Reginald Conrad Baldwin (born August 19, 1954) is an American former right-handed

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 ...

catcher who played in 1978 and 1979 for the Houston Astros, although his minor league career spanned from 1976 to 1980. He was tall and he weighed 195 pounds. Prior to playing professionally, Baldwin attended

Grambling State University Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana, United States. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African ...

. He was drafted by the Astros in the third round of the 1976 amateur draft. He began his professional career that year with the rookie-league

Covington Astros The Covington Astros were a minor league baseball team that played from 1967 to 1976 in the Appalachian League. Affiliated with the Houston Astros, they were located in Covington, Virginia. They played their home games at Casey Field. In 1966, t ...

, hitting .286 with ten home runs in 245 at-bats. In 1977, he played for the

Columbus Astros Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo (surname), Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus ...

and

Charleston Charlies The Charleston Charlies were a Triple-A minor league baseball team located in Charleston, West Virginia. Two separate Charlies franchises played in the International League from 1971 to 1983. The first team was the relocated Columbus Jets. In 197 ...

, hitting a combined .284 in 104 at-bats. His on-base percentage was a mere .309, because he walked only six times in 359 at-bats. He spent only 36 games in the minors in 1978, all for the Columbus Astros. With them, he hit .323 in 133 at-bats. That earned him a call-up to the major leagues, and on May 25, he made his debut. In his first game - which was against 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 ...

- he replaced Astros starting catcher

Joe Ferguson Joseph Carlton Ferguson Jr. (born April 23, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football fo ...

in the bottom of the seventh inning. In his first and only at-bat of the game, he flied out against pitcher Ed Halicki. Overall, he hit .254 with one home run and 11 RBI in 38 games in his first season. In 67 at-bats, he walked only three times - but he struck out only three times as well. Baldwin spent most of 1979 in the minors, splitting his minor league season between the Columbus Astros and Charleston Charlies. In 71 minor league games, he hit .278 with seven home runs, walking only six times in 255 at-bats.Baseball Reference Minor League Statistics
/ref> He also spent 14 games in the big leagues that year, hitting only .200 in 20 at-bats. On September 24, he played his final game. Although his major league career was done after the 1979 season, his minor league career was not. After being traded to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

on February 20, 1980, for Keith Bodie, he played for the

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesape ...

in their farm system that season. He hit .273 in 96 games. 1980 was his final professional season. Overall, Baldwin hit .241 with one home run and 12 RBI in 52 big league games. In a five-year minor league career, he hit .285 with 29 home runs in 370 games.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Reggie Living people 1954 births Baseball players from Wayne County, Michigan Houston Astros players Grambling State Tigers baseball players African-American baseball players Anchorage Glacier Pilots players Charleston Charlies players Columbus Astros players Covington Astros players Tidewater Tides players Southwestern High School (Michigan) alumni People from River Rouge, Michigan