Lacey once struck out 19 batters during an American Legion playoff game as a youth.[citation needed] He was a 10th-round draft selection of the Oakland A's in 1972, he was 13–2 in his first minor league season. However, as the A's dynasty began to crumble as the decade wore on, Lacey was given an opportunity at the major league level during the 1977 season.
Major league careeredit
1978–79edit
In just his fourth major league appearance, he struck out future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson twice[1] in a crucial situation, enraging Jackson and the Yankees in the process.[2] Later, he would engage in a brawl with the Kansas City Royals' Darrell Porter, who called Lacey a "crazy, immature, punk."[2] Despite this, he emerged as Oakland's most reliable relief pitcher and led the American League in appearances in 1978.
No other pitcher in league history inherited more baserunners than Bob Lacey did in 1978 (104). Despite that, he won eight games, crafted a 3.01 ERA and saved five games. He had a disappointing 1979 season suffering with bursitis in his heel.
1980edit
In 1980, Lacey may have been the least used closer of the modern era. While Lacey appeared in a team-high 47 games, finishing 31, he only earned six saves. This was due to Oakland's record-setting starting pitching. In what will likely never be duplicated in today's game, the A's pitched an astonishing 94 complete games in 1980, leaving little left for relievers like Lacey. This eventually led to friction with his manager, Billy Martin, over how he was used.[citation needed] Martin did give Lacey his first ever starting assignment on the next-to-last day of the season, and he blanked the Milwaukee Brewers. Naturally, it was a complete game.[3]
Remaining careeredit
Lacey was traded to the San Diego Padres in late March 1981 with Roy Moretti for Tony Phillips, Kevin Bell, and Eric Mustad. He was with the Padres for three days, who in turn traded him to the Cleveland Indians. Lacey split time between the Indians and Rangers in 1981 and pitched for Saltillo in the Mexican League in 1982. He was a late-season call up for the California Angels in late 1983 and pitched in relief for the San Francisco Giants in 1984.
He bounced around the minors for the 1985 season before pulling the plug on his seven-year career. He made a comeback of sorts in the late 1990s as manager of the Greensville Bluesmen. Not content to just the dugout, Lacey appeared in eight games of relief over the 1988 and 1989 seasons, four games each year.
Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or Baseball Gauge, or Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
January 01, 1970
lacey, syndicated, radio, host, sheri, show, robert, joseph, lacey, born, august, 1953, american, former, professional, baseball, pitcher, played, part, seven, seasons, major, league, baseball, oakland, athletics, cleveland, indians, texas, rangers, california. For the syndicated radio host see The Bob and Sheri Show Robert Joseph Bob Lacey Jr born August 25 1953 is an American former professional baseball pitcher He played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics Cleveland Indians Texas Rangers California Angels and San Francisco Giants Bob LaceyPitcherBorn 1953 08 25 August 25 1953 age 70 Fredericksburg Virginia U S Batted RightThrew LeftMLB debutMay 13 1977 for the Oakland AthleticsLast MLB appearanceSeptember 26 1984 for the San Francisco GiantsMLB statisticsWin loss record20 29Earned run average3 67Strikeouts251TeamsOakland Athletics 1977 1980 Cleveland Indians 1981 Texas Rangers 1981 California Angels 1983 San Francisco Giants 1984 Contents 1 Early career 2 Major league career 2 1 1978 79 2 2 1980 2 3 Remaining career 3 Notes 4 ReferencesEarly career editLacey once struck out 19 batters during an American Legion playoff game as a youth citation needed He was a 10th round draft selection of the Oakland A s in 1972 he was 13 2 in his first minor league season However as the A s dynasty began to crumble as the decade wore on Lacey was given an opportunity at the major league level during the 1977 season Major league career edit1978 79 edit In just his fourth major league appearance he struck out future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson twice 1 in a crucial situation enraging Jackson and the Yankees in the process 2 Later he would engage in a brawl with the Kansas City Royals Darrell Porter who called Lacey a crazy immature punk 2 Despite this he emerged as Oakland s most reliable relief pitcher and led the American League in appearances in 1978 No other pitcher in league history inherited more baserunners than Bob Lacey did in 1978 104 Despite that he won eight games crafted a 3 01 ERA and saved five games He had a disappointing 1979 season suffering with bursitis in his heel 1980 edit In 1980 Lacey may have been the least used closer of the modern era While Lacey appeared in a team high 47 games finishing 31 he only earned six saves This was due to Oakland s record setting starting pitching In what will likely never be duplicated in today s game the A s pitched an astonishing 94 complete games in 1980 leaving little left for relievers like Lacey This eventually led to friction with his manager Billy Martin over how he was used citation needed Martin did give Lacey his first ever starting assignment on the next to last day of the season and he blanked the Milwaukee Brewers Naturally it was a complete game 3 Remaining career edit Lacey was traded to the San Diego Padres in late March 1981 with Roy Moretti for Tony Phillips Kevin Bell and Eric Mustad He was with the Padres for three days who in turn traded him to the Cleveland Indians Lacey split time between the Indians and Rangers in 1981 and pitched for Saltillo in the Mexican League in 1982 He was a late season call up for the California Angels in late 1983 and pitched in relief for the San Francisco Giants in 1984 He bounced around the minors for the 1985 season before pulling the plug on his seven year career He made a comeback of sorts in the late 1990s as manager of the Greensville Bluesmen Not content to just the dugout Lacey appeared in eight games of relief over the 1988 and 1989 seasons four games each year Notes edit May 16 1977 box score a b Interview with Bob Lacey Coco Crisp s Afro Retrieved July 11 2014 Bob Lacey 1980 game logReferences editCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or Baseball Reference Minors or Retrosheet or Baseball Gauge or Venezuelan Professional Baseball League Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bob Lacey amp oldid 1215772525, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
