John Joseph Fimple (born February 10, 1959) is an American former professional baseball catcher. Drafted by 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 ...

in the 29th round of the

1980 Major League Baseball Draft The 1980 Major League Baseball draft took place in June 1980. The draft saw the New York Mets select Darryl Strawberry first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1980 Major League Baseball draft. C ...

, Fimple made his MLB debut with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

on July 30, 1983, and appeared in his final game on October 4, 1987. He attended college at

Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt or Humboldt) is a public university in Arcata, California. It is one of Cal Poly (disambiguation), three polytechnic universities in the California State University (CSU) sys ...

Amateur career

Fimple attended Montgomery High School in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city in and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay A ...

, but quit the school's baseball team after an argument with the coach. After high school, he enlisted in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

. While in the Coast Guard in 1979, he attended an open tryout for the semi-pro

Humboldt Crabs The Humboldt Crabs are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Arcata, California. Playing in every season since they were founded in 1945 by Lou Bonomini, later joined by Ned Barsuglia, the Crabs are the oldest continually-operated summer c ...

. His performance with the Crabs earned him an invitation to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at Humboldt State where he played for one season before he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 29th round of the 1980 MLB draft.

Pro career

Fimple made his pro debut for the

Batavia Trojans Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East I ...

of the

New York-Penn League New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. Despite having future major league stars like

Kelly Gruber Kelly Wayne Gruber (born February 26, 1962) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays and California Angels from 1984 to 1993. He was a two-time MLB All-Star and won a Gold Glove Award an ...

and

Dave Gallagher David Thomas Gallagher (born September 20, 1960) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams from –. Early life Gallagher was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and grew up in t ...

, the Trojans finished the season 30-43. The next season Fimple played for the

Waterloo Indians The Waterloo Indians were a minor league baseball team that played from 1977 to 1988 in the Midwest League. They played their home games at Riverfront Stadium and were affiliated with the Cleveland Indians. They were located in Waterloo, Iowa ...

of the Midwest League. During that season Fimple was the team's primary catcher. He batted .288 with 10 home runs and 21 doubles, showing speed not often found in a catcher. In December of 1981, the Indians traded Fimple along with pitcher Larry White and Outfielder

Jorge Orta Jorge Orta Núñez (born November 26, 1950) is a Mexican former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1972 to 1987 for the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Los A ...

to the Los Angeles Dodgers for second baseman

Jack Perconte John Patrick "Jack" Perconte (born August 31, 1954) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. Perconte played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1980 to 1986. Career At the age of 26, on September 13, 1980, he made his MLB d ...

and starting pitcher

Rick Sutcliffe Richard Lee Sutcliffe (born June 21, 1956), nicknamed "the Red Baron", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals between 1976 and ...

. In his first year in the Dodgers system, Fimple was assigned to play for their single A club, the

Vero Beach Dodgers Vero may refer to: Geography * Vero Beach, Florida, a city in the United States * Vero, Corse-du-Sud, a commune of France in Corsica Other * ''Véro'', a talk show on the Radio-Canada television network * Vero (app), a social media company co-found ...

. Fimple batted .281 with nine home runs and 14 doubles. Fimple even register one stolen base. The next season Fimple would make the leap from single-A ball to playing for the Dodgers Triple-A squad in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. Fimple once again was the primary catcher; among the pitchers he caught were

John Franco John Anthony Franco (born September 17, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed relief pitcher between and . Franco established himself as an Major League Baseball All-Star Ga ...

Brian Holton Brian John Holton (born November 29, 1959) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball, primarily in relief, from 1985 to 1990. Biography Holton was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers team that won ...

, and

Orel Hershiser Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 2000. He later became a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005 and a br ...

. On July 30, 1983, Jack Fimple made his MLB debut at the age of 24. He got one at bat as a late inning defensive replacement for

Steve Yeager Stephen Wayne Yeager (born November 24, 1948) is an American former professional baseball catcher. Yeager spent 14 of the 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball career, from 1972 through 1985, with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His last year, 1986, ...

in an 8-0 loss versus the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. Fimple would play in both games of the double header the next day, and got his first major league hit, a single to left field off Giants starter

Fred Breining Fred Lawrence Breining (born November 15, 1955) is an American former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1980 through 1985 for the San Francisco Giants and the Montreal Expos. He had been traded along with Ed Whitson and Al Holland ...

. Over all in his first season in the majors, Fimple played in 54 games, batted .250, and had 37 hits in 167 at-bats, including two home runs. In 1984, Fimple split time between the Dodgers and their triple A team in Albuquerque. He struggled at the plate batting only .249 in triple A. However, that wasn't the worst part of the year for Fimple. At the conclusion of the 1984 season, Fimple underwent surgery for repair damage he suffered to his

ulnar nerve The ulnar nerve is a nerve that runs near the ulna, one of the two long bones in the forearm. The ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint is in relation with the ulnar nerve. The nerve is the largest in the human body unprotected by muscle or ...

in his elbow. The hope was that he would be ready to play once

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

rolled around in 1985. Fimple spent the entire season in 1985 in Triple-A Albuquerque. He split time with

Gilberto Reyes Gilberto Rolando Reyes Polanco (born December 10, 1963) is a former catcher in Major League Baseball. Career Reyes was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers on January 15, 1980, and spent four seasons in the Dodgers far ...

behind the plate, and his hitting had continued to be a struggle. In 72 games, Fimple batted a mere .229 for the season. Despite his struggles, Fimple was almost part of a major trade. The trade would have sent Fimple, power hitting prospect Ralph Bryant, along with pitchers Bob Welch and Tom Niedenfuer to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

for star third baseman

Mike Schmidt Michael Jack Schmidt (born September 27, 1949) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who spent his entire 18-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1972 to 1989. Schmidt was a 12-time Al ...

. However, the Dodgers refused to part with Bryant, who ended up being a bust, so the trade never happened. He played in a handful of games for the Dodgers again in 1986, splitting time between the majors and triple A. At the end of the season, the Dodgers gave Fimple his unconditional release. The

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

signed Fimple as a free agent in 1987 and assigned him to their Triple-A club, the

Edmonton Trappers The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton. The ...

. While Fimple played in a handful of games for the Angels that season, serving as a backup to

Bob Boone Robert Raymond Boone (born November 19, 1947) is an American former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who was a four-time All-Star. Born in San Diego, California, he is the son of MLB player Ray Boone, and he is the father of ...

and

Butch Wynegar Harold Delano "Butch" Wynegar Jr. (born March 14, 1956) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees and California Angels, and was a ...

, he continued to struggle to find his old form. As spring training broke in 1988, Fimple, along with outfielder Mark Ryal were placed on waivers by the Angels. This brought an end to Fimple's baseball career.

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fimple, Jack 1959 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players 20th-century American sportsmen American expatriate baseball players in Canada Auburn Americans players Batavia Trojans players California Angels players Edmonton Trappers players Humboldt State Lumberjacks baseball players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball catchers Sportspeople from Darby, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Vero Beach Dodgers players Waterloo Indians players United States Coast Guard enlisted Humboldt Crabs players