Vincent Norman Colbert (born December 20, 1945) is an American 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 ...

who appeared in 95 total

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 ...

, 74 as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

, for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

from 1970 to 1972. Born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, he threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as tall and . Colbert is a member of the Class of 1968 at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

, where he was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

to receive an athletic scholarship and starred in both

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

.East Carolina University Athletics Hall of Fame
/ref> He was selected by Cleveland in the 11th round of the

1968 Major League Baseball Draft The 1968 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft took place prior to the 1968 MLB season. The draft saw the New York Mets take shortstop Tim Foli first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1968 Major Leagu ...

, and in his first pro campaign posted a 10–2

won–lost record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

and 1.95

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 ...

, with 99

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 in 97

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 ...

, in the Class A Western Carolinas League. He made his

MLB 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), ...

debut with the Indians in the middle of his third pro season in May 1970, getting into 23 games as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

, all of them in relief. Colbert's only full major-league season came in 1971. Pitching for a last-place Indians team that lost 102 games, he posted a 7–6 record with two saves and a 3.97 ERA in 50 appearances. He was one of only three Cleveland pitchers to have a winning record that season. However, 1972 saw Colbert's performance fall to a 1–7 (4.58) record in 22 appearances. His lone victory, in a starting assignment June 15 against the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

at Anaheim Stadium, was a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

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 ...

, a five-

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 ...

, 1–0 triumph.

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major ...

br>box score (15 June 1972): "Cleveland Indians 1, California Angels 0"
/ref> It was Colbert's last big-league win and only shutout. He spent part of the season at Triple-A

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, where also struggled. He was traded to the Texas Rangers in November and then reacquired by the Indians in March 1973. But he never again appeared in the major leagues. For his career, Colbert won nine games, lost 14, and posted four saves and three career complete games, with an earned run average of 4.57. In 248⅓ innings pitched, he allowed 251 hits and 125

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, and struck out 127. He retired from pro ball in 1974 and was elected to the East Carolina University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.

References

External links

1945 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Washington, D.C. Broncos de Reynosa players Cleveland Indians players East Carolina Pirates baseball players East Carolina University alumni Florida Instructional League Indians players Leones de Yucatán players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Oklahoma City 89ers players Sportspeople from Spokane County, Washington Portland Beavers players Reno Silver Sox players Rock Hill Indians players San Antonio Brewers players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Waterbury Indians players Wichita Aeros players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{US-baseball-pitcher-1940s-stub