Donnie Ray Moore (February 13, 1954 – July 18, 1989) was an American

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 ...

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), ...

(MLB) who played for 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 ...

(1975, 1977–79),

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 hav ...

(1980),

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 ...

(1981),

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

(1982–84) and

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 ...

(1985–88). Moore is best remembered for the

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 ...

he gave up to

Dave Henderson David Lee Henderson (July 21, 1958 – December 27, 2015), nicknamed "Hendu", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletic ...

while pitching for the California Angels in Game 5 of the

1986 American League Championship Series The 1986 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven Major League Baseball postseason series between the Boston Red Sox and the California Angels for the right to advance to the 1986 World Series to face the winner of the 1986 Na ...

. With only one more strike needed to clinch the team's first-ever pennant, he allowed 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 ...

to come back and eventually win the game. Boston then won Games 6 and 7 to take the series. Shortly after his professional career ended, he shot his wife three times in a dispute and then committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

Early life

Moore was born on February 13, 1954, in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

, and was the cousin of MLB player

Hubie Brooks Hubert "Hubie" Brooks (born September 24, 1956) is an American former professional baseball right fielder, third baseman, and shortstop. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1980 to 1994 for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, L ...

. Moore attended

Paris Junior College Paris Junior College (PJC) is a public community college with three campuses in Texas: Paris, Greenville, and Sulphur Springs. The college was founded in 1924 as a campus of Paris Independent School District. Nearly 5,000 students are enrolled ...

and

Ranger College Ranger College is a public community college in Ranger, Texas. The college's website asserts that it "is one of the oldest public two-year colleges in continuous operation in the state of Texas." In conjunction with its main campus in Ranger, the ...

before he was selected by the

in the first round of the January secondary phase of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft.

Playing career

In a 13-season career, Moore posted a 43–40 record with 89 saves, 416

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, and a 3.67

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 655

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 ...

. Moore also compiled a .281 batting average with 11 runs batted in. He was selected as an All-Star in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

after developing a splitter with a slider and a breaking ball.

Game 5 of the 1986 American League Championship Series

The game took place on October 12, 1986 in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

. The

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

held a 3–1 series lead against the

. In the game, the Angels held a 5–2 lead going into the ninth inning. A home run by Boston's

Don Baylor Don Edward Baylor (June 28, 1949 – August 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and manager. During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), Baylor was a power hitter known for standing very close to home plate (" crowding ...

made it a 5–4 game. When Moore came in to pitch, there were two outs and

Rich Gedman Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

, who had been

hit by a pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

, was on first base. The Angels were one strike away from advancing to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

for the first time in franchise history.

hit a 2–2 pitch off Moore for a home run to give the Red Sox a 6–5 lead. The Angels were able to score a run in the bottom of the ninth, pushing the game into

extra innings Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie. Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...

. Moore remained in the game for the Angels; he was able to stifle a tenth inning Red Sox rally by getting

Jim Rice James Edward Rice (born March 8, 1953), nicknamed "Jim Ed", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder and designated hitter. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26, 2009 Baseball ...

to ground into a

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 ...

. Nonetheless, the Red Sox were able to score off Moore in the 11th inning via a

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

by Henderson. The Angels did not score in the bottom of the 11th, and lost the game 7–6. The defeat left the Angels with a 3–2 series advantage with two more games to play 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 ...

. However, the Angels lost both games, by scores of 10–4 and 8–1. After Game 5, Moore admitted that he made a bad pitch to Henderson. "I was throwing fastballs and Henderson was fouling them off, so I went with the split-finger, thought maybe I'd catch him off guard, but it was right in his swing."Ostler, Scott (October 13, 1986) "Moore Didn't Have Anywhere Near Enough" ''The Los Angeles Times'', page 20

Later career

Moore was battling injury at the time of the 1986 American League Championship Series and was never able to remain injury-free afterward. After saving nine more games in 41 appearances over the next two seasons, Moore was released by the Angels. He signed with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

for the 1989 season, but played only in the

minor leagues 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 ...

before being released in June of that year, ending his 14-year career in baseball.

Suicide

On July 18, 1989, Moore had an argument with his wife Tonya and shot her three times with a .45 pistol. The incident occurred at their

Anaheim Hills Anaheim Hills is a planned community encompassing the eastern portions of the city of Anaheim, in Orange County, California. History Prior to the development, a few scattered low-density neighborhoods existed in the area, including Peralta Hills ...

home, with their three children in the house at the time. Tonya Moore and daughter Demetria, then 17 years of age, fled from the house and Demetria drove her mother to the hospital. Tonya survived the shooting. Back inside the house, still in the presence of at least one of his sons, Moore then put the gun to his head and committed suicide. He was 35.

References

External links

* ttp://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/likodak.shtml Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments(#24) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Donnie 1954 births 1989 deaths African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela American League All-Stars Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Texas California Angels players Chicago Cubs players Gulf Coast Cubs players Key West Conchs players Major League Baseball pitchers Midland Cubs players Milwaukee Brewers players Omaha Royals players Palm Springs Angels players Paris Dragons baseball players People from Anaheim Hills, California Ranger Rangers baseball players Richmond Braves players Sportspeople from Lubbock, Texas Springfield Redbirds players St. Louis Cardinals players Suicides by firearm in California Tiburones de La Guaira players Wichita Aeros players 1989 suicides 20th-century African-American sportspeople