David Jeffrey LaPoint (born July 29, 1959) is a retired

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. He was the manager of the

Rockland Boulders The New York Boulders are an American Independent baseball league, independent professional baseball team playing in the Frontier League based in Pomona, New York, Pomona, Rockland County, New York (state), New York. The team was founded as a mem ...

, an American professional baseball team based in

Pomona, New York Pomona is a village partly in the town of Ramapo and partly in the town of Haverstraw in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of New Hempstead, east of Harriman State Park, north of Monsey and west of Mount Ivy. Acco ...

and member of the

Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization of ...

known as the Can-Am League.

Early life

LaPoint was born in

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls ref ...

, and attended Glens Falls High School, where he was a star

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 t ...

player alongside future fellow

player David Palmer. He graduated in 1977.

Professional career

Milwaukee Brewers

Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 10th round (237th overall) of the 1977

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), ...

amateur entry draft, LaPoint would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Milwaukee Brewers on September 10, 1980.

St. Louis Cardinals

On December 12, 1980, LaPoint was traded to the

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 ...

with Lary Sorensen,

David Green David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, and

Sixto Lezcano Sixto Joaquin Lezcano Curras (born November 28, 1953) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons (1974–1985). He played for five MLB teams and won a Gold Glove during ...

for

Ted Simmons Ted Lyle Simmons (born August 9, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. A switch-hitter, Simmons was a catcher for most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals (1968–1980), the Mil ...

, Rollie Fingers, and

Pete Vuckovich Peter Dennis Vuckovich ''(VOO-koh-vich)'' (born October 27, 1952) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1975 to 1986. He came across as an intimidating presence on ...

. He pitched in St. Louis until 1984, beginning as a long

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, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

but eventually developing into a starting pitcher. LaPoint was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals team that defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in the

1982 World Series The 1982 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1982 season. The 79th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals and the Am ...

. He also finished eighth in the voting for the 1982

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 ...

Rookie of the Year award.

San Francisco Giants

On February 1, 1985, LaPoint was traded to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

with

José Uribe José Altagracia González Uribe (January 21, 1959 – December 8, 2006) was a Dominican Major League Baseball shortstop from until . Most of his ten-year career was spent with the San Francisco Giants. He played for the Giants in the 1989 W ...

Gary Rajsich Gary Louis Rajsich ( ; born October 28, 1954) is an American Major League Baseball (MLB) scout and a former professional baseball outfielder. He played all or parts of four seasons in the Majors from until , then played three additional seasons ...

, and

for Jack Clark. He pitched in San Francisco for one season, making 31 starts.

Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres

On October 7, 1985, LaPoint was traded to the Detroit Tigers with Matt Nokes and Eric King for

Scott Medvin Scott Howard Medvin (born September 16, 1961) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played parts of three seasons in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1988–89) and Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an Ameri ...

Bob Melvin Robert Paul Melvin (born October 28, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player and coach, who is the manager of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has been named Manager of the Year three times. Selected in t ...

, and

Juan Berenguer Juan Bautista Berenguer (born November 30, 1954) is a former Panamanian long relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for eight teams from 1978 to 1992. Listed at 5'11 , 200 lb. , Berenguer batted and threw right-handed. He was ...

. After beginning as a starting pitcher, he was demoted to the bullpen where he pitched as a long

. On July 9, 1986, he was traded to 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 penn ...

for Mark Thurmond. In San Diego, he pitched primarily as a long relief pitcher. He was released by the Padres on December 18, 1986.

Second stint with Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox

On January 19, 1987, LaPoint was re-acquired as a free agent by the

. After beginning the season in the minor leagues, LaPoint was recalled near the trade deadline and pitched as a long

, where he pitched poorly. On July 30, 1987, LaPoint was traded to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

for Bryce Hulstrom. In Chicago, LaPoint became a starting pitcher again and posted a 2.94 earned run average. On November 9, 1987, he was granted free agency.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On February 9, 1988 he was re-signed by the

shortly before

pitchers 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 a ...

and catchers were to report to Spring training. LaPoint pitched well in Chicago again, and began to draw interest from contending teams. On August 13, 1988, LaPoint was traded through waivers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Barry Jones. He pitched well down the stretch for the Pirates, posting a 2.77 earned run average. On November 4, 1988, he was granted free agency.

New York Yankees

On December 3, 1988, LaPoint was signed as a free agent by the

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

. LaPoint pitched poorly for the Yankees in 1989, winning only six games and posting an earned run average over 5.00. In 1990, LaPoint's fortunes improved as did his earned run average, moving to 4.11. He was released on February 17, 1991.

Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, second stint with Brewers

On April 7, 1991, LaPoint was signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies. He played his final game in MLB on April 20, 1991, and was released on April 23, 1991. On May 9, 1991, LaPoint was re-acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent to a minor league contract, reuniting him with the team that drafted him. He did not pitch well at Triple-A and was released on June 23, 1991. On June 28, 1991, he was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Cubs to a minor league contract. He pitched poorly and was not recalled when rosters expanded in September. He was granted free agency on October 15, 1991.

Minnesota Twins

After not pitching at all in 1992, LaPoint was signed to a minor league contract by the Minnesota Twins in 1993. After pitching poorly in Triple-A after making 13 starts, he was not recalled in September when rosters expanded.

Adirondack Lumberjacks

After sitting out the 1994 season, LaPoint pitched for the Adirondack Lumberjacks of the independent

Northeast League The Northeast League was a professional independent baseball league that operated in the Northeastern United States from 1995 until 1998 and from 2003 until 2004. Between 1999 and 2002, the league was part of the Northern League after the two leag ...

in 1995. After retiring as a player, LaPoint was appointed as the team's pitching coach and eventually became manager. LaPoint parted ways with the team when they joined the independent Northern League in 1999.

Managerial career

Bridgeport Bluefish

In 2006, LaPoint was hired as the manager of the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

of the independent Atlantic League. He is the fourth manager in team history, and succeeded

José Lind José Lind Salgado, nicknamed "Chico", (Born May 1, 1964) is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman, and former manager of the Atlantic League's Bridgeport Bluefish. He is the cousin of Onix Concepción (another forme ...

.Bridgeport Bluefish Historical Yearly Records - The Baseball Cube
/ref> After the 2006 season, LaPoint was named the Atlantic League Manager of the Year.

Long Island Ducks

LaPoint was the manager of the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League.

Rockland Boulders

Starting in 2011, LaPoint managed the

, an American professional baseball team based in

and member of the

known as the Can-Am League. He was fired after the 2012 season after the team who was once in the playoff race lost 10 straight games and eventually finished way out of the playoff hunt with a third place finish.

References

External links

RetrosheetBaseball AlmanacBaseball-Reference.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapoint, Dave 1959 births Living people Sportspeople from Glens Falls, New York St. Louis Cardinals players Milwaukee Brewers players San Francisco Giants players Detroit Tigers players San Diego Padres players Chicago White Sox players Pittsburgh Pirates players New York Yankees players Philadelphia Phillies players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from New York (state) Baseball managers Adirondack Lumberjacks players Burlington Bees players Denver Zephyrs players Iowa Cubs players Louisville Redbirds players Newark Co-Pilots players Portland Beavers players Springfield Redbirds players Stockton Ports players Vancouver Canadians players American expatriate baseball players in Canada