David Thomas Gallagher (born September 20, 1960) 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 ...

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 ...

. He played in

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(MLB) for seven teams from –.

Early life

Gallagher was born in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, and grew up in the suburban Hamilton Square section of

Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Hamilton Township is a Township (New Jersey), township and the most populous municipality in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the largest suburb of Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton, the state's capi ...

. He played in the Nottingham Little League and — as a centerfielder —led Steinert High School to the Central Jersey title in its group and then to the state title for that group.

Early years

Gallagher played college baseball at Mercer County Community College. Gallagher was originally drafted third overall by the

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in the January amateur draft, but did not sign. Five months later, the

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 ...

selected him eighth overall in the June secondary draft, and he signed. He spent seven seasons in the minors, batting .271 with 39

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 ( ...

s and 316

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 ...

, when he attended

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

with the Indians in 1987. He was cut just at the end of Spring, but was immediately re-added to the major league roster when

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

Brett Butler fractured his left middle finger in the home opener. In fourteen games in center field, Gallagher batted .111 with one

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

, one triple and one RBI. Upon Butler's return, he was optioned back to the triple A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. Shortly afterwards, he was traded to the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

for

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

Mark Huismann. Despite batting .306 with 46 RBIs for the triple A

Calgary Cannons The Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the Triple-A (baseball), AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons ...

, Gallagher did not fit into the Mariners' future plans, and asked for his release.

Chicago White Sox

Gallagher joined the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

as a non-roster Spring training invitee in , but again failed to make the major league roster, and was reassigned to triple A. He batted .336 with four home runs in 34 games with the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bail ...

to earn a call up to the majors on May 13. In his first game for the Chisox, Gallagher went two for three with a triple, a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

two RBIs and two runs scored to lead his team to a 7–5 victory over the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. The following day, he hit a home run off Mark Eichhorn in the thirteenth inning for the walk off victory over Toronto. Gallagher continued his hot hitting, and became the White Sox starting center fielder for the remainder of the season. He batted .303 with five home runs and 31 RBIs as a rookie to be named the

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Rookie All-Star center fielder in 1988 and finish fifth in

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

Rookie of the Year balloting. He also developed into one of the top fielding outfielders in the American League. He led AL center fielders with a .994

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

and started four

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 ...

s in . An injury early in the season sidelined Gallagher. When he came back, he found that he had lost his starting job in center field to speedster Lance Johnson. He remained a fourth outfielder for the Sox until the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

acquired him in a waiver deal on August 2.

California Angels

At the 1990

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, he was dealt 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 two minor leaguers. Platooning with Junior Felix in center, Gallagher batted .293 with one home run and thirty RBIs. On May 19, 1991, Gallagher recorded his first and only 5 hit game going 5-5, clubbing five singles, versus his former team the Baltimore Orioles. On December 10, 1991, he joined his fourth team in a little over a year when he was dealt to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

for Hubie Brooks.

New York Mets

Gallagher was used primarily as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

and late inning defensive replacement during his two-season stay in

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. On July 18, , Gallagher hit his only career grand slam against the

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 ...

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. For the season, he hit a career high six home runs despite logging just 201

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

s. On November 24, 1993, he was traded to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

for

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, ...

Pete Smith.

Final years

After just one season in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Gallagher signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with 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 ...

. After batting just .190 as a pinch hitter with the Braves, Gallagher went six for ten with four doubles pinch hitting for the Phillies. He was traded back to the first place California Angels shortly after the non-waiver

trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft ...

for minor leaguer Kevin Flora and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

. Though the Angels were interested in bringing Gallagher back for the season, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement. He ended up signing a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians with an invitation to Spring training. He was cut on March 22, and retired.

Teaching the game

Gallagher served as hitting instructor for the Eastern League's

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

in and . He was a

coach at Notre Dame High School in

Mercer County, New Jersey Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...

, in , and

Mercer County Community College Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is a Public university, public, community college in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. More than 7,000 students enroll in one or more credit courses each year. Esta ...

in . While in the minors, Gallagher invented the "Stride tutor" to help batters regulate their strides. In , Gallagher opened the Dave Gallagher Baseball Academy. He and Mark Gola wrote an instructional book titled ''The Little League Hitter's Journal (Little League Baseball Guide)'', released in . In 2001, Gallagher opened a baseball camp near his home in

Millstone Township, New Jersey Millstone Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in western Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located within the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region and is a part of the New ...

.Morris, Tim
"Ex-Met, Phillie Gallagher opens his own baseball camp "
, ''News Transcript'', December 26, 2001. Accessed September 19, 2014. "Gallagher found his perfect home in Millstone with enough land for him to build his batting cage in the back yard. That enabled him to kill two birds with one stone. He could do his off-season workouts there and also provide personal instruction for youngsters."

Sources

External links

Dave Gallagher
at Ultimate Mets Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Dave 1960 births Atlanta Braves players Baltimore Orioles players California Angels players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players New York Mets players Philadelphia Phillies players Baseball players from Trenton, New Jersey Sportspeople from Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey People from Millstone Township, New Jersey Steinert High School alumni Living people Mercer County Community College alumni Batavia Trojans players Waterloo Indians players Maine Guides players Chattanooga Lookouts players Vancouver Canadians players Calgary Cannons players Tidewater Tides players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players