Richard Devin Peters (born November 21, 1955) is a former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

player. He played professional baseball, principally as an outfielder, including five seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1979–1981) and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

(1983, 1986). In five major league seasons, he compiled a .277

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 i ...

and .356

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

. Peters was also a member of the

1977 Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team The 1977 Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team represented Arizona State University in the 1977 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Sun Devils played their home games at Packard Stadium. The team was coached by Jim Brock in his 6th season at ...

that won the

1977 College World Series The 1977 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1977 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, ...

and the 1979

Evansville Triplets The Evansville Triplets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A American Association (AA) from 1970 to 1984. They were located in Evansville, Indiana, and played their home games at Bosse Field. The Triplets served as a farm club for ...

team that won the American Association championship.

Early years

Peters was born in 1955 in

Lynwood, California Lynwood is a city in Los Angeles County, California. At the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 69,772, down from 69,845 at the 2000 census. Lynwood is located near South Gate and Compton in the central portion of the Los Angeles ...

. He attended

Dominguez High School Manuel Dominguez High School is a four-year public high school located in Compton, California. It is part of the Compton Unified School District. Name Dominguez High School is named after Don Manuel Domínguez, a California rancher. Domínguez i ...

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporate ...

, and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

. At Arizona State, he played at the designated hitter position in 1975, as a second baseman in 1976, and the center fielder in 1977. As a senior co-captain, he led the

with a .426 batting average, and helped the team to a national championship by defeating South Carolina in the

Professional baseball

Detroit Tigers

Peters was selected by the

in the 1977 amateur draft. He played in the Tigers' farm system for the

Montgomery Rebels The Montgomery Rebels was the name of several American minor league baseball franchises representing Montgomery, Alabama, playing in various leagues between and . ''Rebels'' was the predominant nickname of the Montgomery teams, but it was not the ...

in 1977 and for the

in 1978 and 1979. During the 1979 season, he compiled a .320

, .436

, 17 doubles, 10 triples, and 30 stolen bases in 387 at bats. He helped lead the 1979 Evansville team, managed by

Jim Leyland James Richard Leyland (born December 15, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He serves as a special assistant to the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Leyland led the Florida Marlins to the ...

, to the American Association championship. Other future major leaguers on the 1979 Evansville team included

Kirk Gibson Kirk Harold Gibson (born May 28, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He is currently a color commentator for the Detroit Tigers on Bally Sports Detroit and a special assistant for the Tigers. As a player, Gibso ...

Jack Morris John Scott Morris (born May 16, 1955) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers. Morris won 254 games throughout his career. Armed ...

Dan Petry Daniel Joseph Petry ( ; born November 13, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers (1979–87 and 1990–91), California Angels (1988–89), Atlanta Braves (1991) and Boston Red Sox (1991). He currently ...

, and

Tom Brookens Thomas Dale Brookens (born August 10, 1953) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians of the Major League Baseball (MLB). Brookens was on the Tigers coachi ...

. Peters was called up to the Tigers (along with Kirk Gibson) in early September 1979. He made his major league debut on September 8, 1979, and appeared in 12 games in the final month of the season. He started three games at third base and three games as the team's designated hitter and also appeared in two games at second base. He impressed manager

Sparky Anderson George Lee "Sparky" Anderson (February 22, 1934 – November 4, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third ...

both with his poised batting style and his range in the field. In 1980, he took over as the Tigers' starting center fielder when

was injured in mid-June. He appeared in 133 games for the 1980 Tigers, 92 as the starting center fielder and compiled a .291 batting average and .369

with 19 doubles (19), seven triples, and 13 stolen bases. After the season, Peters was honored as Tigers Rookie of the Year. Peters returned to the Tigers in 1981 though his playing time was limited to 63 games and only 32 games as the team's starting center fielder. He compiled a .256 batting average. In the spring of 1982, Peters underwent surgery to repair a nerve in his right arm that had slipped out of its normal channel through the elbow. He was released by the Tigers after missing the entire 1982 season.

Oakland As

In 1983, Peters signed with the

Oakland As The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. He appeared in 55 games for the 1983 As, including 42 games as a starter in the outfield. He compiled a .287 batting average and had four stolen bases against nine times in which he was caught stealing. Peters spent part of the 1983 season and all of the 1984 season with the Tacoma Tigers in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...

. He had a final stint in the majors during the 1985 season, appearing in 44 games with the Oakland As, principally as a pinch hitter. He compiled a .184 average with the 1984 As and appeared in his final major league game on June 29, 1986. He continued to play for Tacoma in 1985 and 1986. In five major league seasons, Peters appeared in 307 games and compiled a .277 batting average (.356 on-base percentage) with two home runs, 34 doubles, 10 triples, 80 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases.

Later years

After retiring as a player, Peters worked briefly as a roving instructor for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. He also served as the manager of the

Auburn Astros Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn * Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia * Auburn, Tasmania *A ...

in 1990, leading the team to a 31-46 record. As of 1995, he was living in

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as s ...

, and working for the city's parks and recreation department.

References

External links

Rick Peters
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Rick 1955 births Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Detroit Tigers players Evansville Triplets players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Montgomery Rebels players Oakland Athletics players Sportspeople from Lynwood, California Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California Manuel Dominguez High School alumni Sun City Rays players Tacoma Tigers players