Rich Hand
Rich Hand | |
---|---|
Pitcher | |
Born: Bellevue, Washington, U.S. | July 10, 1948|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 9, 1970, for the Cleveland Indians | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 26, 1973, for the California Angels | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 24–39 |
Earned run average | 4.01 |
Strikeouts | 278 |
Teams | |
|
Richard Allen Hand (born July 10, 1948) is an American former
Born in
Traded to the Rangers for the 1972 season, Hand began the season in the minor leagues but was promoted to the major-league team after only two starts. He posted a career-best 3.32 ERA but had only a 10–14 record, partly due to poor run support. He was traded to the Angels midway through the 1973 season, pitching mainly out of the bullpen after coming to California. Following one last professional season in 1974, Hand retired, his pitching arm sore from injuries sustained over the years. Remaining in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Hand worked in business, real estate, and construction.
Early life and college
Born in
Hand received a scholarship to play baseball and basketball at the
Career
First professional season (1969)
Upon drafting Hand in 1969, the Indians assigned him to the
Cleveland Indians (1970–1971)
1970
In 1970, the Indians invited Hand to
Dark feared that he may have overused Hand during his rookie season. On June 16, Hand had allowed one run in eight innings against the Angels. The manager was planning to replace him after the eighth, but Hand responded, "Aw, c'mon, Skip. Let me finish. I gotta finish a game." Up to that point, he had not thrown a complete game. "And like an idiot I said okay", Dark wrote in his autobiography. "He wound up throwing about 150 pitches that day. The next time he was due to pitch he came to me complaining of a sore elbow... Rich Hand wasn't the same after that."[8][9]
Still, there were highlights for Hand in the latter part of the year. He threw his first
1971
Sent to Wichita to pitch more regularly, Hand had more success.[2] On August 19, he no-hit the Tulsa Oilers. Said Hall of Famer and Tulsa manager Warren Spahn, "He pitched a good game, and it looks to me as if he's a little too good for this classification."[15] In 11 starts, Hand had an 8–2 record, a 1.88 ERA, 50 strikeouts, 40 walks, and 66 hits allowed in 86 innings pitched.[4] He expressed annoyance at having to wait until the end of Wichita's season to be recalled by Cleveland, however, saying, "They just left me there to rot."[16] He won his first start back with the Indians but lost two others, posting an 8.10 ERA in the season's final month.[14] "I had thrown so much that I was really physically depleted. I didn't do too well, and that made me mad," Hand said afterwards.[16] In 15 games (12 starts) for the Indians, he had a 2–6 record, a 5.79 ERA, 26 strikeouts, 38 walks, and 74 hits allowed in 60+2⁄3 innings.[1]
Texas Rangers (1972–1973)
At the Winter Meetings on December 2, 1971, Hand was traded with Roy Foster, Ken Suarez, and Mike Paul from the Indians to the Texas Rangers for Del Unser, Denny Riddleberger, Terry Ley, and Gary Jones.[17] Merle Hereyford reported that Unser and Hand were the "keys" to the transaction.[18]
The Rangers sent Hand to the Triple-A
In 8 games (7 starts) for the Rangers in 1973, Hand had a 2–3 record, a 5.40 ERA, 14 strikeouts, 19 walks, and 49 hits allowed in 41+2⁄3 innings. On May 20, he was dealt along with Mike Epstein and Rick Stelmaszek from the Rangers to the California Angels for Jim Spencer and Lloyd Allen.[26] "I couldn't have been happier where I was," said a disappointed Hand. "It's not the greatest team right now, but it's headed in the right direction. I wanted to grow with this team and I hate to leave Arlington. That's a fine place to live."[27] Hand continued to make the area his home even after his career ended.[2]
California Angels (1973)
With the Angels in 1973, Hand mostly worked out of the bullpen in long-relief situations. Arm injuries caused him to spend time on the disabled list. He returned to the starting rotation in September, however, posting a 2–1 record and a 2.77 ERA.[2] On September 26, he had allowed three runs against the Rangers but took the mound in the top of the eighth with California leading 4–3. Jeff Burroughs tied it with a home run, after which Hand was removed from the game, though California went on to win 5–4. That was Hand's final game of the year.[2][28] In 16 games (6 starts) for California, he had a 4–3 record, a 3.62 ERA, 19 strikeouts, 21 walks, and 58 hits allowed in 54+2⁄3 innings. Over 24 games (13 starts) combined between Texas and California in 1973, he had a 6–6 record, a 4.39 ERA, 33 strikeouts, 40 walks, and 107 hits allowed in 96+1⁄3 innings.[1]
Final professional season (1974)
Sent down to the
On October 15, 1974, Hand was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals as the player to be named later in a trade that sent Orlando Peña to the Angels on September 5.[1] He considered trying to make the Cardinals out of spring training in 1975 but ultimately decided to retire. "I probably exited the game too soon, but I had a lot of pain. … I still had some years left", he later recalled.[29]
Description, career statistics and pitching style
