Robert Wayne Pate (born December 3, 1953) is a former

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

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 ...

who played in 1980 and 1981 with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

. Listed at 6' 3", 200 lb., he batted and threw right handed.MLB Statistics and History
''Baseball Reference''. Retrieved on January 14, 2017.

Career

Born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Pate attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

and

Mesa Community College Mesa Community College (MCC) is a Public college, public community college in Mesa, Arizona. It is the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, the largest community college district in the Unite ...

. He was selected by the Montreal Exposs in the fourth round of the

1976 MLB Draft The 1976 Major League Baseball draft took place prior to the 1976 MLB season. The draft saw the Houston Astros select Floyd Bannister first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1976 Major League Baseba ...

. Pate split his first three professional seasons between the Quebec Metros and

Denver Bears Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of th ...

before joining the big team. His most productive season came in 1979, when he hit a

slash line This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

of .323/.383/.485 in 118 games with Denver, ending second in the Triple-A American Association batting race behind Keith Smith (.350), of the Springfield Redbirds, while ranking second in

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

(157), ninth in

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

(220) and tenth in

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

(85). In part of two seasons with Montreal, Pate posted a .267 average with five

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

without a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

in 31 games. Overall, Pate slashed .301/.380/.458 with 67 homers and 398 RBI in 693 minor league games from 1977–1983. In between, he played winter ball with the

Cardenales de Lara The Cardenales de Lara () is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP). Founded in 1942 and based in Barquisimeto, the Cardenales have won seven domestic titles, including back-to-back in 1998 and 1999, 2019, 2020 and ...

club of the Venezuelan League during the 1979–1980 season.Venezuelan Winter League Statistics
''Pura Pelota''. Retrieved on January 14, 2017. Following his playing career, Pate coached for the

Burlington Expos Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name Burlington * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, now k ...

in 1987.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pate, Bob 1953 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Italy American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from Los Angeles Cardenales de Lara players Denver Bears players Grosseto Baseball Club players Major League Baseball right fielders Mesa Thunderbirds baseball players Minor league baseball coaches Montreal Expos players Quebec Metros players Tucson Toros players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Anchorage Glacier Pilots players Compton High School alumni