Charles Walter Terrell (born May 11, 1958) is a retired

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), ...

player. A starting pitcher, Terrell pitched from 1982 to 1992 for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

(1982–1984), Detroit Tigers (1985–1988),

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

(1989),

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 of ...

(1989), Pittsburgh Pirates (1990), and the Tigers (1990–1992).

Career

In 1979, Terrell played collegiate summer baseball for the

Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). He posted a 9-4 record with a 2.20 ERA and 13 complete games. Terrell set the league record for innings pitched in a season, and was named the league's outstanding pitcher. Terrell was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2007. Terrell was traded along with

Ron Darling Ronald Maurice Darling Jr. (born August 19, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a m ...

from the Texas Rangers to the Mets for

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 ...

on April 1, 1982. On August 6, 1983, Terrell hit a two-run home run off future

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Ferguson Jenkins Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins CM (born December 13, 1942) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1965 to 1983 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Bo ...

of the Chicago Cubs in the third inning, then another two-run homer the very next inning. Jenkins shut down the rest of the offense, but lost the game 4-1. Later that same month, Terrell had another three hits, including a three-run home run. In five years as a hitter, he logged only three home runs and ten

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 ...

but all three home runs and seven of the ten RBI came in a seventeen-day span. Terrell was dealt from the Mets to the Tigers for Howard Johnson 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 ...

on December 7, 1984.Durso, Joseph. "Mets Trade Terrell to Tigers," ''The New York Times'', Saturday, December 8, 1984.
Retrieved October 31, 2020 Against the California Angels at Tiger Stadium on August 20, 1986, he had a no-hitter broken up with two out in the ninth by a

Wally Joyner Wallace Keith Joyner (born June 16, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for four major league teams during a 16-year career, most notably for the California Angels, for whom he was an All-Star. He was a member of ...

double. It was the only hit he would allow in a 3-0 Tiger victory. He also surrendered the first of

Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...

's 583 home runs on August 25, 1986. He had a career-best 17 wins during the Tigers drive to the 1987 American League East pennant. Terrell finished with a career mark of 111-124 in 321 games, with a 4.22 all-time

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

. He

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

929 in 1,986.2 innings pitched. Although a weak hitting pitcher, posting a .120

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 ...

(23-for-192) with 3 home runs and 10 RBI, Terrell was an above average fielding pitcher. He recorded a .980 fielding percentage with only 10 errors in 489

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

and started 38 double plays.

Personal life

Terrell was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and attended

Morehead State University Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-year residential ...

, where he was a member of the

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...

fraternity. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He had 3 children. Ryan, Michael, and Erin.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terrell, Walt 1958 births Living people Chatham Anglers players Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Indiana Morehead State Eagles baseball players New York Mets players New York Yankees players People from Jeffersonville, Indiana Pittsburgh Pirates players San Diego Padres players Asheville Tourists players Gulf Coast Rangers players Lakeland Tigers players Syracuse Chiefs players Tidewater Tides players Tulsa Drillers players