Hand was listed as 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and 195 pounds (88 kg).[1] Altogether, he appeared in 104 games (78 starts) in the majors, compiling a 24–39 record and a 4.01 ERA. In 4871⁄3 innings pitched, he allowed 452 hits and 250 walks, with 278 strikeouts. He threw three complete games and two shutouts; he registered three saves as a relief pitcher.[1]
When he first reached the major leagues, Hand's primary pitch was his fastball. His arm injury in 1971 forced him to rethink his approach. "After I had my arm trouble, I knew I couldn't overpower people. I had to work on my control, on just getting the ball over, in order to get people out. So I came up with better control than I had ever had and even after my arm came back, I still had it," he stated in an interview over the 1971–72 offseason.[16] Sportswriter Mike Shropshire observed that Hand did not throw hard, noting that he and Mike Paul "knew how to pitch but had arms like worn-out rubber bands."[30]
Personal life
Hand continued to take college classes via correspondence courses after his professional career began, and he completed his political science degree in 1970. He married his first wife, Stephanie French, in November 1969, but the couple divorced in 1972. That September, Terrie Molnar became his second wife. She was a teacher from Cleveland. Mike Paul served as Hand's best man at the wedding, and several of Hand's other former Indians teammates attended. Rich and Terrie had a son and a daughter, but they eventually divorced. Hand married his third wife, Susan Hardin, in 1987. He and Susan had four daughters, all athletes. Whitney Hand played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners. She was drafted by a team in the Women's National Basketball Association, but knee injuries prompted her to retire instead. Her husband, Landry Jones, was a quarterback for the Oklahoma football team and later for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League.[2]
Having moved to Arlington during his time with the Rangers, Hand remained in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex following his career. He worked in business and real estate. Other sources of income for Hand included construction companies which he owned and an asset-managing company he was the assistant manager of. Hand appeared at multiple team functions for the Rangers over the years and was involved with the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Rich Hand Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rossi, Ray (2019). "Rich Hand". SABR. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Schneider, Russell (April 18, 1970). "Dark Counts on Right Hand for No. 3 Hill Job". The Sporting News. p. 23.
- ^ a b c d "Rich Hand Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ "Baltimore Orioles at Cleveland Indians Box Score, April 9, 1970". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ "Rich Hand 1970 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ "Cleveland Indians at California Angels Box Score, June 7, 1970". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ISBN 0-525-23264-8.
- ^ "California Angels at Cleveland Indians Box Score, June 16, 1970". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ "Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Royals Box Score, July 16, 1970". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ "California Angels at Cleveland Indians Box Score, August 28, 1970". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ "1970 AL Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ Schneider, Russell (November 14, 1970). "Mound Award Excites and Delights Sudden Sam". The Sporting News. p. 58.
- ^ a b c "Rich Hand 1971 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ Ferguson, John (September 4, 1971). "AA's Second No-Hitter: Hand Chokes Off Tulsa". The Sporting News. p. 35.
- ^ a b c Galloway, Randy (December 25, 1971). "Young Hurler Hand Rated Rangers' Prize Catch". The Sporting News. p. 38.
- ^ Durso, Joseph (December 3, 1971). "White Sox Add Bahnsen, Ship McKinney to Yanks". The New York Times. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
- ^ Heryford, Merle (December 18, 1971). "Rangers Size Up Foster as Home-Run Threat". The Sporting News. p. 47.
- ^ a b Galloway, Randy (July 8, 1972). "Ranger Rich Gets His Men with Tight-Hand Policy". The Sporting News. p. 18.
- ^ a b "Rich Hand 1972 Pitching Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ "Baltimore Orioles at Texas Rangers Box Score, July 18, 1972". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ Heryford, Merle (September 9, 1972). "Rangers Lasso Wins with Castoff Hurlers". The Sporting News. p. 21.
- ^ "1972 AL Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
- ^ "1972 Texas Rangers Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ Wilson, Jeff (May 24, 2015). "Rangers". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "Angels Get Epstein, Hand In 5‐Man Deal With Rangers". The New York Times. May 20, 1973. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- ^ Galloway, Randy (June 9, 1973). "Epstein Knapsack Full of Kind Feelings". The Sporting News. p. 20.
- ^ "Texas Rangers at California Angels Box Score, September 26, 1973". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ Raley, Dan (January 31, 2018). "Where Are They Now: Rich Hand, Former Lincoln High, UPS Standout". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
- ISBN 1556114958.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs