Donnie Moore
Encyclopedia
Donnie Ray Moore was an American relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

 in Major League Baseball
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...

 who played for the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 (1975, 1977–79), St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

 (1980), 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...

 (1981), Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

 (1982–84) and California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...

 (1985–88).

Playing career

In a 13-season career, Moore posted a 43–40 record with 89 saves
Save (sport)
In baseball, a save is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. The number of saves, or percentage of save opportunities successfully converted, is an oft-cited statistic of relief pitchers...

, 416 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

s, and a 3.67 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 in 655 innings
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...

. He was selected as an All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

 in 1985
1985 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1985 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 56th playing of the game, annually played between the All-Stars of the National League and the All-Stars of the American League. The game was played on July 16, 1985, in the Hubert H...

.

A native of Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...

, Moore is most remembered for the 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...

 he gave up while pitching for the Angels to Dave Henderson
Dave Henderson
David Lee Henderson , nicknamed Hendu, is an American former Major League Baseball player who played for the Seattle Mariners , Boston Red Sox , San Francisco Giants , Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals . He batted and threw right-handed...

 in Game 5 of the 1986 American League Championship Series
1986 American League Championship Series
The 1986 American League Championship Series was a back-and-forth battle 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 National League Championship Series...

 with only one more strike needed to clinch the team's first-ever pennant, allowing the Boston Red Sox
1986 Boston Red Sox season
The 1986 Boston Red Sox season involved the Red Sox finishing 1st in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 66 losses.-Offseason:...

 to come back and eventually win the game and series.

Moore was battling injury at the time of that game, and was never able to remain injury-free following it. After saving only 9 more games in 41 appearances over the next two seasons, Moore was released by the Angels. He signed with the Kansas City Royals
1989 Kansas City Royals season
The Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Royals finishing second in the American League West with a record of 92 wins and 70 losses.-Offseason:* November 30, 1988: Bob Boone was signed as a free agent by the Royals....

 for the 1989 season, but played only in the minor leagues
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

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

Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS

The game took place on October 12, 1986 in Anaheim
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...

. The Angels
1986 California Angels season
The California Angels 1986 season was the franchise's 26th season and ended with the Angels losing the American League Championship Series in dramatic fashion....

 held a 3-1 series lead against the Boston Red Sox
1986 Boston Red Sox season
The 1986 Boston Red Sox season involved the Red Sox finishing 1st in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 66 losses.-Offseason:...

. In the game, the Angels held a 5–2 lead going into the 9th. A home run by Boston's Don Baylor
Don Baylor
Donald Edward Baylor is a Major League Baseball coach currently the hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and a former player and manager. During his 19-year playing career, he was a power hitter who played as a first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter...

 made it a 5-4 game.

When Moore came in to shut down the rally, there were 2 outs and a runner on first (Rich Gedman
Rich Gedman
Richard Leo Gedman is a former Major League Baseball catcher and left-handed batter who played with the Boston Red Sox , Houston Astros and St...

, who had been hit by a pitch
Hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...

). The Angels were 1 strike away from advancing to the World Series
1986 World Series
The 1986 World Series pitted the New York Mets against the Boston Red Sox. It was cited in the legend of the "Curse of the Bambino" to explain the error by Bill Buckner in Game 6 that allowed the Mets to extend the series to a seventh game...

 for the first time in franchise history. Dave Henderson
Dave Henderson
David Lee Henderson , nicknamed Hendu, is an American former Major League Baseball player who played for the Seattle Mariners , Boston Red Sox , San Francisco Giants , Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals . He batted and threw right-handed...

 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.

Moore remained in the game for the Angels; he was able to stifle a 10th inning Red Sox rally by getting Jim Rice
Jim Rice
James Edward "Jim" Rice , nicknamed "Jim Ed", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder.Jim Rice played his entire career for the Boston Red Sox from 1974 to 1989...

 to ground into a double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....

. Nonetheless, the Red Sox were able to score off Moore in the 11th inning via a sacrifice fly
Sacrifice fly
In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a batted ball that satisfies four criteria:* There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit.* The ball is hit to the outfield....

 by Henderson. The Angels couldn't score in the bottom of the 11th, and lost the game 7-6.

The defeat still left the Angels with a 3–2 advantage, with two more games to play at 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"...

. However, the Angels were devastated by Henderson's home run, and lost both games by wide margins, 10–4 and 8–1.

In the public perception, Moore became indelibly associated with the Angels' loss of the pennant, in much the same manner that Bill Buckner
Bill Buckner
William Joseph Buckner is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Despite winning a batting crown in , representing the Chicago Cubs at the All-Star Game the following season and accumulating over 2,700 hits in his twenty-year career, he is best remembered for a fielding error during Game 6...

 became associated with the Red Sox' subsequent loss of the World Series later that year.

For the next 2 years, every time Moore walked onto the field, the Angels fans booed him. They were relentless, and it wore on Moore.

Suicide

On July 18, 1989, during an argument with his wife Tonya, Moore shot her three times, the incident occurring in view of their three children at their Anaheim Hills
Anaheim Hills, Anaheim, California
Anaheim Hills is a planned community encompassing the eastern portions of the city of Anaheim, in Orange County, California.- Location :Anaheim Hills is located just south of Yorba Linda, California, opposite the 91 freeway at Imperial Highway. The western border is the 55 freeway opposite the...

home. Tonya Moore and daughter Demetria, then 17 years of age, fled from the house and Demetria drove her mother to the hospital. Both survived the shooting.

Back inside the house, still in the presence of one of his sons, Moore then committed suicide.

When he was cut by Kansas City, he'd really been depressed about that. I mean, here he is, the high-life career...then all of a sudden, it's gone. He comes back home...and the marriage, the family, is all destroyed. I mean, what else does he have left?
— Demetria Moore on what drove her father to his final acts of desperation

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK