Alfred Edward Cowens, Jr. (October 25, 1951 – March 11, 2002) was a

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. 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 (A ...

. From through , Cowens played for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

(1974–79),

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

(1980),

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1980–81) and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

(1982–86). He batted and threw right-handed.

Baseball career

A native of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, Cowens was a product of the

farm system, having been selected by the team in the

1969 MLB draft The 1969 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft took place prior to the 1969 MLB season. The draft featured future Hall of Famers Bert Blyleven (pick 55) and Dave Winfield (pick 882). First round selections The following are the first round picks ...

. He made his major league debut with the Royals in 1974 and played for them through 1979. His most productive season came in 1977, when he batted .312 with 23

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 112 RBI, earned a

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in b ...

, and finished second to

Rod Carew Rodney Cline Carew (born October 1, 1945) is a Panamanian former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman, second baseman and designated hitter from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins ...

in balloting for the American League MVP Award. Cowens was traded along with

Todd Cruz Todd Ruben Cruz (November 23, 1955 – September 2, 2008), was an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and with the Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals, Califo ...

from the Royals to the

for

Willie Aikens Willie Mays Aikens (born October 14, 1954) is an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, Kansas City Royals, and Toronto Blue Jays between 1977 and 1985. He had established ...

and

Rance Mulliniks Steven Rance Mulliniks (born January 15, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball player. Playing career Originally drafted as a shortstop, Mulliniks made his major league debut in for the California Angels, batting .269 in 78 games. He ...

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 ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

on December 6, 1979,Durso, Joseph. "Angels Get Cowens In Deal With Royals," ''The New York Times'', Friday, December 7, 1979.
Retrieved May 25, 2022. with

Craig Eaton Craig Eaton (born September 7, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for one season. He was a pitcher who pitched in five games for the Kansas City Royals during the 1979 season. He played college baseball at Florida State Un ...

being sent to the Angels to complete the transaction four months later on April 1, 1980. The need for Cowens was the result of injuries to

Joe Rudi Joseph Oden Rudi (born September 7, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder between and , most prominently as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

and

Dan Ford Darnell Glenn Ford (born May 19, 1952) is a former professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Disco Dan", he played in the Major Leagues primarily as an outfielder from 1975 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins, California Angels, and Baltimore Orioles. ...

which hurt the Angels' chances of winning the American League pennant. A shortage of power hitters due to injuries to

Don Baylor Don Edward Baylor (June 28, 1949 – August 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and manager. During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), Baylor was a power hitter known for standing very close to home plate (" crowdin ...

and

Brian Downing Brian Jay Downing (born October 9, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from to , originally as a catcher before converting to an outfielder and designated hitter later in his career. Downin ...

by the second month of the 1980 season led to Cowens being dealt from the Angels to the

for Jason Thompson on May 27, 1980. He played with the Tigers through the end of the 1981 season. In March 1982, the Tigers sold his contract the

, where he played until the team released him in June 1986. Overall in 13 MLB seasons, Cowens appeared in 1584 MLB games, batting .270 with 108 home runs and 717 RBIs. He played in three postseason series, appearing in 14 total games with the Royals in the

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the America ...

of 1976 through 1978, each of which the team lost to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

Farmer incidents

Early in the 1979 season, a notable feud started between Cowens, then with the Royals, and pitcher Ed Farmer, then with the Texas Rangers. On May 8, a Farmer pitch thrown in the top of the fifth inning fractured Cowens' jaw and broke several teeth, causing him to miss 21 games. Farmer later said that Cowens had attempted to steal signs from the catcher and thought the pitch would be a breaking ball away, but it was actually an inside

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

. At the start of the same game, Farmer had also hit Royals second baseman Frank White and broke his wrist, which kept him sidelined for a month. The next season, on June 20‚ 1980, Farmer and Cowens faced each other again; Farmer now with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

and Cowens now with the Tigers. In a game at

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Bui ...

, with Farmer pitching, Cowens hit a ground ball to shortstop. While Farmer watched his infielders make the play, Cowens ran to the mound rather than first base, and tackled the pitcher from behind, landing several punches before the benches cleared and the two were separated.

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

president

Lee MacPhail Leland Stanford MacPhail Jr. (October 25, 1917 – November 8, 2012) was an American front-office executive in Major League Baseball. MacPhail was a baseball executive for 45 years, serving as the director of player personnel for the New York Ya ...

suspended Cowens for seven games, and Farmer filed a

criminal complaint In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...

, resulting in a warrant being issued for Cowens in Illinois. Later, Farmer agreed to drop the charges in exchange for a handshake‚ and the two players brought out the lineup cards before a game in Detroit on September 1, and shook hands. A later appearance by Cowens at Comiskey Park was greeted by fans with a "Coward Cowens" banner.

Death

Cowens died in

Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program. It is also the home ...

, on March 11, 2002, at the age of 50 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. At the time of his death, Cowens had been scouting players for the Kansas City Royals. He is buried at

Inglewood Park Cemetery Inglewood Park Cemetery, 720 East Florence Avenue in Inglewood, California, was founded in 1905. A number of notable people, including entertainment and sports personalities, have been interred or entombed there. History The proposed es ...

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

References

External links

*, o
Retrosheet
o
Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowens, Al 1951 births 2002 deaths African-American baseball players Águilas del Zulia players Arizona Instructional League Royals players Baseball players from California Billings Mustangs players Bradenton Explorers players Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery California Angels players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Detroit Tigers players Gold Glove Award winners Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Royals players Kansas City Royals scouts Kingsport Royals players Major League Baseball right fielders San Jose Bees players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Downey, California Waterloo Royals players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people

Baseball career

Farmer incidents

Death

See also

References

External links