Albert Autry (February 29, 1952 - February 25, 2022) was an American
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professiona ...
right-handed
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...
, who played 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) ...
(MLB) for the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...
.
Autry was drafted by 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 expa ...
in the fourth round (91st overall) of the
1969 Major League Baseball 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
David Mark Winfield (born October 3, 1951) is an American former Major Lea ...
, and started playing Minor League Baseball (MiLB) with the
Winnipeg Goldeyes
The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Norther ...
of the
Northern League Northern League may refer to:
Sport
Baseball
* Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971
* Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...
.
On September 14, 1976, Autry made his big league debut, as the home-team Atlanta Braves‘
starting pitcher
In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pitc ...
against the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
, at
Fulton County Stadium
Fulton may refer to:
People
* Robert Fulton (1765–1815), American engineer and inventor who developed the first commercially successful steam-powered ship
* Fulton (surname)
Given name
* Fulton Allem (born 1957), South African golfer
* Fult ...
. He pitched five innings, gave up four hits, three earned runs, and
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 denot ...
three batters, while being credited with the win in a 4–3 Braves victory, in what would be his only appearance in the major leagues. He would be only one of two players since the end of World War II to have started and got credited for the win in his lone MLB appearance.
Chris Saenz
Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher
Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). ...
accomplished the same feat in 2004 pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers. Autry has stated in numerous interviews that a single incident where a sarcastically criticized his teammate and best friend Rick Camp for masking an error in the following spring training was misinterpreted by Braves manager Dave Bristol as poor sportsmanship and essentially blackballed Autry from the major league roster. He was sent down to AAA Richmond and eventually traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, but failed to make the major league roster of either team and retired from professional baseball after the 1978 season.
He was diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy in his later years and died on February 25, 2022, just four days shy of his 70th birthday.
Further reading
*
Dennis Snelling
Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius.
The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is sometime ...
; ''A Glimpse of Fame'', McFarland & Company, Jefferson N.C., 1993, pp. 73–88
References
External links
Al Autryat SABR (Baseball BioProject)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Autry, Al
1952 births
2022 deaths
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Modesto, California
Atlanta Braves players
Winnipeg Goldeyes players
Waterloo Royals players
Springfield Redbirds players
San Jose Bees players
Richmond Braves players
Omaha Royals players
Jacksonville Suns players
Billings Mustangs players
New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players
Arizona Instructional League Royals players