Harry Wayne Comer (born February 3, 1944) 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), ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He played professional

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 ...

for 13 seasons from 1962 through 1974, including stints with four major league teams: the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1967, 1968, 1972), the

Seattle Pilots The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball, professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington during the 1969 Major League Baseball season. During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their ho ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

(1969–1970), and the Washington Senators (1970). In 1969, Comer's only full season in the majors, he led the

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

s scored, led the

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double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

s turned as an outfielder, and ranked second in the American League in

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

s from the outfield. He was also a member of the 1968 Detroit Tigers and compiled a perfect 1.000 postseason

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with a pinch-hit single off

Joe Hoerner Joseph Walter Hoerner (November 12, 1936 – October 4, 1996) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher, who played 14 years in Major League Baseball (MLB), for seven different teams. A native of Dubuque, Iowa he grew up in nearby Key ...

in his only

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

in Game 3 of the

1968 World Series The 1968 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1968 Major League Baseball season, 1968 season. The 65th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between American League (AL) ch ...

Early years

Comer was born in 1944 in

Shenandoah, Virginia Shenandoah is a town in Page County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,373 at the 2010 census. Geography Shenandoah is located at (38.488225, −78.621217). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area ...

. He was raised there and attended

Page County High School Page County High School is a public secondary school located in Shenandoah, Virginia. The dedication of the original building in 1961 brought together students from the former Shenandoah and Stanley high schools. It holds grade levels 9-12 (fres ...

. He was an all-around athlete in high school, playing baseball,

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 ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. He was selected as an all-state player in football.

Playing career

Minor leagues

Comer was originally signed in 1962 by the Washington Senators as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He made his professional debut that year for the Class-B

Raleigh Capitals The Raleigh Capitals was a name used by various minor league baseball teams that were based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Most of these teams played at Devereaux Meadow. There have been minor league baseball teams in the past that played in Raleig ...

, batting .229 with three home runs and 28 runs batted in (RBI) in 78 games. In March 1963, Comer was traded to the

for Bobo Osborne. He spent the 1963 season with the

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in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. He next played for the

Duluth–Superior Dukes The Duluth–Superior Dukes were a professional baseball team based in Duluth, Minnesota. The Dukes were a charter member of the modern Northern League, which started play in 1993. The Dukes played their home games at Wade Stadium. After the 20 ...

in 1964 and the

Montgomery Rebels The Montgomery Rebels was the name of several American minor league baseball franchises representing Montgomery, Alabama, playing in various leagues between and . ''Rebels'' was the predominant nickname of the Montgomery teams, but it was not the ...

in 1965. In 1965, he led the Southern League with 31

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, compiled a .285

, and hit nine

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s while recording 54 RBI in 123 games. At the end of the 1965 season, he was named to the Southern League All-Star Team. Comer began the 1966 season with the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. However, after only 35 games with the Chiefs, he was traded to the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

in exchange for outfielder Art Lopez. He was the Mud Hens' starting center fielder in 1966 and compiled a .266 batting average with 11 home runs and 52 RBI in 131 games. During the 1967 season, Comer compiled a career-high .290 batting average with 11 home runs, 58 RBI and a .363

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

in 137 games. He also led the International League in runs scored, total bases, and putouts and assists by an outfielder. At the end of the 1967 season, he was named by the National Association of Baseball Writers to the 1967 East Triple-A All-Star team.

Detroit Tigers

In September 1967, Comer was called up by the

. He made his major league debut on September 17, 1967, and appeared in four games that season. With one hit in three at bats, he compiled a .333 batting average. The following year, Comer began the season in Toledo but was called up by the Tigers after

Al Kaline Albert William Kaline ( ; December 19, 1934 – April 6, 2020), nicknamed "Mr. Tiger", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers. For most of his career, Kal ...

broke a bone in his forearm in late May 1968. Comer appeared in 48 games for the 1968 Detroit Tigers, principally as a backup outfielder. He compiled a .125 batting average with one triple, one home run and 3 RBI in 48 at bats. Comer made an appearance in Game 3 of the

, getting a pinch-hit single off

in his only at bat for a perfect 1.000 World Series batting average.

Seattle Pilots

On October 15, 1968, Comer was claimed by the newly formed

as the 41st pick in the 1968 expansion draft. In 1969, Comer was an every day starter for the Pilots in the outfield, mostly in center field. He led the team in runs scored with 88. He was also second on the Pilots in home runs with 15, trailing

Don Mincher Donald Ray Mincher (June 24, 1938 – March 4, 2012) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and longtime minor league executive. He played in the majors from 1960–1972 for the "original" Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins, Cal ...

. Comer also stole 18 bases, and his combined "Power/Speed Number" was 16.4 — eighth best in the

. He also led the American League in 1969 with six double plays turned as an outfielder. His 14 assists from the outfield ranked second in the American League. In 1970, the Pilots moved to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

and became the

. Comer appeared in 13 games for the Brewers and compiled an .059 batting average (1-for-17) with one RBI.

Washington Senators

On May 10, 1970, Comer was traded by the Brewers to the Washington Senators for

Hank Allen Harold Andrew "Hank" Allen (born July 23, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player who appeared in Major League Baseball, primarily as an outfielder, for the Washington Senators (–), Milwaukee Brewers () and Chicago White Sox ...

and Ron Theobald. Comer appeared in 77 games for the Senators, compiling a .233 batting average (.346 on-base percentage) with 8 RBI in 129 at bats.

Detroit Tigers

On December 5, 1970, Comer was purchased by the Detroit Tigers from the Senators. He spent the 1971 season with the

, appearing in 136 games with a .279 batting average, nine home runs, 51 RBI, and a .373 on-base percentage. He was called up by the Tigers for a portion of the 1972 season, appearing in 27 games mostly as a defensive replacement in the outfield. He had only one hit in nine at bats (.111) for the 1972 Tigers. Comer continued to play in the minor leagues for two more years. He played for the Mud Hens in 1973 and the

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

in 1974.

Later years and family

After retiring from baseball, Comer returned to Virginia. He served as the baseball coach at Spotswood High School for several years, was named Coach of the Year in 2000, and resigned after the 2006 season. He currently coaches baseball for Page County High School. Comer was married in January 1963 to Joyce Nauman. They had three sons, Timothy Wayne (born 1965), Paul Allen (born 1968), and Shaun Christopher (born 1980).

References

External links

Wayne Comer
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Comer, Wayne Detroit Tigers players Milwaukee Brewers players Seattle Pilots players Syracuse Chiefs players Lakeland Tigers players Duluth-Superior Dukes players Reading Phillies players Montgomery Rebels players Raleigh Capitals players Toledo Mud Hens players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players Baseball players from Virginia Major League Baseball outfielders People from Shenandoah, Virginia Living people 1944 births