Dennis Michael Riddleberger (born November 22, 1945) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. Listed at , , Riddleberger threw left-handed and batted right-handed. Dennis attended Churchland High School and then

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, Riddleberger was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in . He was 24–16 with a 3.22

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

over four seasons in their

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

when he was traded to the Washington Senators for George Brunet on August 31, . That September, he was called up by the Senators, making his major league debut against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. Riddleberger spent the entire season in the majors, but after getting off to a slow start (11.12 ERA in April), found himself doing mostly mop-up duty. The Senators were 14-43 in games in which Rittleberger pitched. He ended the season with a 3-1 record and a far more respectable 3.23 ERA. He earned his only career save on July 5 against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. Shortly after the Senators moved to the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, ...

and were rebranded as the Texas Rangers, Riddleberger was traded along with

Del Unser Delbert Bernard Unser (born December 9, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder and utility player from to , most prominently with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was ...

Terry Ley Terrence Richard Ley (born February 21, 1947) is an American former baseball pitcher who began his career in the season for the New York Yankees. He was a student of University of Oregon before he was drafted in the 3rd round of the January 196 ...

and Gary Jones to the Indians for Roy Foster,

Rich Hand Richard Allen Hand (born July 10, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played for four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and California Angels. Born ...

Mike Paul Michael George Paul (born April 18, 1945) is an American former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1968 to 1974 for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs. Career Drafted in the 20th round of the 1967 amat ...

and

Ken Suarez Kenneth Raymond Suarez (April 12, 1943 – July 29, 2023) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics, Cleveland Indians, and Texas Rangers from 1966 to 1973. ...

at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 2, 1971.Durso, Joseph. "White Sox Add Bahnsen, Ship McKinney to Yanks," ''The New York Times'', Friday, December 3, 1971.
Retrieved December 4, 2021 Despite a below league average 2.50 ERA in 54

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

in , Riddleberger again found himself in mop up duty (the Indians were 4-34 in games in which he appeared). He spent with the Indians' triple A affiliate, the

Oklahoma City 89ers Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northeast, Arkansas to the east, New Mexico to the west, and Colo ...

before retiring.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddleberger, Denny 1945 births Living people Baseball players from Virginia Batavia Trojans players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Jets players Gastonia Pirates players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Clifton Forge, Virginia Oklahoma City 89ers players Old Dominion Monarchs baseball players Salem Rebels (baseball) players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players 20th-century American sportsmen