Raymond Clifford Cook (born August 20, 1936) is an American former professional baseball player who appeared in 163

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

over parts of five Major League Baseball seasons. Primarily a third baseman, though he played some games as an outfielder during his career,Information
at Baseball Reference Cook stood tall, weighed , and threw and batted right-handed.

Career

A power hitter in minor league baseball, Cook made his Major League debut in September 1959 with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

after he had slugged 32

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

in the Class A Sally League. In his second and third MLB games, when he played both ends of a doubleheader against 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 located ...

on September 10, 1959, at Wrigley Field, Cook had six

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 se ...

in nine at bats, including a double and a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a "treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * In ...

, with four runs batted in. He also made two errors in the field. Retrosheetbr>box score: 1959-09-10 (2)
/ref> That torrid start at the plate enabled Cook to bat .381 during his nine-game late-season trial. But for the rest of his MLB career, Cook would have trouble making consistent contact. He hit .208 in 149 at bats in , then spent almost all of in Triple-A, going hitless in five at bats with the Reds. Early in the season, on May 7, he was traded to the New York Mets with left-handed pitcher Bob Miller for veteran

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Don Zimmer. Cook played in 90 games for the Mets over portions of 1962 and , batting a composite .188 in 218 at bats. Overall, his big-league statistics were 163 games played, 398 at bats, 33 hits, 17 doubles, three triples, seven home runs, 35 RBI and a .201 batting average. He hit 195 home runs in the minor leagues, and retired from pro ball after the 1964 season.

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1936 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players Baseball players from Dallas Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cincinnati Reds players Douglas Trojans players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball third basemen Moultrie Reds players Nashville Vols players New York Mets players Savannah Redlegs players Syracuse Chiefs players Wausau Lumberjacks players {{US-baseball-third-baseman-stub