Duane Lee Richards (born December 16, 1936) is an American retired 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 ...

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, ...

who appeared in two

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in the major leagues for the

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

. Born in Spartanburg, Indiana, he threw and batted

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 ...

, stood tall and weighed during his active career. Richards was signed by the Cincinnati organization as an amateur free agent in 1955, and progressed slowly from the Class D level, where he spent his first three pro seasons, to Double-A

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

by 1960. That September he was recalled by the Reds when rosters expanded to 40 men after September 1. His two appearances in MLB came in

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

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 ...

. In his first game, on September 25, 1960, Richards faced the Phillies at

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) a ...

. He entered the game in the top of the fifth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

with the Reds trailing, 5–0. He hurled one inning, and gave up two

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 runs, while

walking 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 o ...

one and

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one. Richards' second and last MLB appearance took place on October 1, against Philadelphia at

Connie Mack Stadium Shibe Park ( , rhymes with "vibe"), known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) from 1909 to 1954 and the Philadelphia Phillies of the Natio ...

. He entered the game in the bottom of the fifth with the Reds behind, 4–2. This time, Richards lasted two innings, allowing three hits and two runs, one of which was unearned. He also walked one batter and struck out one. In , he returned to the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

, where he spent the remainder of his ten year (1955–1964), 311-game pro career.

External links

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Retrosheet

1936 births Living people Baseball players from Indiana Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cincinnati Reds players Fort Walton Beach Jets players Jersey City Jerseys players Macon Peaches players Major League Baseball pitchers Nashville Vols players Palatka Redlegs players People from Randolph County, Indiana Savannah Reds players Wenatchee Chiefs players West Palm Beach Sun Chiefs players Williamsport Mets players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1930s-stub