Thomas John McAvoy (August 12, 1936 – March 19, 2011) was an American

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 ...

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 appeared in one game 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), ...

for the Washington Senators in . Listed at tall and , he batted and threw left-handed. He was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Tom McAvoy was signed by the Senators in 1956 and played four seasons in the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

s before joining the big team on the final day of the 1959 season. McAvoy was a player whose baseball career can be loosely described as a

cup of coffee A "cup of coffee" is a North American sports idiom for a short time spent by a minor league player at the major league level. The idea behind the term is that the player was only in the big leagues long enough to have a cup of coffee before bei ...

. He debuted against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

on September 27, 1959, at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

as a replacement for starter

Jim Kaat James Lee Kaat (; born November 7, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins (–), ...

in the second inning, scattering one

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

and two walks without

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 over 2⅔

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

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 ...

and did not have a decision. In that game, McAvoy retired

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...

on a grounder to second base. McAvoy never appeared in a major league game again. In seven minor league seasons, McAvoy posted a 38–72 record and a 4.74 ERA in 176 pitching appearances. McAvoy died in

Stillwater, New York Stillwater is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States, with a population of 8,287 at the 2010 census. The town contains a village called Stillwater. The town is at the eastern border of the county, southeast of Saratoga Springs and ...

, at the age of 74, following complications from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

.Times Union – Obituary
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McAvoy, Tom 1936 births 2011 deaths Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New York (state) Erie Senators players Major League Baseball pitchers Midland/Lamesa Indians players Nashville Vols players Raleigh Capitals players Baseball players from Brooklyn Syracuse Chiefs players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players York White Roses players Burials in Saratoga County, New York