Del Wilber

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Del Wilber
Catcher
Born: (1919-02-24)February 24, 1919
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died: July 18, 2002(2002-07-18) (aged 83)
St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 24, 1946, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
August 19, 1954, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
Batting average.242
Home runs19
Runs batted in115
Teams
As player
As manager

Delbert Quentin Wilber (February 24, 1919 – July 18, 2002) was an American

right-handed
. He stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg).

Catcher with three MLB clubs

Wilber signed with the

United States Army Air Force, where he attained the rank of captain. In 1946, he resumed his baseball career and made his Major League debut, appearing in four games before being sent to the Triple-A Columbus Red Birds. He did not appear in the 1946 World Series
.

Wilber played in 51 games for the

New York Giants for infielder Billy Klaus that December, but the Giants granted Wilber his release to enable him to join the coaching staff of the Chicago White Sox for the 1955
season.

On August 27, 1951, Wilber hit three

runs batted in, making him one of the few big leaguers to have more RBIs than hits in a season.[2][3]

In all or parts of eight MLB seasons, Wilber compiled 720

sacrifice hits
.

According to

line score of the contest, as well as game highlights, on the ball, then present it to his pitcher.[4]

Manager, scout and coach

Wilber managed in

Denver Bears and Spokane Indians. He skippered affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles, both the original and expansion editions of the Washington Senators, and the Senators' current incarnations as the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers
.

His one-game stint as skipper of the 1973 Texas Rangers—as interim pilot between Whitey Herzog and Billy Martin on September 7, he won his only game as manager,[5] 10–8 against the future world champion Oakland Athletics—occurred after Wilber led the Rangers' Spokane affiliate to the 1973 championship of the Pacific Coast League, one of three league titles in his minor-league resume. Wilber was a coach for the 1955–56 White Sox and the 1970 Senators, serving under former teammates Marty Marion and Ted Williams. He also scouted for the Orioles, Twins, Athletics, Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers. He died in St. Petersburg, Florida at the age of 83.

Wilber's son, Rick, is a writer, editor, and teacher. His two other sons, Del Wilber Jr. (Philadelphia Phillies) and Bob Wilber (Detroit Tigers and Oakland A's) both played professional minor league baseball and Bob Wilber followed in his father's footsteps as a scout (Toronto Blue Jays) after his playing days. His grandson Del Quentin Wilber is a journalist.

References

  1. ^ Wilber, p.8
  2. ^ "Del Wilber Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  3. ^ Wilber, p.58
  4. ^ Spink, J.G. Taylor, publisher, The Official 1956 Baseball Register. St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1956.
  5. ^ Retrosheet box score: 1973-09-07

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Houston Buffaloes manager
1949
1959
Succeeded by
Preceded by Louisville Colonels manager
1958
Succeeded by
Preceded by Charleston Senators manager
1960
Succeeded by
Franchise disbanded
Preceded by
Denver Bears manager

1971–1972
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Franchise re-established
Spokane Indians manager
1973–1975
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Tacoma Twins manager

1977
Succeeded by