Edison Rosanda Armbrister (July 4, 1948 – March 17, 2021) was a Bahamian 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 t ...

player. He played 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 (A ...

as an

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 ...

from 1973 to 1977 for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. Armbrister was a

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

for the Reds team known as the

Big Red Machine The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1979 and is widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. The team won six National League West Division titl ...

that won three National League pennants and two

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 Worl ...

championships between 1973 and 1976. He was inducted into the Bahamas National Hall of Fame in 2008.

Early life

Armbrister was born in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

, on July 4, 1948. He was one of thirteen children of Edison Sr. and Mary (McQuay); his brother, Jonathan, played minor league baseball in 1978. His father worked as a bus driver for Western Transportation and later as a security officer for Bahamas Faith Ministries. Armbrister attended Western High School in his hometown. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

before the 1967 season.

Professional career

Armbrister played in the minor leagues from 1967 to 1973. He was included in a blockbuster trade on November 29, 1971, when the

acquired him from the

along with

Jack Billingham John Eugene Billingham (born February 21, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty th ...

Cesar Geronimo Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ces ...

Denis Menke Denis John Menke (July 21, 1940 – December 1, 2020) was a professional baseball infielder and coach. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1974. He played for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1962–67), Hou ...

, and

Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...

, in exchange for Lee May, Tommy Helms, and

Jimmy Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

. The trade helped to transform the Reds into the juggernaut known as the Big Red Machine that would dominate the National League for the next five seasons. Armbrister made his MLB debut on August 31, 1973, at the age of 25, entering as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

for

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

and

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

in his only

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runn ...

in a 10–4 win over 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 ...

. He hit his first home run five days later against the Astros. He finished his rookie year with a .216

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 one home run and five

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

(RBIs) in 18

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. In the tenth inning of Game 3 of the

1975 World Series The 1975 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1975 season. The 72nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the Natio ...

, with Gerónimo on base and nobody out, Armbrister collided with

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 ...

catcher

Carlton Fisk Carlton Ernest Fisk (born December 26, 1947), nicknamed "Pudge" and "The Commander", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1969 to 1993 for the Boston Red Sox (1969, 1971–1980) a ...

at home plate while starting to run out a

sacrifice bunt In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, and ...

, leading to a wild throw by Fisk to second base that allowed Gerónimo to reach third base and eventually score the winning run. Home plate umpire

Larry Barnett Lawrence Robert Barnett (born January 3, 1945) is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1969 to 1999 before becoming the major leagues' supervisor of umpires from 2000 to 2001. He is perhaps we ...

did not make an interference call on Armbrister, a decision which was a source of heated debate after the Reds won the game, 6–5. Armbrister played in 73 games during the 1976 season, the most in his career, batting a career-best .295. He laid down a

in his only

in that year's National League Championship Series (NLCS), and did not play in the Reds' four-game sweep of 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 ...

in the

. Armbrister played his final major league game on October 2, 1977, at the age of 29. He finished his final season with a .256 batting average with one home run and five RBIs in 65 games. For his career, he batted .245 with 4 home runs and 19 RBIs in 224 games.

Later life

After retiring from baseball, Armbrister returned to the Bahamas. He was a

craps Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, "street ...

table

croupier A croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos. Origin of the word Originally a "croupier" meant ...

Resorts International Resorts International was a hotel and casino company. From its origins as a paint company, it moved into the resort business in the 1960s with the development of Paradise Island in the Bahamas, and then expanded to Atlantic City, New Jersey with ...

Paradise Island Paradise Island is an island in The Bahamas formerly known as Hog Island. The island, with an area of (2.8 km2/1.1 sq mi), is located just off the shore of the city of Nassau, which is itself located on the northern edge of the island of ...

casino and worked for at least one other establishment in the gaming business, a staple of the Bahamian tourist economy. He worked for the local government and consumer affairs agency around 2006 on

Arawak Cay Arawak Cay, also referred to as Fish Fry, is an area of Nassau, Bahamas. It is known for its local eateries on West Bay Street, about 15 minutes from downtown Nassau and 25 minutes from Atlantis Paradise Island Atlantis Paradise Island ...

, a popular attraction in the Nassau area. He also served as a consultant to the Ministry of Sports and managed the Bahamian junior national team. In his downtime, Armbrister became a notable local

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

player. Armbrister was inducted into the Bahamas National Hall of Fame in 2008. He died on March 17, 2021, at his home in Nassau. He was 72, and was diagnosed with diabetes several years prior to his death.

References

External links

, o
Baseball GaugeMexican LeagueVenezuelan Professional Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armbrister, Ed 1948 births 2021 deaths Alijadores de Tampico players Bahamian expatriate baseball players in the United States Cincinnati Reds players Cocoa Astros players Columbus Astros players Expatriate baseball players in Mexico Florida Instructional League Astros players Florida Instructional League Senators players Indianapolis Indians players Leones de Yucatán players Leones del Caracas players Bahamian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball controversies Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Bahamas Peninsula Astros players Sportspeople from Nassau, Bahamas Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo players Tigres de Aragua players Bahamian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico

Early life

Professional career

Later life

References

Further reading

External links