.gif)
Dave Baldwin (baseball)
Encyclopedia
David George Baldwin is a retired American
professional baseball
player, a right-handed, sidearm/submarine Major League
pitcher
.
Born in Tucson, Arizona
, on March 30, 1938, Baldwin pitched for three years for the University of Arizona
. In the 1959 College World Series
he beat Fresno State 5 to 1 on a two-hitter and lost the final game of the series 5 to 3 to Oklahoma State. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies
in 1959 and pitched on three pennant winners in his first four years of pro ball.
Later, he was a relief specialist for the Washington Senators (1966–69), Milwaukee Brewers
(1970), and Chicago White Sox
(1973). In 176 games he compiled a record of 6 wins and 11 loses, with 22 saves and an ERA of 3.08. The combined batting average of opponents against him was .234. In 1967, he ranked 3rd in the American League and 5th in the major leagues (of pitchers with 10 or more appearances) with an ERA of 1.70. That season he ranked 5th in the American League for relief runs saved (11.8), ranked 7th in saves (12), and ranked 9th in pitching appearances (58). In 1970, Baldwin led major league pitchers in range factor per nine innings (a measure of fielding proficiency) with a value of 5.094, the seventh highest value ever compiled.
In 1974, Baldwin, at age 36, was the second oldest player in both the Pacific Coast League and the American Association. Baldwin did not commit an error during his six-year major league career and committed only three errors throughout the 16 years he played professional baseball. But he was arguably the worst hitter in major league history. He achieved the only base hit of his career by beating out a bunt.
After he retired from baseball in 1974 he earned a Ph.D. in genetics and an M.S. in systems engineering from the University of Arizona. He worked as a geneticist, engineer, and artist until his retirement in 2003. Subsequently, he has collaborated with other researchers studying the physics, physiology, and psychology of baseball. In addition, he has published his baseball memoir, Snake Jazz, and (under the pen name "DGB Featherkile") a collection of his poetry, Limbic Hurly-Burly. Many of his poems have appeared in such journals as American Poetry Journal, Blue Unicorn, and Evansville Review. His poetry won the Atlanta Review's 2007 International Publication Prize and the 2009 Fluvanna Prize from The Lyric.
Baldwin's painting "Fugue for the Pepper Players" is in the collection of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, and was featured in Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame by John Thorn
(1998) pp. 188–189.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional baseball
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
player, a right-handed, sidearm/submarine 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...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe 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 walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
.
Life and career
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, on March 30, 1938, Baldwin pitched for three years for the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
. In the 1959 College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
he beat Fresno State 5 to 1 on a two-hitter and lost the final game of the series 5 to 3 to Oklahoma State. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
in 1959 and pitched on three pennant winners in his first four years of pro ball.
Later, he was a relief specialist for the Washington Senators (1966–69), Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
(1970), 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...
(1973). In 176 games he compiled a record of 6 wins and 11 loses, with 22 saves and an ERA of 3.08. The combined batting average of opponents against him was .234. In 1967, he ranked 3rd in the American League and 5th in the major leagues (of pitchers with 10 or more appearances) with an ERA of 1.70. That season he ranked 5th in the American League for relief runs saved (11.8), ranked 7th in saves (12), and ranked 9th in pitching appearances (58). In 1970, Baldwin led major league pitchers in range factor per nine innings (a measure of fielding proficiency) with a value of 5.094, the seventh highest value ever compiled.
In 1974, Baldwin, at age 36, was the second oldest player in both the Pacific Coast League and the American Association. Baldwin did not commit an error during his six-year major league career and committed only three errors throughout the 16 years he played professional baseball. But he was arguably the worst hitter in major league history. He achieved the only base hit of his career by beating out a bunt.
After he retired from baseball in 1974 he earned a Ph.D. in genetics and an M.S. in systems engineering from the University of Arizona. He worked as a geneticist, engineer, and artist until his retirement in 2003. Subsequently, he has collaborated with other researchers studying the physics, physiology, and psychology of baseball. In addition, he has published his baseball memoir, Snake Jazz, and (under the pen name "DGB Featherkile") a collection of his poetry, Limbic Hurly-Burly. Many of his poems have appeared in such journals as American Poetry Journal, Blue Unicorn, and Evansville Review. His poetry won the Atlanta Review's 2007 International Publication Prize and the 2009 Fluvanna Prize from The Lyric.
