La Schelle Tarver
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La Schelle Tarver (born January 30, 1959) is a former backup
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
who played for the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
during the season. Listed at 5' 11", 165 lb., he batted and threw
left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...
.


Early years

Tarver was born in 1959 in Modesto, California, and grew up in
Madera, California Madera (Spanish language, Spanish for "Wood") is a city and county seat of Madera County, California, Madera County, California. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 66,224. Located in the San Joaquin Valley, Madera i ...
. He was selected as a Northern California All-American first baseman while playing at Madera High School. He was drafted by the California Angels while still in high school, but instead enrolled in junior college. In 1980, he transferred to Cal State Sacramento.


Professional baseball

Tarver was drafted by the New York Mets in the 1980 draft. He was assigned to the Mets' farm system from 1981 to 1985, including stints at Lynchburg, Jacksonville (MS), and Tidewater. In November 1985, the Mets traded Tarver to the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
as part of a multi-player deal that also sent
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
s
Wes Gardner Wesley Brian Gardner (born April 29, 1961) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher who was drafted by the New York Mets in the 22nd round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft, out of the University of Central Arkansas. New York Mets Gardner ...
and
Calvin Schiraldi Calvin Drew Schiraldi (born June 16, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 through 1991 for five different teams. He is best remembered as the losing pitcher of Game 6 and Ga ...
to Boston in exchange for pitchers
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and
Bob Ojeda Robert Michael Ojeda (born December 17, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a member ...
and two minor leaguers. In the spring of 1986, Tarver was assigned to Pawtucket where he became the club's starting right fielder. Tarver made his major-league debut in July 1986 after Boston center fielder
Tony Armas Antonio Rafael Armas Machado (born July 2, 1953) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1976 to 1989. He is the father of pitcher Tony Armas Jr. and the older brother o ...
was injured. At the time he was called up, he was leading the International League with a .359 batting average and a .466 slugging percentage. In his first at bat with the Red Sox, he was cheered by 33,000 fans at
Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...
. Despite striking out, he "protected the plate and made ikeWitt work for the out by tossing 11 pitches." In his one season With the Red Sox, Tarver was a .120 hitter (3-for-25) with three runs and one RBI in 13 games. He did not have an
extra-base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...
or a stolen base. Although he did not steal any bases at the major league level, he was primarily valued for his speed in the outfield and on the base paths. A memorable incident occurred in 1986 when a PA announcer at an opposing ballpark announced him as "Tarver La Schelle". After his baseball career, Tarver was a longtime corrections officer for
Fresno County, California Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Ca ...
.


References


External links


RetrosheetVenezuelan Professional Baseball League
1959 births Baseball players from California Boston Red Sox players Jackson Mets players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Living people Lynchburg Mets players Major League Baseball outfielders Pawtucket Red Sox players Sacramento State Hornets baseball players Shelby Mets players Sportspeople from Modesto, California Tidewater Tides players People from Madera, California African-American baseball players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{US-baseball-outfielder-1950s-stub