Alfred James Pilarcik was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 player. An outfielder

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

, he appeared in 668 Major League

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 games between and for the Kansas City Athletics

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

, Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

 and Chicago White Sox

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...

. Pilarcik stood 5 inch tall, weighed 185 lb (83.9 kg) and threw and batted left-handed.

Primarily a right fielder

Right fielder

A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...

, Pilarcik played in over 100 games for three successive seasons (–) as a member of the Orioles. In 1960

1960 Baltimore Orioles season

The 1960 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing second in the American League with a record of 89 wins and 65 losses, eight games behind the AL Champion New York Yankees.- Offseason :...

, his last season in Baltimore, Pilarcik saw less service, but he was stationed in right field at Boston's Fenway Park

Fenway Park

Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...

 on September 28, 1960, Ted Williams

Ted Williams

Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...

' final game as an active player. He caught Williams' long drive to right field at the bullpen wall in the fifth inning, then, three frames later, watched helplessly as Williams' 440-foot (134 metre) blast carried over the bullpen for Williams' 521st and final career home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

 — in the Hall of Fame hitter's last at bat

At bat

In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...

 in the Major Leagues.

Pilarcik's career lasted one more season, split between the 1961 Athletics

1961 Kansas City Athletics season

The Kansas City Athletics season was a season in American baseball. The A's finished with a record of 61–100, tying the expansion Washington Senators for ninth place, last in the newly-expanded 10-team American League.- Offseason :...

 (in his second turn for that franchise) and the White Sox

1961 Chicago White Sox season

The 1961 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 61st season in the major leagues, and its 62nd season overall. They finished with a record 86-76, good enough for fourth place in the American League, 23 games behind the first-place New York Yankees....

. All told, in six MLB campaigns, he compiled a career batting average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 of .256 with 22 home runs and 143 runs batted in.

After baseball, he went into the teaching profession and taught at Lake Central High School

Lake Central High School

Lake Central High School is located in St. John, Indiana, USA for students in grades nine through twelve. In the 2005-06 academic year, it had an enrollment of 3,014, which puts it near the top of list of Indiana high schools in terms of enrollment. Its students come from the towns of St...

 for 33 years, retiring in 2001.

External links

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference
• Obituary from Northwest Indiana Times