Richard Carter Wantz (April 11, 1940 – May 13, 1965) was an American 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 ...

player whose life and Major League career were cut short when he was felled by a fatal

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

. A

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

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 ...

and a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

member of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

in 1965, he died mere days after his April 13 MLB debut, the only appearance he would be able to make in the majors.

Background

Wantz was a native of

South Gate, California South Gate is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, with . It is located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. South Gate is part of the Gateway Cities region of southeastern Los Angeles County. The city was incorporated on J ...

, and attended Artesia High School in Lakewood. After graduation from high school, Wantz attended

Cerritos College Cerritos College is a public community college in Norwalk, California. It offers degrees and certificates in 87 areas of study in nine divisions. History The college was founded in 1955. It was named after Rancho Los Cerritos, a local r ...

and helped lead his team to the league championship in 1959 and again in 1960. He was an all-league selection both years and voted the team's most valuable player in 1960. Tall and lanky—Wantz stood tall and weighed —he signed with the Angels in 1961 while attending

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

. Then he worked his way through the minor leagues, beginning in Class D ball in 1961; by the end of the 1964 season, he was a member of the Angels' Triple-A affiliate, the

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

. That fall, he appeared in 11 games and won two of three decisions for the Angels' team in the

Arizona Instructional League The Arizona Instructional League (AIL), sometimes known informally as "instructs", is an American professional baseball league. Young major league prospects hone their skills in the AIL, while experienced players may go there to rehabilitate from ...

. In , Wantz pitched well during

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 ...

and became a member of the Angels' early-season roster. He made his debut during the team's home opener in its final season as tenants at

Chavez Ravine Chavez Ravine is a shallow canyon in Los Angeles, California. It sits in a large promontory of hills north of downtown Los Angeles, next to Major League Baseball's Dodger Stadium. Chavez Ravine was named for a 19th-century Los Angeles councilm ...

on April 13. With the opposition

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 ...

leading 5–0, Wantz relieved Don Lee at the start of the eighth inning. He struck out the first batter he faced,

Max Alvis Roy Maxwell Alvis (born February 2, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from through , most notably for the Cleveland Indians (now the Cleveland Guardians) where he beca ...

, but then surrendered back-to-back doubles to

Vic Davalillo Víctor José Davalillo Romero (31 July 1939 – 6 December 2023) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Mexican League as an outfielder from 1963 to 1982. Davalillo (pronounced da-va-LE ...

and Larry Brown and an RBI

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Joe Azcue José Joaquín Azcue López (born August 18, 1939) is a Cuban former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, most prominently as a member of the Cleveland Indians where he played the bulk of h ...

. He then fanned opposing pitcher

Ralph Terry Ralph Willard Terry (January 9, 1936 – March 16, 2022) was an American baseball player who played as a right-handed starting pitcher for twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, ...

and retired

Dick Howser Richard Dalton Howser (May 14, 1936 – June 17, 1987) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop, coach, and manager who was best known as the manager of the Kansas City Royals during the 1980s and for guiding them to the franchise's first ...

to escape further scoring. Wantz exited the game for 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 ...

with Cleveland leading, 7–0. His pitching line: one

inning pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is e ...

, in which he allowed three

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 s ...

and two

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any Run (baseball), run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the ...

, with no

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

and two

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s. It would be Wantz' only appearance in the majors before his illness struck.

Death

A week later, during a road trip to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Wantz began to experience severe headaches. He was hospitalized in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, then was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor when he returned to California. He died in

Inglewood Inglewood may refer to: Places Australia *Inglewood, Queensland * Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area *Inglewood, South Australia *Inglewood, Victoria *Inglewood, Western Australia Canada * Inglewood, Ontario *Inglewoo ...

after undergoing surgery, exactly one month after his debut against the Indians. He was 25.

References

External links

Salon.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wantz, Dick 1940 births 1965 deaths Artesia High School (California) alumni Baseball players from Lakewood, California Deaths from brain cancer in California Hawaii Islanders players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from South Gate, California Quad Cities Angels players San Jose Bees players Statesville Owls players Tri-City Angels players

Background

Death

See also

References

External links