Scipio Ronald Spinks (born July 12, 1947) is a former right handed

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 ...

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), ...

who played from 1969 through 1973 for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

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 ...

Life and sports

Born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, Spinks was a promising prospect until injuries prematurely ended his career. Spinks graduated from Harlan High School in Chicago and was drafted by the Astros organization in 1966. That August, he set a record in the Northern League by striking out 20 batters in a game.Costello, Rory
"Scipio Spinks"
''sabr.org''. Retrieved 2010-11-2. In 1968, he went 9–6 with a 2.27

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 ...

in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. He was shuttled between Class AAA and the major league club for the next few seasons. The hard-throwing Spinks had control problems but also struck out an average of one batter per inning in 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 ...

. Spinks was traded along with

Lance Clemons Lance Levis Clemons (July 6, 1947 – January 22, 2008) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City Royals (), St. Louis Cardinals () and Boston Red Sox (). Clemons was born in Philadelphia, Pennsy ...

from the Astros to the Cardinals for

Jerry Reuss Jerry Reuss (born June 19, 1949)—pronounced "royce"—is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reuss played for eight teams in his major league career; along with the Dodge ...

on April 15, 1972."Cardinals Trade Reuss To Astros for 2 Pitchers," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Saturday, April 15, 1972.
Retrieved December 24, 2021 He started the season with the major league club and pitched well. By midseason, he was third in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

strikeout 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 deno ...

s, behind only Steve Carlton and

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...

. Spinks finished with a 2.67 ERA.Neyer, Rob. ''Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders'' (2006), pp. 170-171. Spinks was exceptionally fast for a pitcher, and for that reason the Cardinals frequently used him as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

. Spinks' career was drastically altered on July 4, 1972. While scoring from first on a double, he ran into

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 ...

catcher

Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...

in a collision at

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

. While Spinks scored, he tore ligaments in his right knee during the collision, and missed the rest of the season. In 1973, he pitched just eight games before coming down with a shoulder injury. Just before spring training 1974, Spinks was traded to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

for Jim Hickman. He spent the next three years in the Cubs,

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

and Astros organizations, but never recovered and finally retired in 1976. Meanwhile, Reuss would go on to pitch for another 18 years.

Post MLB career

After his playing career ended, Spinks became a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

and a

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

in the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

and Houston Astros organizations. He currently lives in the

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

area with his wife and as of 2016 is a pro scout for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

' organization. He is currently the head coach for the University of Houston-Downtown Gators baseball organization.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
SABR BioProjectPelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spinks, Scipio 1947 births Living people African-American baseball players Amarillo Sonics players Arizona Diamondbacks scouts Baseball players from Chicago Bismarck-Mandan Pards players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Cocoa Astros players Florida Instructional League Astros players Florida Instructional League Astros/Senators players Greensboro Patriots players Houston Astros players Houston Astros scouts Iowa Oaks players Major League Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City 89ers players St. Louis Cardinals players San Diego Padres scouts West Haven Yankees players Wichita Aeros players Winter Haven Super Sox players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople