Scipio Ronald Spinks (born July 12, 1947) is an American former right handed

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 from 1969 through 1973 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

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 ...

Life and sports

Born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, Spinks was a promising prospect until injuries prematurely ended his career. Spinks graduated from Harlan High School in Chicago and was drafted by the Astros organization in 1966. That August, he set a record in the Northern League by striking out 20 batters in a game.Costello, Rory
"Scipio Spinks"
''sabr.org''. Retrieved 2010-11-2. In 1968, he went 9–6 with a 2.27

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 ...

in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. He was shuttled between Class AAA and the major league club for the next few seasons. The hard-throwing Spinks had control problems but also struck out an average of one batter per inning in the American Association. Spinks was traded along with Lance Clemons from the Astros to the Cardinals for Jerry Reuss on April 15, 1972."Cardinals Trade Reuss To Astros for 2 Pitchers," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Saturday, April 15, 1972.
Retrieved December 24, 2021 He started the season with the major league club and pitched well. By midseason, he was third in the

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 ...

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, behind only

Steve Carlton Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the Philadelph ...

and

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cin ...

. Spinks finished with a 2.67 ERA.Neyer, Rob. ''Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders'' (2006), pp. 170-171. Spinks was exceptionally fast for a pitcher, and for that reason the Cardinals frequently used him as a

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

. Spinks' career was drastically altered on July 4, 1972. While scoring from first on a double, he ran into

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

catcher

Johnny Bench Johnny Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from to , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of the ...

in a collision at

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

. While Spinks scored, he tore ligaments in his right knee during the collision, and missed the rest of the season. In 1973, he pitched just eight games before coming down with a shoulder injury. Just before spring training 1974, Spinks was traded to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

for Jim Hickman. He spent the next three years in the Cubs,

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and Astros organizations, but never recovered and finally retired in 1976. Meanwhile, Reuss would go on to pitch for another 18 years.

Post MLB career

After his playing career ended, Spinks became a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

and a

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

in the

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

and Houston Astros organizations. He currently lives in the

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

area with his wife and as of 2016 is a pro scout for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

' organization. He is currently the head coach for the University of Houston-Downtown Gators baseball organization.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
SABR BioProject
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spinks, Scipio 1947 births Living people African-American baseball players Amarillo Sonics players Arizona Diamondbacks scouts Baseball players from Chicago Bismarck-Mandan Pards players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Cocoa Astros players Florida Instructional League Astros players Florida Instructional League Astros/Senators players Greensboro Patriots players Houston Astros players Houston Astros scouts Iowa Oaks players Major League Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City 89ers players St. Louis Cardinals players San Diego Padres scouts West Haven Yankees players Wichita Aeros players Winter Haven Super Sox players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen