David Lee Schneck (born June 18, 1949) is an American former

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 ...

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. He played parts of three seasons, from 1972 until 1974, with 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 ...

Early life

Schneck was born in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, on June 18, 1949. He graduated from Whitehall High School, where he was a pitcher. In 1967, Schneck was drafted as a

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, ...

by the

, but he did not begin his professional career until 1968 due to a shoulder injury. He was converted into an outfielder, and he started 1968 with the rookie class Marion Mets. At age 19, he was drafted into the

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and served 14 months in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Major League Baseball

After missing the 1969 and 1970 seasons while serving in the Army, Schneck continued to progress through the minor leagues until 1972, when he made his

debut.

New York Mets

In 1974, after spending most of 1973 back in the minor leagues with the Tidewater Tides, Schneck received a long shot at the major league in 1974. He played 93 games with the

that season, batting .205 with 5 home runs. However, that proved to be the end of his Major League career. Schneck went 2–11 at the plate on September 11, 1974, during a 25 inning marathon night game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Those 11 at bats tied a Major League record for most at bats in a game.

Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds

On December 3, 1974, Schneck, Tug McGraw, and

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were traded to the Philadelphia Phillies by the Mets for Del Unser, John Stearns, and Mac Scarce at the Winter Meetings. He started the 1975 season with their top farm club, the Toledo Mud Hens, and on August 5 he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for John Vukovich. He played with their top farm team, the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

, until the end of the 1976 season. During that offseason, he was traded again, this time to 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 ...

, for outfielder Champ Summers. After playing one more season in the minors, for the Wichita Aeros, Schneck retired. Schneck currently owns a company known as Schneck Waterproofing in Northampton, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

Dave Schneck
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Schneck, Dave 1949 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baseball players from Allentown, Pennsylvania Florida Instructional League Mets players Indianapolis Indians players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball outfielders Marion Mets players Memphis Blues players New York Mets players Raleigh-Durham Mets players Tidewater Tides players Toledo Mud Hens players United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army soldiers Visalia Mets players Whitehall High School (Pennsylvania) alumni Wichita Aeros players