Rick Dempsey
| Rick Dempsey | |||
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| Catcher | |||
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Born: September 13, 1949 Fayetteville, Tennessee |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 23, 1969, for the Minnesota Twins | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 27, 1992, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .233 | ||
| Home runs | 96 | ||
| Runs batted in | 471 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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John Rikard Dempsey (born September 13, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for 24 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1992, most notably for the Baltimore Orioles. Dempsey was known for being one of the best defensive catchers of his era.
Dempsey was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 15th round of the 1967 Major League Baseball draft out of Crespi Carmelite High School. After two seasons in the minor leagues, he made his major league debut late in the 1969 season for the division winning Twins managed by Billy Martin, however he didn't qualify for the post-season roster. Dempsey spent a few more seasons shuttling between the Twins and their minor league teams, before being traded to the New York Yankees for Danny Walton on October 31, 1972. During his tenure with the Yankees, he served as a reserve catcher to Thurman Munson, and received tutoring from Yankees coach and former catching standout, Jim Hegan. After three and a half seasons with the Yankees, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in June 1976, where manager Earl Weaver made him the Orioles' starting catcher.
For the next ten and a half seasons, Dempsey would remain as the Orioles' starting catcher. He became known for his exceptional ability to handle pitching staffs, his strong throwing arm, and for his agility behind home plate. In 1979, the Orioles defeated the California Angels in the 1979 American League Championship Series to reach the World Series. In the 1979 World Series, the Orioles won three of the first four games against the Pittsburgh Pirates and seemed to be on the verge of winning the championship, when the Pirates, led by Willie Stargell, rebounded to win the final three games. It was one of Dempsey's greatest disappointments of his playing career.
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