John Rikard Dempsey (born September 13, 1949) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player.Rick Dempsey
at Baseball Reference He played for 24 seasons as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

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), ...

from to , most prominently for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles 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 American League's eight charter ...

where he played for 10 years and was a member of the

1983 World Series The 1983 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1983 season. The 80th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League champion Baltimore Orioles and the National ...

winning team. Dempsey was known for being one of the best defensive catchers of his era."For Catchers, The Name of the Game is Defense"
by George Vass, ''

Baseball Digest ''Baseball Digest'' is a baseball magazine resource, published in Orlando, Florida by Grandstand Publishing, LLC. It is the longest-running baseball magazine in the United States. History and profile It was created by Herbert F. Simons, a spor ...

'', May 2005, Vol. 64, No. 3, ISSN 0005-609X In 1997, he was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.

Major League career

Dempsey was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 15th round of the

1967 Major League Baseball draft The 1967 Major League Baseball draft (or "first-year player draft") recruits amateur baseball players into the American Major League Baseball league. The players selected in 1967 included many talented prospects who later had careers in the prof ...

out of

Crespi Carmelite High School Crespi Carmelite High School, shortly known as Crespi, is a private Catholic all-male four-year college preparatory high school located in Encino District, Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The ...

. After two seasons in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

, he made his major league debut late in the

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

season for the division winning Twins managed by

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

, however he didn't qualify for the postseason roster. Dempsey spent a few more seasons shuttling between the Twins and their minor league teams, before being traded to the New York Yankees for

Danny Walton Daniel James Walton (July 14, 1947 – August 9, 2017) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. Walton attended Bishop Amat Memorial High School, and was selected in the 10th round (192nd overall) of the 1965 MLB draft by the Houston A ...

on October 31, 1972. During his tenure with the Yankees, he served as a reserve catcher to

Thurman Munson Thurman Lee Munson (June 7, 1947 – August 2, 1979) was an American professional baseball catcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, from 1969 until his death in 1979. A seven-time All-Star, Mun ...

, and received tutoring from Yankees coach and former catching standout

Jim Hegan James Edward Hegan (August 3, 1920 – June 17, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and scout. He played for 17 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to and to , most notably for the Cleveland Indians w ...

. After three and a half seasons with the

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 of ...

, he was acquired along with Scott McGregor,

Tippy Martinez Felix Anthony "Tippy" Martinez (born May 31, 1950), is an American retired professional baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1974 and 1988, primarily as a relief pitcher. The majority of his ca ...

Rudy May Rudolph May, Jr. (born July 18, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher in and from to for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expo ...

and

Dave Pagan David Percy Pagan (born September 15, 1949) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball from 1973 until 1977, and was a member of the Seattle Mariners' 1977 inaugural season roster. ...

by the

Orioles Oriole or Orioles may refer to: Animals * Old World oriole, colorful passerine birds in the family Oriolidae * New World oriole, a group of birds in the family Icteridae Music * The Orioles, an R&B and doo-wop group of the late 1940s and earl ...

for

Ken Holtzman Kenneth Dale Holtzman (born November 3, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Chicago Cubs for whom he pitch ...

Doyle Alexander Doyle Lafayette Alexander (born September 4, 1950) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue J ...

Elrod Hendricks Elrod Jerome "Ellie" Hendricks (December 22, 1940 – December 21, 2005) was a U.S. Virgin Islander professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore ...

, Grant Jackson and Jimmy Freeman at the trade deadline on June 15, 1976. He, McGregor and Martinez became part of a nucleus that kept the Orioles as perennial contender for the next decade. For the next ten and a half seasons, Dempsey would remain as the Orioles' starting catcher."Rick Dempsey Looks Back on his 24 Seasons as a Big League Catcher"
by Ed Lucas and Paul Post, ''Baseball Digest'' May 2006, Vol. 65, No. 3, ISSN 0005-609X He became known for his exceptional ability to handle pitching staffs, his strong throwing arm, and for his agility behind

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

. In

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, the Orioles defeated the California Angels in the

1979 American League Championship Series The 1979 American League Championship Series was a best-of-five series that pitted the East Division champion Baltimore Orioles against the West Division champion California Angels, who were making their first postseason appearance. The Orioles w ...

to reach the World Series. In the

1979 World Series The 1979 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1979 season. The 76th edition of the World Series was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates (98–64) and ...

, the Orioles won three of the first four games against the Pittsburgh Pirates and seemed to be on the verge of winning the championship, when the Pirates, led by

Willie Stargell Wilver Dornell Stargell (March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001), nicknamed "Pops" later in his career, was an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman who spent all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1962–1982) ...

, rebounded to win the final three games. It was one of Dempsey's greatest disappointments of his playing career. The highlight of his career came in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, when the Orioles won the American League Eastern Division pennant, then defeated 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 ...

in the

1983 American League Championship Series The 1983 American League Championship Series was played between the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles from October 5 to 8. The Orioles won the series three games to one. Although the White Sox took Game 1 by a score of 2–1, the Orio ...

, before winning the

against the Philadelphia Phillies. Dempsey posted a .385

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

along with a .923 slugging percentage in the five-game series, and won the

World Series Most Valuable Player Award The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the Major League Baseball p ...

, one of six catchers to have won the award. In

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, Dempsey became a free agent and signed a contract to play for the Cleveland Indians.Rick Dempsey Trades and Transactions
at Baseball Almanac After only one season with the Indians, he became a free agent once again and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he would be a member of another

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

-winning team in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, this time as a backup catcher to

Mike Scioscia Michael Lorri Scioscia (, ; born November 27, 1958), nicknamed "Sosh" and "El Jefe", is an American former Major League Baseball catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los Ang ...

