Donald Ray Mincher (born June 24, 1938, in Huntsville, Alabama) is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played from 1960-1972 for the original Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins, California Angels, Seattle Pilots, Oakland Athletics, the new Washington Senators, Texas Rangers and again the
| Don Mincher | |
|---|---|
| First baseman | |
| Born: June 24, 1938 (1938-06-24) (age 73)Huntsville, Alabama | |
| Batted: Left | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| April 18, 1960 for the Washington Senators | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 4, 1972 for the Oakland Athletics | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .249 |
| Home runs | 200 |
| Runs batted in | 643 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Oakland Athletics, all of the American League.[1]
During a 13-year baseball career, Mincher hit .249, 200 home runs, and 643 runs batted in. He was elected to the American League All-Star team twice (1967 and 1969).
Mincher served as the first president and general manager of the Huntsville Stars, the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland A's (1985–1998) and, later, the Milwaukee Brewers (1999–present).[2] He served in this role from 1985 until 2001. In 1994, Mincher and a group of local investors purchased the team from Larry Schmittou to keep baseball in Huntsville.
In 2000, Mincher was named Interim President of the Southern League, where the Stars play, when league president Arnold Fielkow left for an executive position with the New Orleans Saints the National Football League. Mincher resigned from his position with the Stars when his group sold the team to Miles Prentice in early 2001. This cleared the way for the Southern League to remove the interim tag and they made him league president beginning with the 2001 season. He has served as league president since then.[1]
Mincher continues to reside in his original hometown of Huntsville, Alabama.[1] He was elected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. Though he never played for the team, the Huntsville Stars retired his number 5 in an on-field ceremony on June 6, 2008.[2]
Contents[] |
[edit] Facts[]
- Mincher was only one of seven players to donning the uniform of both the original and expansion Washington Senators teams, being the others Camilo Pascual, Pedro Ramos, Johnny Schaive, Roy Sievers, Zoilo Versalles and Hal Woodeshick. He is also the only person to have played on both Senators teams, as well for the Twins and the Rangers.[1]
- On June 9, 1966, in the seventh inning of a game against the Kansas City Athletics, Mincher was one of five Twins players to hit home runs. The others were Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Rich Rollins and Versalles. These five home runs still stand as a Major League record for the most home runs batted in a single inning, and were hit off starter Catfish Hunter (three) and reliever Paul Lindblad (two).[3]
[edit] See also[]
[edit] References[]
- ^ a b c d Branch, John (October 7, 2010). "A Twin, a Ranger and, Most of All, a Senator". The New York Times: p. B14. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/sports/baseball/07mincher.html. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
- ^ a b "Stars Retire #5 in Honor of Mincher". Huntsville Stars. June 6, 2008. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080606&content_id=412217&vkey=news_t559&fext=.jsp&sid=t559. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
- ^ Retrosheet – Box score: Minnesota Twins 9, Kansas City Athletics 4. Game Played on Thursday, June 9, 1966 (N) at Metropolitan Stadium
[edit] External links[]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
- Retrosheet
- Huntsville Stars official website
- Southern League official website
| ||||||||