Albert Autry (February 29, 1952 – February 25, 2022) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), 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 played in

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 ...

(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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. Autry attended

Grace M. Davis High School Grace M. Davis High School, commonly referred to as Davis High School, is a public high school located in Modesto, California, United States. Established in 1961, the school serves students in grades 9-12. Davis High was recognized as a Califo ...

Modesto Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is locate ...

, California and 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

in the fourth round (91st overall) of the

1969 Major League Baseball draft The 1969 Major League Baseball 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 in the ...

, and started playing Minor League Baseball (MiLB) with the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional 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 ...

of the Northern League. 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 pit ...

against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, 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 * Fu ...

. 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 means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...

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 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.

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External links

Al Autry
at 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

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