Del Unser | |||
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Center fielder | |||
Born: Decatur, Illinois |
December 9, 1944 |||
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MLB debut | |||
April 10, 1968, for the Washington Senators | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
June 6, 1982, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .258 | ||
Home runs | 87 | ||
Runs batted in | 481 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Delbert Bernard Unser (born December 9, 1944) is a retired Major League Baseball center fielder and utility player who had a 15-year career from 1968 to 1982.
Unser played for the Washington Senators from 1968 to 1971. In his first season, Unser had a five-hit game (four singles and a home run) against the Oakland Athletics on August 20, 1968. In the 1969 season, Unser led the American League in triples (8). He played with the Cleveland Indians in 1972.
He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1973 to 1974. After the 1974 season, Unser was sent to the New York Mets along with John Stearns and Mac Scarce in exchange for Tug McGraw, Don Hahn and Dave Schneck. He had a good year for the Mets in 1975, hitting .294. He might have hit .300 that year, but he sustained a late-season rib injury that affected his swing. He was hit by a pitch early in the 1976 season and sustained an arm injury. He was traded to the Montreal Expos during the season. In 1977, he began to be used primarily as a pinch-hitter, and also split his time on the field between the outfield and first base. He returned to the Phillies from 1979 to 1982.
Unser's career totals include 1,799 games played, 1,334 hits, 87 home runs, 481 Runs batted in, and a lifetime batting average of .258. Unser, along with Lee Lacy, is one of two players to hit three pinch-hit home runs in consecutive at-bats.