. When Scioscia was injured during Game 4 of the World Series, Dempsey took over behind the plate for the remainder of the Series, collecting an RBI double in Game 5. While playing for the Dodgers in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, he became involved in a brawl with Phillies' center fielder

Lenny Dykstra Leonard Kyle Dykstra (; born February 10, 1963), is an American former professional baseball center fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets (1985–1989) and Philadelphia Phillies (1989–1996). Dykstra was a thre ...

, who took exception to Dempsey's fraternization with the home plate umpire. After three seasons with the Dodgers, he played one season with the Milwaukee Brewers, before returning to the Baltimore Orioles for his final season in 1992. His sense of humor during his playing career was renowned, and he was famous for his "rain delay theatre" performances, in which he emerged from the dugout in stockinged feet onto the tarpaulin covering the

infield Infield is a sports term whose definition depends on the sport in whose context it is used. Baseball In baseball, the diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, usually grass-c ...

during a rain delay and pantomimed hitting an

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score ...

, climaxed by his sliding into home plate on his belly on the wet tarp, all to the raucous delight of the soggy fans. He sometimes did this while wearing a pair of underpants over his uniform, making fun of teammate

Jim Palmer James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the ...

's famous advertisements for Jockey brand briefs.

Career statistics

In a 24-year career, Dempsey played in 1,765 games, accumulating 1,093 hits in 4,692

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

for a .233 career batting average along with 96

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 471

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. He ended his career with a .988 fielding percentage. Dempsey led American League catchers twice in fielding percentage, twice in baserunners caught stealing and once in assists. He played more games as a catcher than any other player in Orioles history (1230). During his career, Dempsey caught ten different 20-game winning

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. He was a durable player, only going on the disabled list twice in his career."Rick Dempsey: His Career Survives Fires of Combat"
by Wayne Coffey, ''Baseball Digest'', February 1998, Vol. 57, No. 2, ISSN 0005-609X Dempsey fared well offensively in postseason play. In 14 World Series and 11 playoff games, he batted .303 (20-for-66) with 11 runs, 11 doubles, 1

, 7 RBI, 1 stolen base and 7 bases on balls. While he was a light-hitting player, Dempsey's lengthy major league career was due in part to his excellent defensive skills, despite the fact that he never won 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 bo ...

. He usually did not make a large contribution offensively. During his season with the Brewers, Dempsey made two

relief pitching In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

appearances, giving up three hits and one run in two innings pitched. Dempsey also won a

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

in 1963 with the team from Canoga Park-Woodland Hills, California. He is the uncle of former major league catcher Gregg Zaun. Dempsey is one of only 29 players to play in four different calendar decades.

Coaching and broadcasting career

After his playing career ended, Dempsey became a minor league

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

in the Los Angeles Dodgers organisation, winning the 1994 Pacific Coast League

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

with the Triple-A

Albuquerque Dukes The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. History The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Frank ...

.Rick Dempsey minor league manager record
at Baseball Reference He then joined the New York Mets organisation, managing the

Norfolk 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 Chesapea ...

in 1997 and 1998. Dempsey also served as first base coach for the Orioles for several seasons, first as a third base coach in the season after bench coach

Sam Perlozzo Samuel Benedict Perlozzo (born March 4, 1951) is a former second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball, most recently with the Baltimore Orioles. Biography After graduating from Bishop Walsh School in Cumberland, Maryland, Perlozzo was ...

was promoted to interim manager. He assumed the bullpen coach position in the season, replacing

who the team intended to reassign to another position in the organization before his death. Later in 2006, he became the first base coach again when the team reassigned Dave Cash. Dempsey has been a candidate for managerial openings with the Orioles in the past, as recently as when the Orioles interviewed him for the spot that eventually went to

Lee Mazzilli Lee Louis Mazzilli (born March 25, 1955) is an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and T ...

. He was mentioned again as a possible candidate for the Baltimore manager's job in 2010, after the firing of Dave Trembley. Dempsey also served as an Oriole

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...

in 2000 and began another stint in 2007, as the studio analyst for O's Xtra on

MASN The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between two Major League Baseball franchises, the Baltimore Orioles (which owns a controlling 77% interest) and the Washington Nationals (which ...

, the cable channel that carries Orioles games. In addition, he serves as a game analyst for occasional games on MASN. In 1985,

Dick Enberg Richard Alan Enberg (January 9, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career, he provided play-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks, including N ...

was 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 ...

for Games 1 and 7 of the

1985 ALCS The 1985 American League Championship Series was played between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays from October 8 to 16. Major League Baseball decided to extend the Championship Series in both leagues from its best-of-five (1969–1 ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. Enberg hosted the pregame show alongside Dempsey (who was still active with

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

at the time). In 1995, Dempsey worked as a field reporter for ABC's coverage of the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

.' Dempsey was let go in 2021 as part of the massive layoffs by

References

External links

Rick Dempsey
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Rick Dempsey
at Baseball Almanac
Rick Dempsey
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)
Rick Dempsey
at Baseball Gauge *Rick Dempsey : {{DEFAULTSORT:Dempsey, Rick 1949 births Living people Auburn Twins players Baltimore Orioles announcers Baltimore Orioles coaches Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Tennessee Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Cleveland Indians players Florida Instructional League Twins players Gulf Coast Twins players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches World Series Most Valuable Player Award winners Mid-Atlantic Sports Network Milwaukee Brewers players Minnesota Twins players New York Yankees players Norfolk Tides managers People from Fayetteville, Tennessee Syracuse Chiefs players Tacoma Twins players Tigres de Aragua players Wisconsin Rapids Twins players

Major League career

Career statistics

Coaching and broadcasting career

See also

References

External links