From 1964 through 1970 he was a mainstay of the Cleveland Indians and caught Indians pitcher Sam McDowell through his minor and major league career. The Indians pitching staff of 1965-1970 was recognized as one of the best 4 men staffs in an era with starters going every fourth day. After posting his best offensive year in 1971 playing left field, right field, first base and catching, Sims was traded 2 for 1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Alan Foster and Ray Lamb and hit a career high .274 in 1971.
Placed on waivers by the Dodgers, Billy Martin took him to the Detroit Tigers in August 1972. His first game as a Tiger resulted in a 3 for 5 day with a game-tying double and the game-winning single off of Gaylord Perry, who would win the Cy Young Award that year. He subsequently hit .316 with 10 game-winning or game-tying hits while catching for the Tigers for the rest of that season, in which the Tigers won in the A.L. East Championship. Sims played in all 5 games in the championship series, both in left field and catching. He was the catcher in Game 2 when Oakland Athletics shortstop Bert Campaneris threw the bat at Tigers pitcher Lerrin LaGrow after being hit on the ankle.
Duke left the Tigers in September 1973, and caught the final game in Yankee Stadium before it was torn down and gutted. He joined the Yankees in the 1974 season in which they played their home games at Shea Stadium before being traded to the Texas Rangers on May 7 for Larry Gura and cash. Sims retired at the end of that 1974 season.
Duke holds the distinction of finishing his career with exactly 100 home runs, the current record for a player hailing from the state of Utah. Sims is also credited as the last person to hit a home run in the original Yankee Stadium in 1973. He did it as a member of the Yankees in an 8–5 loss to the Detroit Tigers on September 30.
References
^"Duke Sims Statistics and History". Retrieved June 5, 2017.
External links
Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
January 06, 2023
duke, sims, this, article, possibly, contains, original, research, please, improve, verifying, claims, made, adding, inline, citations, statements, consisting, only, original, research, should, removed, august, 2014, learn, when, remove, this, template, messag. This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed August 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Duane B Duke Sims born June 5 1941 is an American former professional baseball catcher He played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball MLB from 1964 to 1974 for the Cleveland Indians Los Angeles Dodgers Detroit Tigers New York Yankees and Texas Rangers 1 Duke SimsCatcherBorn 1941 06 05 June 5 1941 age 81 Salt Lake City UtahBatted LeftThrew RightMLB debutSeptember 22 1964 for the Cleveland IndiansLast MLB appearanceSeptember 26 1974 for the Texas RangersMLB statisticsBatting average 239Home runs100Runs batted in310TeamsCleveland Indians 1964 1970 Los Angeles Dodgers 1971 1972 Detroit Tigers 1972 1973 New York Yankees 1973 1974 Texas Rangers 1974 From 1964 through 1970 he was a mainstay of the Cleveland Indians and caught Indians pitcher Sam McDowell through his minor and major league career The Indians pitching staff of 1965 1970 was recognized as one of the best 4 men staffs in an era with starters going every fourth day After posting his best offensive year in 1971 playing left field right field first base and catching Sims was traded 2 for 1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Alan Foster and Ray Lamb and hit a career high 274 in 1971 Placed on waivers by the Dodgers Billy Martin took him to the Detroit Tigers in August 1972 His first game as a Tiger resulted in a 3 for 5 day with a game tying double and the game winning single off of Gaylord Perry who would win the Cy Young Award that year He subsequently hit 316 with 10 game winning or game tying hits while catching for the Tigers for the rest of that season in which the Tigers won in the A L East Championship Sims played in all 5 games in the championship series both in left field and catching He was the catcher in Game 2 when Oakland Athletics shortstop Bert Campaneris threw the bat at Tigers pitcher Lerrin LaGrow after being hit on the ankle Duke left the Tigers in September 1973 and caught the final game in Yankee Stadium before it was torn down and gutted He joined the Yankees in the 1974 season in which they played their home games at Shea Stadium before being traded to the Texas Rangers on May 7 for Larry Gura and cash Sims retired at the end of that 1974 season Duke holds the distinction of finishing his career with exactly 100 home runs the current record for a player hailing from the state of Utah Sims is also credited as the last person to hit a home run in the original Yankee Stadium in 1973 He did it as a member of the Yankees in an 8 5 loss to the Detroit Tigers on September 30 References Edit Duke Sims Statistics and History Retrieved June 5 2017 External links EditCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference or Baseball Reference Minors Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Duke Sims amp oldid 1121553096, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
