Robert Clinton Compton (born November 1, 1950) is a former left-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, ...

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 for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. His entire major-league career consisted of a two-inning appearance during the Cubs' October 3, 1972 game against the

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

. Compton was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1968 MLB June amateur draft out of Robert E. Lee High School, 13 picks before future All-Star Lynn McGlothen. After his second season in the Braves' minor league system, he was traded with

Mickey Rivers John Milton "Mickey" Rivers (born October 30, 1948) is an American former baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1984 for the California Angels, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. As a Yankee, he was part of two Worl ...

to the

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 ...

for

Bob Priddy Robert Priddy may refer to: * Robert L. Priddy, American co-founder of several airline companies * Bob Priddy (baseball) (1939–2023), American baseball player from 1962-71 * Bob Priddy (basketball) (1930–2021), American basketball player fo ...

and future Hall of Famer

Hoyt Wilhelm James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angel ...

. The Cubs selected Compton from the Angels in the 1971

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

and he spent the 1972 season with the AA Midland Cubs before a late-season call-up. On October 3, 1972, Compton came on in relief of Cub hurler

Larry Gura Lawrence Cyril Gura (; born November 26, 1947) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from to . He won a national championship at Arizona State University and spent 16 years in the Major Leagues. He played for the ...

in the top of the 6th at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

. He retired the side in order ( John Bateman,

Steve Carlton Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the Philadelph ...

, and Terry Harmon) in the 6th but quickly got into trouble in the 7th.

Larry Bowa Lawrence Robert Bowa (born December 6, 1945) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. Bowa went on to ...

singled to lead it off, followed by a

Mike Schmidt Michael Jack Schmidt (born September 27, 1949) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who spent his entire 18-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1972 to 1989. Schmidt was a 12-time Al ...

single in Schmidt's first at-bat of the game. A walk to

Greg Luzinski Gregory Michael Luzinski (born November 22, 1950), nicknamed "the Bull", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Philadelphia Philli ...

loaded the bases with nobody out, and another walk (to Joe Lis) forced in the Phillies' ninth run of the game. Compton then induced

Roger Freed Roger Vernon Freed (June 2, 1946 – January 9, 1996), was an American professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, and St. Louis C ...

to ground into a run-scoring

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

before

Bill Robinson Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20 ...

popped out to Carmen Fanzone for the final out of Compton's appearance, and as it would turn out, his major league career. Carlton earned his 27th win that day to finish with a 27–10 record for the last-place Phillies, which would earn him the

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

. Compton spent all of 1973 with the Cubs' AAA affiliate

Wichita Aeros The Wichita Aeros were an American minor league baseball franchise based in Wichita, Kansas, that played in the Triple-A American Association from 1970 through 1984. The Aeros were established as an expansion franchise when the Association grew ...

but did not get promoted to the big league club. He never played professional baseball again, retiring from the game after 1973 at age 22.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Compton, Clint 1950 births Baseball players from Montgomery, Alabama Chicago Cubs players Magic Valley Cowboys players Quad Cities Angels players Shreveport Braves players Midland Cubs players Wichita Aeros players Major League Baseball pitchers Living people Arizona Instructional League Angels players Arizona Instructional League Braves players