Robert Joseph "Bob" Lacey, Jr. (born August 25, 1953) is an American former 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 ...

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, ...

. He played all or part of seven seasons 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 ...

for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, Texas Rangers,

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

, and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Early career

Lacey once struck out 19 batters during an

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

playoff game as a youth. He was a 10th-round draft selection of the Oakland A's in 1972, he was 13–2 in his first

minor league 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 Nort ...

season. However, as the A's dynasty began to crumble as the decade wore on, Lacey was given an opportunity at the major league level during the 1977 season.

Major league career

1978–79

In just his fourth major league appearance, he struck out future Hall of Famer

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cal ...

twice in a crucial situation, enraging Jackson and the Yankees in the process.Interview with Bob Lacey.
''Coco Crisp's Afro''. Retrieved July 11, 2014. Later, he would engage in a brawl with 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 ...

Darrell Porter Darrell Ray Porter (January 17, 1952 – August 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1971 to 1987 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Texas Ran ...

, who called Lacey a "crazy, immature, punk." Despite this, he emerged as Oakland's most reliable relief pitcher and led the American League in appearances in 1978. No other pitcher in league history inherited more baserunners than Bob Lacey did in 1978 (104). Despite that, he won eight games, crafted a 3.01 ERA and saved five games. He had a disappointing 1979 season suffering with bursitis in his heel.

1980

In 1980, Lacey may have been the least used closer of the modern era. While Lacey appeared in a team-high 47 games, finishing 31, he only earned six saves. This was due to Oakland's record-setting starting pitching. In what will likely never be duplicated in today's game, the A's pitched an astonishing 94

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s in 1980, leaving little left for relievers like Lacey. This eventually led to friction with his

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989) 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 Yankees. First known ...

, over how he was used. Martin did give Lacey his first ever starting assignment on the next-to-last day of the season, and he blanked the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

. Naturally, it was a complete game.Bob Lacey 1980 game log
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Remaining career

Lacey was traded to the San Diego Padres in late March 1981 with Roy Moretti for

Tony Phillips Keith Anthony Phillips (April 25, 1959 – February 17, 2016) was an American professional baseball utility player who had an 18-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1982 to 1999. He played regularly at second base, but also had signifi ...

, Kevin Bell, and Eric Mustad. He was with the Padres for three days, who in turn traded him to the Cleveland Indians. Lacey split time between the Indians and Rangers in 1981 and pitched for

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...

in the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

in 1982. He was a late-season call up for the California Angels in late 1983 and pitched in relief for the San Francisco Giants in 1984. He bounced around the minors for the 1985 season before pulling the plug on his seven-year career. He made a comeback of sorts in the late 1990s as manager of the Greensville Bluesmen. Not content to just the dugout, Lacey appeared in eight games of relief over the 1988 and 1989 seasons, four games each year.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacey, Bob 1953 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Fredericksburg, Virginia Birmingham A's players Burlington Bees players California Angels players Central Arizona College alumni Central Arizona Vaqueros baseball players Charleston Charlies players Cleveland Indians players Coos Bay-North Bend A's players Edmonton Trappers players Greenville Bluesmen players Key West Conchs players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Miami Marlins (FSL) players Oakland Athletics players Phoenix Giants players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Missions players Saraperos de Saltillo players Texas Rangers players Tucson Toros players