Gates Brown
| Gates Brown | |||
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| Left fielder | |||
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Born: May 2, 1939 Crestline, Ohio |
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Died: September 27, 2013 (aged 74) Detroit, Michigan |
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| MLB debut | |||
| June 19, 1963, for the Detroit Tigers | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 26, 1975, for the Detroit Tigers | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .257 | ||
| Home runs | 84 | ||
| Runs batted in | 322 | ||
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As Player As Coach |
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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As Player
As Coach
William James "Gates" Brown (May 2, 1939 – September 27, 2013) was an American Major League Baseball left fielder who spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers (1963–1975). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Born in Crestline, Ohio, he served time at the Ohio State Reformatory for burglary from 1958 to 1959. He was encouraged by a prison guard who also coached the reformatory's baseball team to join the squad as a catcher. The coach contacted several major-league teams after being impressed by Brown's batting ability. Tigers scouts Frank Skaff and Pat Mullin convinced their ballclub to help Brown get paroled a year early and sign him for US $7,000. He chose to join the Tigers despite interest from other teams such as the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians. He explained, "The primary reasons I signed with Detroit is because they didn't have any black players and eventually I figured they would, plus, I had been told about the short right porch at Tiger Stadium."
In a 13-season career, Brown was a .257 hitter with 84 home runs and 322 runs batted in in 1,051 games played.
Brown divided his major league career as an outfielder, first baseman, pinch hitter and designated hitter. He is best remembered for his contribution to the 1968 World Series champion Detroit Tigers. In his pinch hitting at bats in the 1968 season, Brown hit for a .450 batting average, the eighth highest single season batting average for a pinch hitter (minimum 30 at bats) in major league history. Brown holds the American League record for the most pinch-hit at bats in a career, with 414.
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