Rick Lamar Camp (June 10, 1953 – April 25, 2013) was an American professional baseball

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 played in

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 ...

(MLB) for a total of nine seasons with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

between 1976 and 1985."Rick Camp, 59, Pitcher gained fame for hitting his only home run in '85 game" (April 28, 2013) ''The Washington Post.'' Page C

/ref>

Biography

Camp was born in

Trion, Georgia Trion is a town in Chattooga County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,960 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, down from 1,827 at the 2010 census. Trion is the second-largest incorporated community in Chattooga County, whic ...

. He pitched for the

for nine seasons between 1976 and 1985. He was best known for hitting a game-tying 18th-inning home run in a game that began on July 4, 1985, and ended on July 5, against 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 ...

with two outs and an 0–2 count off Tom Gorman; this was the only home run of his twelve-season pro career (including nine in the majors). Representing the tying run in the 19th inning, Camp struck out to end the game and was the losing pitcher. The Braves had run out of position players and had no choice but to let Camp bat in the 18th and 19th innings, even though his career batting average was .074. The game started on July 4 at 7:05 pm, but due to extra innings and three long rain delays, it did not end until 3:55 am on July 5, the second latest any major league game has ever ended (after the last out, the night still wasn't over for people in Atlanta, as the Braves gave their fans a promised fireworks show at 4:00am, which drew a number of complaints from neighborhood residents). It was the only home run he ever hit in the majors and it occurred in his final season as a pitcher. In September 2005, Camp was sentenced, along with four other people, including former Georgia State Representative Robin L. Williams, to a term in federal prison for conspiring to steal more than $2 million from the Community Mental Health Center in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

. Camp received a three-year sentence, while Williams got ten years. Camp died on April 25, 2013, at his home at the age of 59.

References

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camp, Rick 1953 births 2013 deaths Atlanta Braves players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) American sportspeople convicted of crimes Kingsport Braves players Savannah Braves players Richmond Braves players West Georgia Wolves baseball players People from Chattooga County, Georgia Sportspeople from Bartow County, Georgia 20th-century American sportsmen