ...
his first season in the Cardinals' organization. , his first season in a Cardinals uniform, Ownbey went 0–3 with a 4.74 ERA in four starts. After spending all of in the minors, Ownbey reemerged with the Cards in pitching mostly out of the bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...
, and going 1–3 with a 3.80 ERA.
Royals
After becoming a free agent at the end of the 1986 season, Ownbey signed with the Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
for . Plagued by injuries, he pitched only four innings for their double-A Southern League affiliate, the Memphis Chicks Memphis Chicks may refer to:
*Memphis Chicks (Southern Association), a Minor League Baseball team that played from 1901 to 1960
*Memphis Chicks (Southern League)
The Memphis Chicks were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Southern Lea ...
before calling it a career.
Career totals
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ownbey, Rick
Major League Baseball pitchers
New York Mets players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Lynchburg Mets players
Jackson Mets players
Tidewater Tides players
Louisville Redbirds players
Memphis Chicks players
Baseball players from California
People from Corona, California
Santa Ana Dons baseball players
Sportspeople from Riverside County, California
1957 births
Living people