Vincent Norman Colbert (born December 20, 1945) is an American former

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 ...

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, ...

who appeared in 95 total

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 ...

, 74 as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

, for 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 ...

from 1970 to 1972. Born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, he threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as tall and . Colbert is a member of the Class of 1968 at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

, where he was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

to receive an athletic scholarship and starred in both

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 ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

.East Carolina University Athletics Hall of Fame
/ref> He was selected by Cleveland in the 11th round of the

1968 Major League Baseball Draft The 1968 Major League Baseball draft took place prior to the 1968 MLB season. The draft saw the New York Mets take shortstop Tim Foli first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1968 Major League Base ...

, and in his first pro campaign posted a 10–2 won–lost record and 1.95

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 ...

, with 99

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 in 97

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 ...

, in the Class A

Western Carolinas League The Western Carolinas League was a Class D level (1948–52; 1960–62) and a low Class A level (1963–79) full-season league in American minor league baseball. The Western Carolinas League changed its name prior to the 1980 season and has been ...

. He made 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 ...

debut with the Indians in the middle of his third pro season in May 1970, getting into 23 games as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

, all of them in relief. Colbert's only full major-league season came in 1971. Pitching for a last-place Indians team that lost 102 games, he posted a 7–6 record with two saves and a 3.97 ERA in 50 appearances. He was one of only three Cleveland pitchers to have a winning record that season. However, 1972 saw Colbert's performance fall to a 1–7 (4.58) record in 22 appearances. His lone victory, in a starting assignment June 15 against the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

Anaheim Stadium Angel Stadium is a ballpark in Anaheim, California, United States. Since its opening in 1966, it has been the home venue of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), who relocated from Los Angeles to Anaheim following the 1965 seas ...

, was a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

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 ...

, a five-

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, 1–0 triumph.

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br>box score (15 June 1972): "Cleveland Indians 1, California Angels 0"
/ref> It was Colbert's last big-league win and only shutout. He spent part of the season at Triple-A

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, where also struggled. He was traded to the Texas Rangers in November and then reacquired by the Indians in March 1973. But he never again appeared in the major leagues. For his career, Colbert won nine games, lost 14, and posted four saves and three career complete games, with an earned run average of 4.57. In 248⅓ innings pitched, he allowed 251 hits and 125

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

, and struck out 127. He retired from pro ball in 1974 and was elected to the East Carolina University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.

References

External links

1945 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Washington, D.C. Broncos de Reynosa players Cleveland Indians players East Carolina Pirates baseball players East Carolina University alumni Florida Instructional League Indians players Leones de Yucatán players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Oklahoma City 89ers players Sportspeople from Spokane County, Washington Portland Beavers players Reno Silver Sox players Rock Hill Indians players San Antonio Brewers players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Waterbury Indians players Wichita Aeros players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1940s-stub