Robert Patrick Andrews (born December 11, 1952) is an American former 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 ...

player. He 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 ...

as a

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

from 1975 until 1979 for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. He is the younger brother of

Mike Andrews Michael Jay Andrews (born July 9, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. After his playing career, he served ...

.Durso, Joseph. "Big Deals: McGraw to Phils, Allen to Braves, Lee May to Orioles," ''The New York Times'', Wednesday, December 4, 1974.
Retrieved July 30, 2017 After spending one year at El Camino Junior College, where he did not play any sports, Andrews was drafted by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

in the 1970 amateur draft, but would never play for the team. He was traded along with

Enos Cabell Enos Milton Cabell (pronounced ), (born October 8, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman and third baseman from 1972 to 1986, most prominently as a member of the Hous ...

from the Orioles to the

Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

for

Lee May Lee Andrew May (March 23, 1943 – July 29, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman and designated hitter from to for the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Bal ...

and

Jay Schlueter Jay D. Schlueter (July 31, 1949 – May 13, 2010) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder during the season for the Houston Astros. Listed at , 182 lb., he batted and threw right-han ...

at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 3, 1974. Even though he batted over .300 in each of the previous two seasons in the minors, Andrews was expendable because

Bobby Grich Robert Anthony Grich (born January 15, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles (–) and the California Angels (–). In 1981, Grich led the ...

was well established as the Orioles' starting second baseman. Andrews made his major league debut on April 7, 1975, recording two hits in a 6-2 Astros' win over 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 ...

. That season, he had the distinction of recording at least one

base hit In baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H), also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches or passes first base after hitting the ball into fair territory with neither the benefit of an error nor a fielder's c ...

in each of his first five major league games. Andrews hit his first major league home run in the ninth inning of a nationally televised game on Monday night, July 17, 1978, off Buddy Schultz of the

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 ...

. The home run turned out to be the difference in a 9-7 Giants win. After two seasons in Houston, he was dealt along with cash from the

to the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

for

Willie Crawford Willie Murphy Crawford (September 7, 1946 – August 27, 2004) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in the major leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1964–1975), St. Louis Cardinals (1976), Houston Astros (1977) and Oak ...

and Rob Sperring during

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

on March 26, 1977."Pro Transactions," ''The New York Times'', Sunday, March 27, 1977.
Retrieved February 14, 2023. He was released by the Giants after the 1979 season, making his final major league appearance in a

pinch hit 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, Am ...

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

on September 26, 1979, against

Lerrin LaGrow Lerrin Harris LaGrow (born July 8, 1948) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (), (–), St. Louis Cardinals (), Chicago White Sox (–), Los Angeles Do ...

of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
1952 births Living people Asheville Orioles players Baseball players from Santa Monica, California El Camino College alumni Houston Astros players Lodi Orions players Major League Baseball second basemen Memphis Blues players Navegantes del Magallanes players Rochester Red Wings players San Francisco Giants players Stockton Ports players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela South High School (Torrance, California) alumni {{US-baseball-second-baseman-stub