Ed Ott
Ed Ott | ||
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Runs batted in | 195 | |
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Nathan Edward Ott (July 11, 1951 – March 3, 2024), nicknamed "Otter", was an American professional baseball player,
Early life
Ott was born on July 11, 1951,
Professional career
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Ott in the 23rd round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft.[4] He was a left-handed batter and threw right-handed.[1]
Ott began his
The Pirates asked Ott to become a catcher during the 1974 season, and while he initially opposed the move, he eventually agreed as it presented him with the easiest path to return to the major leagues.[2] Ott spent the 1975 season as a full-time catcher learning the trade in the minor leagues before being recalled to the major leagues on September 16, 1975, at Wrigley Field in Chicago against the Chicago Cubs in a late-season September call-up.[7]
Ott made the Pirates major league roster as third-string catcher in 1976, backing up Manny Sanguillén and Duffy Dyer.[8] The Pirates traded Sanguillen to the Oakland Athletics before the 1977 season, and new Pirates manager Chuck Tanner installed Ott into a platoon role alongside Dyer.[2] He played in 104 games that year while hitting for a .264 batting average.[9]
Known as a tough, no-nonsense player, Ott was a former Muncy High School star wrestler who was not afraid to use those skills on a baseball diamond. In an August 12,
Ott appeared in 112 games for the Pirates in 1978 as, the team battled from being 11.5 games behind on August 25 to finish the season 1.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies.[11] He won the National League Player of the Week Award for the week of September 3 and, his batting average improved to .269.[12]
Ott platooned with catcher
With young catcher
Career statistics
In an eight-year major league career, Ott played in 567
Coaching career
Ott later became a coach with the Houston Astros, serving under manager and former Pirates teammate Art Howe, from 1989 to 1993, where he is remembered for his role in an on-field altercation against the Cincinnati Reds. In 1991, Reds reliever Rob Dibble ignited a brawl when he threw a pitch behind the back of the Astros' Eric Yelding, late in the game of a 4–1 Reds loss. A melee ensued and the 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), 230 lb (100 kg), Dibble wound up on the bottom of a pile with the relatively diminutive Ott having put Dibble in such a chokehold that Dibble's face turned blue.[19][20] Ott later served as a bullpen coach for the Detroit Tigers (2001–2002).[21]
In February 1997, Ott became the first manager of the
Later life and death
Ott and his wife, Sue, had a daughter. He died suddenly in Danville, Pennsylvania, on March 3, 2024, at the age of 72.[27][28]
References
- ^ a b c d "Ed Ott Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ed Ott at the SABR Baseball Biography Project , by Bob Hurte, Retrieved May 21, 2020.
- ^ Hughesville Travelers Celebrate Centennial Anniversary, beBee, Christian Menges, June 24, 2017, Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- ^ Ed Ott, Baseball-Reference.com, Sports Reference LLC. 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- ^ "Ed Ott Minor League Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
- ^ "1974 Pittsburgh Pirates season". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ Ed Ott 1975 Season Statistics, Baseball-Reference.com, Sports Reference LLC. 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- ^ "1975 Pittsburgh Pirates season". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ Ed Ott, 1977 Player Stats, Baseball Reference. 2020 Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 19, 2020
- ^ "ESPN.com: Page 2 : Cards are chock full of memories". www.espn.com.
- ^ "1978 Pittsburgh Pirates season and scores". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ ED Ott, MLB Awards & Leaders, 1978 Player of the Week, Baseball-Reference.com, Sports Reference LLC 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ 1979 MLB Defensive Leaders, Baseball-Reference.com, Sports Reference LLC 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- ^ "1979 NLCS – Pittsburgh Pirates over Cincinnati Reds (3–0)". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "1979 World Series – Pittsburgh Pirates over Baltimore Orioles (4–3)". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ Why Game 5 of 1979 World Series Still Means So Much to Pittsburgh, The Sporting News, Mike DeCourcy, October 14, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Ed Ott, Postseason Statistics, Baseball-Reference.com, Sports Reference LLC 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ "Ed Ott Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com.
- ^ Communications, Emmis (October 4, 1992). "Cincinnati Magazine". Emmis Communications – via Google Books.
- ^ Newhan, Ross (June 28, 1992). "BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : When Tests Lapse, Howe Does". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Guise, Michael (March 4, 2024). "Ed Ott, who won a World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, dies at 72 - CBS Pittsburgh". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
- ^ Report, Morning Call | Staff (February 18, 1997). "ED OTT BECOMES THE 'FIRST' MANAGER OF AMBASSADORS * FORMER MAJOR LEAGUER DIDN'T KNOW ALLENTOWN HAD A TEAM UNTIL A FEW WEEKS AGO".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "1997 Northeast League". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Ed Ott Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
- ^ Starkey, Joe (August 16, 2009). "The 1979 Pirates: Where are they now?". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Tribune-Review Publishing Company. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
- ^ "New Jersey Jackals Press Release February 9, 2011".
- ^ Gorman, Kevin (March 3, 2024). "Catcher Ed Ott, a leader of the Pirates' 1979 World Series champions, dies at age 72". TribLIVE.com.
- ^ "Ed Ott, World Series-winning catcher for Pirates, dies at 72". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 3, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Ed Ott at SABR (Baseball BioProject)