Robert Raymond Pfeil (born November 13, 1943), is an American former

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 ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

, 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) in and 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 leagu ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

, respectively. He threw and batted right-handed. Pfeil attended

Reseda High School Reseda Charter High School (RCHS), established in 1955, is located in the Reseda section of the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. In the fall of 2018, the school became a charter and is now Reseda Charter Hi ...

, making the varsity team his junior year. Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

in 1961, Pfeil was traded with

Hal Gilson Harold "Hal" Gilson (born February 9, 1942 in Los Angeles, California, died June 20, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros in 1968. Nicknamed "Lefty", he wa ...

to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

for Bob Humphreys on April 7, 1965. Before the start of the 1968 season, Pfeil was sent from the Cardinals to the New York Mets, in an unknown transaction. Pfeil made his big league debut at the age of 25 on June 26, 1969, against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Grant Jackson. Pfeil went 1-for-4 in his debut, although Jackson shut the Mets out 2-0 and held them to just four hits, while striking out ten. Pfeil did well during the first two weeks of his rookie campaign; he was hitting .333 on July 4, but by July 31, Pfeil’s batting average had fallen to .232. (Coincidentally, .232 turned out to be his 1969 season’s final batting average.) After July 31, Pfeil was able to pull his average above .240 only once, with a low point of .217. However, after going 3-for-6 in the final two games of the season, Pfeil brought his average up to its final mark of .232. In 211 at-bats, he also scored 20 runs, drove 10 runs in, doubled nine times, walked seven times, and struck out 27 times. Although the Mets reached the playoffs and eventually won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

in 1969, Pfeil did not appear in the playoffs or the fall classic. However, when President Nixon attended a World Series game, Pfeil lent him his glove for protection. On May 26, 1970, Pfeil was sent as the player to be named later to the Phillies to complete a trade that had occurred originally April 10, 1970. In return for Pfeil, the Mets received Ron Allen. Pfeil didd not appear in the major leagues in 1970. In 1971 he was back in a big league uniform. Pfeil appeared in 44 games for the Phillies that year, collecting 19 hits in 70 at-bats for a .271 batting average. As he had made his MLB debut against the Phillies while playing for the Mets, it was ironic that Pfeil ended up facing the Mets while playing for the Phillies in his final career at-bat on September 5, 1971. Pfeil then played his final game, appearing as a defensive replacement against the Cardinals on September 6, 1971. In Pfeil‘s big league career he played in 106 games, collecting 68 hits in 281 at-bats for a .242 batting average. Pfeil had 12 doubles and two home runs to go along with 25 runs, 19 RBI, one stolen base, 13 walks and 36 strikeouts. He had a .976 career

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. Although Pfeil did not play in the majors after 1971, he remained an active minor league player. On February 8, 1972, Pfeil was traded to the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

for a player to be named later, who ended up being minor leaguer Chico Vaughns. On March 20 of that year, Pfeil was purchased by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

from the Brewers.

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