Moe Thacker

Moe Thacker
Moe Thacker
	Catcher
	Born: May 21, 1934; Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
	Died: November 13, 1997 (aged 63); Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
	Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
	August 3, 1958, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
	July 14, 1963, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
Batting average	.177
Home runs	2
Runs batted in	20
Teams
	Chicago Cubs (1958, 1960–1962); St. Louis Cardinals (1963);

Morris Benton Thacker (May 21, 1934 – November 13, 1997) was an

right-handed, stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 205 pounds (93 kg).^[1]

Baseball career

Thacker was born in

at bats

.

Thacker returned to the

left-handed-hitting Sammy Taylor. But Thacker slipped to third string in 1961 and 1962 behind starter Dick Bertell and primary backups Taylor and Cuno Barragan. Only in 1962 did he spend the entire year on the Cubs' National League roster, appearing in a career-high 65 games, 35 as a starting catcher. But he batted

only .187.

At the end of the season, October 17, he was included in a trade with the Cardinals, packaged with outfielder George Altman and pitcher Don Cardwell in a deal for pitchers Larry Jackson and Lindy McDaniel and catcher Jimmie Schaffer.^[4]

Sent to

Baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax—and catching another Hall-bound pitcher, Bob Gibson—Thacker struck out in his only two plate appearances. Koufax shut out the Cardinals on three hits, 5–0.^[5]

Thacker returned to minors for the balance of his career, retiring in 1964.

In his 158 big-league games, Thacker had 46 total hits, with seven

runs batted in

, batting .177. He died in his home city of Louisville at the age of 63.