He made his major league debut on April 10, pitching a scoreless eighth inning in the Mets second game of the season, a 3–2 11-inning loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Shea Stadium.[1] He blew saves in his next two appearances, losing one[2] and winning the other.[3] In his next appearance, against the Chicago Cubs, Baldwin replaced Randy Tate in the seventh inning with runners on second and third and nobody out. He induced a weak fly ball, then struck out the next two batters to escape the inning without allowing a runner to score. He cruised along until the ninth, when he loaded the bases with two outs. A single by José Cardenal was misplayed by Mets left fielderDave Kingman, allowing all three runners to score, and Cardenal to advance to third with the tying run, and slugging third basemanBill Madlock coming to bat.[4] Madlock flew out to right to end the game, and give Baldwin his first career save.[5]
After getting off to a rough start (4.07 ERA through the first 2 months of the season), Baldwin emerged as one of the more reliable arms in manager Yogi Berra's bullpen (2.01 ERA in the month of June). For the season, Baldwin went 3–5 with a 3.33 ERA. He led Mets relievers in appearances (54) and innings pitched (97.1), and his six saves were second to Bob Apodaca (15).
Despite this modest success his rookie season, Baldwin spent most of the 1976 season with the triple A Tidewater Tides, going 8–4 with 14 saves and a 2.31 ERA. He made a brief call up in late May, making six appearances, mostly in "mop up duty." He returned as a September call up, and allowed just one earned run over 7.2 innings of work. All told, he was 0–0 in 22.7 innings, with an ERA of 2.38.
Baldwin also began the 1977 season in Tidewater, but was called up to the majors after the Mets released Ray Sadecki in early May. He had a 1–2 record and one save in 40 appearances, with a 4.45 ERA in 62.7 innings. Baldwin's final major league appearance came on October 2, 1977, when he faced two batters in the ninth inning, earning a save in a 6–4 Met win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Memorial Stadium.[6]
^"New York Mets 4, Chicago Cubs 3". Baseball-Reference.com. April 20, 1975.
^"New York Mets 6, St. Louis Cardinals 4". Baseball-Reference.com. October 2, 1977.
^Durso, Joseph (December 6, 1977). "Angels' Bonds Is Acquired By White Sox". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2020
^Rogust, Scott (November 5, 2020). "Former Mets pitcher has died of COVID complications". Fansided.
External linksEdit
Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or The Ultimate Mets Database
Rick Baldwin at Centefield Maz
September 01, 2023
rick, baldwin, baseball, rickey, alan, baldwin, june, 1953, october, 2020, american, professional, baseball, pitcher, threw, right, handed, batted, left, handed, rick, baldwinpitcherborn, 1953, june, 1953fresno, california, died, october, 2020, 2020, aged, mod. Rickey Alan Baldwin June 1 1953 October 30 2020 was an American professional baseball pitcher He threw right handed and batted left handed Rick BaldwinPitcherBorn 1953 06 01 June 1 1953Fresno California U S Died October 30 2020 2020 10 30 aged 67 Modesto California U S Batted RightThrew RightMLB debutApril 10 1975 for the New York MetsLast MLB appearanceOctober 2 1977 for the New York MetsMLB statisticsWin loss record4 7Earned run average3 60Strikeouts86TeamsNew York Mets 1975 1977 Career EditThe New York Mets drafted Baldwin in the ninth round of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft straight out of Thomas Downey High School in Modesto California Used primarily as a starting pitcher his first two seasons in the minors he began seeing more work as a relief pitcher in 1973 and was used almost exclusively as a reliever in 1974 He compiled a 34 25 record with ten saves and a 4 03 earned run average over four seasons in the Mets farm system when he earned a spot on the major league roster to start the 1975 season He made his major league debut on April 10 pitching a scoreless eighth inning in the Mets second game of the season a 3 2 11 inning loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Shea Stadium 1 He blew saves in his next two appearances losing one 2 and winning the other 3 In his next appearance against the Chicago Cubs Baldwin replaced Randy Tate in the seventh inning with runners on second and third and nobody out He induced a weak fly ball then struck out the next two batters to escape the inning without allowing a runner to score He cruised along until the ninth when he loaded the bases with two outs A single by Jose Cardenal was misplayed by Mets left fielder Dave Kingman allowing all three runners to score and Cardenal to advance to third with the tying run and slugging third baseman Bill Madlock coming to bat 4 Madlock flew out to right to end the game and give Baldwin his first career save 5 After getting off to a rough start 4 07 ERA through the first 2 months of the season Baldwin emerged as one of the more reliable arms in manager Yogi Berra s bullpen 2 01 ERA in the month of June For the season Baldwin went 3 5 with a 3 33 ERA He led Mets relievers in appearances 54 and innings pitched 97 1 and his six saves were second to Bob Apodaca 15 Despite this modest success his rookie season Baldwin spent most of the 1976 season with the triple A Tidewater Tides going 8 4 with 14 saves and a 2 31 ERA He made a brief call up in late May making six appearances mostly in mop up duty He returned as a September call up and allowed just one earned run over 7 2 innings of work All told he was 0 0 in 22 7 innings with an ERA of 2 38 Baldwin also began the 1977 season in Tidewater but was called up to the majors after the Mets released Ray Sadecki in early May He had a 1 2 record and one save in 40 appearances with a 4 45 ERA in 62 7 innings Baldwin s final major league appearance came on October 2 1977 when he faced two batters in the ninth inning earning a save in a 6 4 Met win over the St Louis Cardinals at Busch Memorial Stadium 6 Baldwin was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the Rule 5 draft on December 5 1977 7 In the 1978 season he had a 3 5 record with the Triple A San Jose Missions a Mariners affiliate in the Pacific Coast League and a 3 3 record with the Columbus Clippers of the Triple A International League an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates Baldwin died from complications of COVID 19 in Modesto California on October 30 2020 aged 67 8 References Edit Philadelphia Phillies 3 New York Mets 2 Baseball Reference com April 10 1975 Pittsburgh Pirates 4 New York Mets 3 Baseball Reference com April 11 1975 New York Mets 14 St Louis Cardinals 7 Baseball Reference com April 17 1975 Kanarek Jacob 2008 From First to Worst The New York Mets 1973 1977 McFarland amp Company pp 99 100 ISBN 9780786434664 New York Mets 4 Chicago Cubs 3 Baseball Reference com April 20 1975 New York Mets 6 St Louis Cardinals 4 Baseball Reference com October 2 1977 Durso Joseph December 6 1977 Angels Bonds Is Acquired By White Sox The New York Times Retrieved June 6 2020 Rogust Scott November 5 2020 Former Mets pitcher has died of COVID complications Fansided External links EditCareer statistics and player information from MLB or ESPN or Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or Baseball Reference Minors or Retrosheet or The Ultimate Mets Database Rick Baldwin at Centefield Maz Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rick Baldwin baseball amp oldid 1159279156, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
