Dick Dietz

Dick Dietz
Catcher
Born: September 18, 1941(1941-09-18) Crawfordsville, Indiana
Died: June 28, 2005(2005-06-28) (aged 63) Clayton, Georgia
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 18, 1966 for the San Francisco Giants
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1973 for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics
Batting average	.261
Home runs	66
RBI	301
Teams
San Francisco Giants (1966-1971) Los Angeles Dodgers (1972) Atlanta Braves (1973)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star (NL): 1970

Richard Allen Dietz (September 18, 1941 - June 28, 2005) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 1973. Born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, Dietz enjoyed his best season in 1970 with the Giants, when he batted .300 with 22 home runs and 107 runs batted in. He also drew 109 walks, giving him a superb on-base percentage of .430. In the All-Star Game that year, Dietz hit a dramatic home run in the bottom of the ninth inning that helped propel the National League to a comeback win. (It is also Dietz who is in the on-deck circle later in the game, immediately congratulating Pete Rose after the infamous collision with Ray Fosse.) Dietz followed with another fine season in 1971.

His 1970 season remains historic as of 2009, as he is the only catcher to tally 100 walks, 100 RBI and hit .300 in the same Major League Baseball season.

In 1972, in his role as player representative during a strike that delayed the start of the season, Dietz fell from favor with the Giants' management. Soon after the strike was settled, he was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers. Unfortunately, Dietz broke his wrist on July 30 and missed much of the 1972 season. In 1973, Dietz had an excellent season as a reserve first baseman and catcher for the Braves, batting .295 with a .474 on-base percentage. However, the Braves released him after the season, and after no team signed him for 1974, Dietz' career was over at the age of 32.

Dietz is probably best remembered for his role in one of the most controversial umpiring decisions in baseball history. In 1968, facing the Dodgers' Don Drysdale, Dietz was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, apparently ending Drysdale's record-setting string of scoreless innings. However, home plate umpire Harry Wendelstedt, citing a rarely enforced rule, refused to allow Dietz to take first base, claiming that Dietz did not attempt to avoid being struck by the ball. Drysdale then retired Dietz, keeping his scoreless streak alive. (Drysdale's record was eventually broken by Orel Hershiser in 1988.) Dietz also caught Gaylord Perry's no-hitter on September 17 of that same 1968 season.^[1]

Dietz died at age 63 of a heart attack in Clayton, Georgia on June 28, 2005.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• BaseballLibrary.com - biography
• Cooperstown Confidential - biographical essay
• San Francisco Chronicle - obituary

References

1. ^ http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1968/B09170SFN1968.htm

Persondata
Name	Dietz, Dick
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 18, 1941
Place of birth	Crawfordsville, Indiana
Date of death	June 28, 2005
Place of death	Clayton, Georgia