Ronald Ralph Moeller (October 13, 1938 – November 2, 2009) was a

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, ...

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 ...

who played between and for 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 ...

(1956, 1958),

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

(1961 and 1963) and Washington Senators (1963). Listed at tall and , Moeller batted and threw left-handed. He was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. At start of his

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 ...

career, Moeller was nicknamed ''The Kid'' by the Orioles players both for his boyish looks and making his big-league debut at age seventeen. He pitched in part of two seasons for Baltimore before his selection by the Los Angeles Angels in the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

following the season. His most productive campaign came in with the Angels, when he posted career-best numbers in wins (4),

strikeouts 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 ...

(83) and

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 ...

(), including a 3–0 six-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

with nine strikeouts against his former Orioles team on June

In 1963, his last major league season, Moeller went 2–0 in three starting pitcher, starts for the Washington Senators. In a four-season career, Moeller posted a 6–9 record with a 5.78

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

in 52 appearances, including 22 starts, 104 strikeouts, and 100 walks in innings of work. He also pitched 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 ...

from 1956 through 1963, compiling a 37–38 record with a 3,30 ERA in 118 games, 94 as a starter. Moeller died in his native Cincinnati at the age of 71.

External links

Baseball ReferenceBR – Minor leagues
1938 births 2009 deaths Amarillo Gold Sox players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Cincinnati Elder High School alumni Hawaii Islanders players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins (International League) players San Antonio Missions players Vancouver Mounties players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1930s-stub