Stephen Demeter (January 27, 1935 – February 3, 2013) was an American 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,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

, coach and

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. 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 ...

for parts of two seasons, appearing in 15 games as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

and

pinch hitter 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, A ...

in and . Demeter was born in Homer City, Pennsylvania; he threw and batted right-handed and was listed as tall and .

Career

Demeter graduated from Homer City High School and signed with 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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in . During his seventh season in the Tiger

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

, he was recalled in July 1959 and appeared in 11

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

over the remainder of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

schedule, starting two games at third base. He collected two

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, including a

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

, in 18 plate appearances and

at bats 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, b ...

. Then, prior to the 1960 season, on April 12, he was traded to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

for

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Norm Cash in what turned out to be one of the most lop-sided trades in

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 ...

history. Demeter played only four games and went hitless in five at bats for the Indians before being returned to the minor leagues, from which he never returned. Cash won the 1961 AL batting championship (.361), became one of the top sluggers of the 1960s (hitting 377 career home runs), appeared in 2,018 games in a Tiger uniform and made four

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teams. Demeter played 19 seasons of

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

(1953–1970, 1972). He was a fixture of the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

teams of the mid- to late 1960s, hitting 272 minor league home runs over his long career. He was inducted into both the Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame, in 1990, and the International League Hall of Fame, in 2009. He also had a long tenure as a coach and manager. He served one year (in ) as a coach with the MLB

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

, working at first base through June 13, and then as bench coach. He also managed for nine seasons in the Pirates'

, at the helm of the Sherbrooke Pirates (1972), Salem Pirates (1973, 1976–1977), Charleston Charlies (1974–1975), Shreveport Captains (1978), and

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

(1979–1980) and was a roving instructor and scout for the Bucs.

Personal life

Steve Demeter died in

Parma, Ohio Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb south of Cleveland. The population was 81,146 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Parma is the List of municipalities in Ohio, seventh-most populous city in Ohio, ...

, at age 78 on February 3, 2013. A grandson,

Derek Dietrich Derek Richard Dietrich (born July 18, 1989) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, and Texas Rangers. Prior to playing professi ...

, played 746 games in the majors from to as a member of the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

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 ...

and Texas Rangers, as a versatile infielder-

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

.Star News Online
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demeter, Steve 1935 births 2013 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Augusta Tigers players 20th-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Indiana County, Pennsylvania Birmingham Barons players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) managers Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charleston Senators players Cleveland Indians players Denver Bears players Detroit Tigers players Durham Bulls players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball third basemen Minor league baseball managers People from Homer City, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Rochester Red Wings players San Diego Padres scouts Sherbrooke Pirates players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Wausau Timberjacks players