Baldwin's painting "Fugue for the Pepper Players" is in the collection of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, and was featured in Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame by John Thorn
John Thorn
John Thorn is a noted sports historian, and the Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball.-Early life:Thorn was born in Stuttgart, West Germany. His Polish Jewish parents had come there as refugees. He immigrated to the United States in 1949...
(1998) pp. 188–189.
Selected publications
- Bahill, A.T. & Baldwin, D.G. (2007) “Describing baseball pitch movement with right-hand rules," Computers in Biology and Medicine, 37:1001-1008.
- Bahill, A.T. & Baldwin, D.G. (2004) “The rising fastball and other perceptual illusions of batters.” In Biomedical Engineering Principles in Sports. G.K. Hung and J.M. Pallis, eds. NY: Kluwer Academic / Plenum. pp. 257–287.
- Bahill, A.T., Baldwin, D.G., & Venkateswaran, J. (2005) “Predicting a baseball’s path,” American ScientistAmerican ScientistAmerican Scientist is the bimonthly science and technology magazine published since 1913 by Sigma Xi. Each issue includes four to five feature articles written by scientists and engineers. These authors review research in all fields of science...
, 93(3):218-225. - Baldwin, D. (2008) Snake Jazz. Philadelphia: Xlibris.
- Baldwin, D.G. (2001) “How to win the blame game,” Harvard Business ReviewHarvard Business ReviewHarvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership among academics, executives,...
, 79(7):55-62. - Baldwin, D.G. and Bahill, A.T. (2004) "A model of the bat’s vertical sweetness gradient." In The Engineering of Sport (5). M. Hubbard, R.D. Mehta, and J.M. Pallis, eds. Proceedings of the 5th International Engineering of Sport Conference, September 13–16, 2004, Davis, CA, International Sports Engineering Association (ISEA), Sheffield, UK, 2:305–311.
- Baldwin, D.G., Bahill, A.T., and Nathan, A. (2007) "Nickel and dime pitches," Baseball Research Journal, 35:25-29.
- Featherkile, DGB. (2009) Limbic Hurly-Burly: Poems of Humor and Paradox. Yachats, OR: Stillman & Hyla.
- Mangan, R.L. and Baldwin, D. (1986) "A new cryptic species of Odontoloxozus (Neriidae: Diptera) from the cape region of Baja California Sur (Mexico)." Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington (D.C.), 88:110-121.
- McBeath, M.K., Nathan, A.M., Bahill, A.T., and Baldwin, D.G. (2008) "Paradoxical pop-ups: Why are they difficult to catch?" American Journal of PhysicsAmerican Journal of PhysicsThe American Journal of Physics is a monthly, peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Institute of Physics. The editor is Jan Tobochnik of Kalamazoo College.-Aims and scope:...
, 76(8):723-729.
Selected Solo Art Exhibits
- Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Thousand Oaks, CA (Apr.-May 1997).
- Grants Pass Museum of Art, Grants Pass, OR (June–July 1997).
- R. Howard Dobbs University Center, Emory UniversityEmory UniversityEmory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
, Atlanta, GA (Nov. 1997). - Sarratt Gallery, Vanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, Nashville, TN (Jan.-Feb. 1998). - Randall L. Jones Theatre, Utah Shakespearean FestivalUtah Shakespearean FestivalThe Utah Shakespeare Festival is a festival of repertory productions of the works of William Shakespeare and other dramatists. The Festival is held during the summer and fall on the campus of Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah.-Awards:...
, Southern Utah UniversitySouthern Utah UniversitySouthern Utah University, or SUU, is located in Cedar City, Utah. It was founded in 1897 as an extension of the Agricultural College of Utah, by the citizens of Cedar City.During its history, the school has been known as:...
, Cedar City, UT (June-Aug. 1998).