Ralph Pierre "Pete" LaCock Jr. (born January 17, 1952) 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 ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

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 batted and threw left-handed. In 1975, LaCock hit the only grand slam of his career during the final appearance of

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

pitcher

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (November 9, 1935October 2, 2020), nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot", was an American baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959 to 1975. Known for his fiercely competi ...

Career

LaCock was selected by 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 ...

in the first round (20th pick overall) of the 1970 January Draft-Regular Phase out of

William Howard Taft Charter High School William Howard Taft Charter High School is a Public school (government funded), public school located on the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Winnetka Avenue in the Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, Woodland Hills district of the San Ferna ...

. His minor league career included leading the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

with 84

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 ...

while playing for the

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

in 1971 and with 13

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

and 93

while playing for the Midland Cubs in 1972. Due to LaCock's success in the minor league system, he was promoted to the major leagues, where he played for the Cubs (1972–1976) and the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

(1977–1980). In 1981, he played in Japan for the

Yokohama Taiyo Whales The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current n ...

. Over nine seasons (715 games), LaCock hit 27

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 with 224 RBI and a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .257. He was a good fielder at both

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

, but never became an everyday player. LaCock was often used 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/or defensive replacement, and sometimes as a

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

. He was granted free agency on October 24, 1980, though he never played another major league game. In 1989, LaCock played for the St. Petersburg Pelicans and

Winter Haven Super Sox The Winter Haven Super Sox were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The club, playing in the spring training site of the Boston Red Sox, featured numerous former Red Sox pl ...

of the

Senior Professional Baseball Association The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...

. LaCock is perhaps best known for a famous, and possibly apocryphal, story involving Hall of Famer

. In 1975, during Gibson's final game, LaCock hit a

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

home run, becoming the last hitter to get a base hit off Gibson. Gibson retired soon afterwards. Years later, Gibson faced LaCock in an

Old-Timers' Day Old-Timers' Day (or Old-Timers' Game) refers to a tradition in Major League Baseball where a team devotes the early afternoon preceding a weekend game to honor retired players who played for the organization during their careers. The retired play ...

, and he allegedly beaned him in retaliation and shouted out, "I've been waiting years to do that!"

Coaching

LaCock managed the Niagara Stars of the

Canadian Baseball League The Canadian Baseball League was an independent minor league that operated in 2003. The league's only Commissioner was Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame member Ferguson Jenkins. The league featured former m ...

in 2003. After serving as the hitting coach for St. Joe Blacksnakes (now defunct) of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

during the 2007 season, he was hired in 2008 as hitting coach for the

Lincoln Saltdogs The Lincoln Saltdogs are a professional baseball team based in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the United States. The Saltdogs are in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Since the 2001 se ...

of the American Association, resigning his position in mid-July. Since then, LaCock has journeyed as a hitting coach with the

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

of the

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the Western United States, Western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the org ...

in 2009, the North American League

Schaumburg Flyers The Schaumburg Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Schaumburg, Illinois, in the United States. The team played in the Northern League from 1999 to 2010, with their home games at Alexian Field, near the Elgin O'Hare Expressway. T ...

in 2010, and the

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Costner, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primeti ...

owned Lake County Fielders (also of the North American League) in 2011. In 2012, LaCock served as head coach of the Cronulla Sharks baseball club, in the New South Wales major league competition in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia. In 2012, he managed the Prescott Montezuma Federals of the Freedom Pro Baseball League.

Personal life

LaCock is the son of ''

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'', later stylized as ''H2: Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show originally aired as a ...

'' host Peter Marshall, as well as the nephew of actress

Joanne Dru Joanne Dru (born Joan Letitia LaCock;Known as Joan Lacock in th1930 United States census/ref> January 31, 1922 – September 10, 1996) was an American film and television actress, known for such films as '' Red River'', '' She Wore a Yellow Ribb ...

. Since his retirement from baseball, LaCock has competed in several

marathons The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

and

triathlons A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...

, many of which raise funds for the

Leukemia Society of America The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 1949, is a voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer world-wide. LLS funds blood cancer research on cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin ...

References

External links

LaCock will give players another view on hitting
Arizona Daily Star {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacock, Pete 1952 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Caldwell Cubs players Chicago Cubs players Daytona Beach Explorers players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Midland Cubs players Minor league baseball managers Quincy Cubs players San Antonio Missions players Baseball players from Burbank, California St. Petersburg Pelicans players Sun City Rays players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Wichita Aeros players Winter Haven Super Sox players Yokohama Taiyō Whales players American Association (1902–1997) MVP Award winners