Randall Pennington Gumpert (January 23, 1918 – November 25, 2008) 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 ...

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, ...

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and

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. A right-hander, he appeared in 261

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over ten seasons in

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as a member of the

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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 ...

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and Washington Senators (1936–1938; 1946−1952). The native of Monocacy Station, Pennsylvania, was listed as tall and .

Pitching career

His pro career began at the age of 18 after he graduated from Birdsboro High School,''Randy Gumpert,''

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...

Biography Project when he was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics' legendary manager,

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and ga ...

, in 1936. But Gumpert had been throwing

batting practice This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See #count, coun ...

for the Athletics at

Shibe Park 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 ...

as far back as 1934, while he was still in school. He spent his entire

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 ...

1936 season with Philadelphia, getting into 22 games with three

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

assignments, and threw two

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, including a two-

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

, 5–2 triumph over the Chicago White Sox on August 27. It was Gumpert's first

MLB 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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, and the two runs he surrendered were both unearned. Gumpert spent most of 1937 and 1938 in 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 ...

, getting into only 14 games for the Athletics. In July 1939, still in the minors, he was acquired by the New York Yankees' organization. Gumpert didn't return to the majors until April 1946. He toiled in the Yankees'

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

through 1942, then performed

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service as a member of the

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(1943–1945). In 1946, he was able to make the Yankees' major league roster. He performed well in his first season with the Bombers, earning an 11–3 won–lost record with a sparkling

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 2.31 in 33 games, including 12 starts, and 132

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. Hampered by a sore elbow, Gumpert appeared in fewer innings the following season and his ERA ballooned to 5.43, but still compiled a 4–1 record, as the Yankees won the

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 ...

pennant. They went on to defeat the

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in the

1947 World Series The 1947 World Series matched the 1947 New York Yankees season, New York Yankees against the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers season, Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees won the Series in seven games for their 11th World Series championship in team history. Yan ...

, but Gumpert did not appear in the Fall Classic. He was exclusively a

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 ...

for the Yankees in the early months of 1948, posting a 2.88 ERA in 15 games and 25 innings pitched, but his contract was sold to the second-division White Sox on July 25. He finished the 1948 season in Chicago's starting rotation, and held his spot in the Pale Hose rotation in 1949 as well. In many ways, 1949 was a notable season for Gumpert. Even though he posted a losing, 13–16 record for a team that went only 63–91, he set personal bests in victories, innings pitched (234), complete games (18), and shutouts (three). His elbow miseries persisted, however, and Gumpert led all American League hurlers in most home runs allowed (22). The 1950 season saw Gumpert split time between the rotation and the bullpen, and his performance fell off: he won only five games and his ERA climbed to 4.75. He rebounded in 1951; he won nine of 17 decisions for the ChiSox and a fast start earned him a spot on the 1951 American League All-Star team. However, he didn't appear in the midsummer classic, played July 10 at

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and an 8–3 romp for the rival

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. On May 1, 1951, Gumpert became part of baseball history when he allowed

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

's first

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 ( ...

, during a relief appearance at

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. His value improved by his All-Star selection, Gumpert was traded that offseason, on November 13, 1951, along with

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 ...

Don Lenhardt Donald Eugene Lenhardt (October 4, 1922 – July 9, 2014) was an American outfielder, first baseman, third baseman, scout and coach in American Major League Baseball. In his playing days, he stood tall, weighed , and threw and batted right-hand ...

to the Boston Red Sox for

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

Mel Hoderlein and pitcher Chuck Stobbs. After getting into ten games for the 1952 Red Sox, with one start, he was traded again on June 10, this time to the Washington Senators with fellow hurler Walt Masterson for Sid Hudson, another right-hander. He finished the 1952 campaign with Washington, working in 20 games, with 12 starting assignments. His final MLB appearance came September 23, 1952, a scoreless, two-inning relief stint against the Athletics at Shibe Park.

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br>box score (1952-09-23): Philadelphia Athletics 4, Washington Senators 3
/ref> Over his ten-season career, which spanned 17 years, Gumpert won 51 games, lost 59, and compiled a 4.17 earned run average. Of his 261 games pitched, 113 were starts and 148 came out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

, and he was credited with 47 complete games, six shutouts and seven saves. He allowed 1,099 hits and 346

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 ...

, with 352

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, in 1,052 innings pitched. Gumpert then played three more seasons, 1953–1955, at the highest levels of minor league baseball before hanging up his glove.

Manager, coach and scout

Gumpert remained in baseball for another 39 years, managing in the Yankees' farm system (1956–1958 and 1960) and working as a minor league pitching instructor. He served as a temporary member of the Bombers' 1957 coaching staff, when, in April,

Bill Dickey William Malcolm Dickey (June 6, 1907 – November 12, 1993) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees for 17 seasons. Dickey managed the Yankees as a player-manager i ...

stepped down due to ill health; Gumpert eventually ceded his coaching post to

Charlie Keller Charles Ernest Keller (September 12, 1916 – May 23, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a left fielder in Major League Baseball from 1939 through 1952 for the New York Yankees (1939–1943, 1945–1949, 1952) and De ...

. He turned to scouting for the Yankees in 1959 (signing

Doc Medich George Francis "Doc" Medich (born December 9, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1972 to 1982. He was a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and acquired ...

among others), and later worked for the

Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau The Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau is a centralized scouting resource that operates under the auspices of the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. Headquartered in Ontario, California, the MLBSB's efforts supplement the independent, propr ...

for two decades. He died in

Wyomissing, Pennsylvania Wyomissing is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to Reading. The borough was incorporated on July 2, 1906. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,114, compared to 10,461 at the 2010 census. The growth was s ...

, in November 2008, at age 90.

References

External links

Randy Gumpert at Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gumpert, Randy 1918 births 2008 deaths Baltimore Orioles (International League) players Binghamton Triplets players Boston Red Sox players Charleston Senators players Chicago White Sox players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Little Rock Travelers players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers Newark Bears (International League) players New York Yankees coaches New York Yankees players New York Yankees scouts Norfolk Tars players Baseball players from Berks County, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Athletics players 20th-century American sportsmen Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Williamsport Grays players United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II