Donald George Leppert (October 19, 1931 – April 13, 2023) was an American professional baseball player and coach.
A catcher, Leppert appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1964 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Senators. Leppert threw and batted right-handed; he stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 220 pounds (100 kg). He was born in Indianapolis and began his 12-year active career in 1955 in the Milwaukee Braves' organization.
Robert Rudolph Balcena (August 1, 1925 – January 5, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Redlegs during the 1956 season. He had two at-bats and scored two runs as a pinch runner.
Listed at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), 160 pounds (73 kg), Balcena batted right-handed and threw left-handed. He was born in San Pedro, California.
Prior to playing professional baseball, Balcena served in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II with the United States Navy.Balcena became the first player of Asian American and Filipino ancestry to appear in a major league game. He had a long distinguished Triple-A career with the Seattle Rainiers as a center fielder in the 1950s; one paper described him as a "popular miniature dynamo of almost infallible perpetual motion" after his Rainier team won the 1955 Pacific Coast League title.He also played from 1952 through 1962 in the Minor Leagues, including stints with the Leones del Caracas and the Industriales de Valencia in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.
He batted .284 with 134 home run and 441 runs batted in in 1948 minor league games. In a VPBL two-season career, he posted a .306 average with five homers and 44 RBI in 87 games.
After his baseball career ended, he worked as a longshoreman in Seattle where he had played parts of four seasons in the minor leagues.Despite being the first Filipino-American to play in the major leagues, Balcena kept company with Slavs during his life. His union president told the Los Angeles Times that he was an "honorary Slav. He always r[a]n around with the San Pedro Slavs. He speaks Slav. He sings Slav." Outside of his professional career, he also played baseball with an amateur team of Yugoslav Americans.Balcena died in his hometown of San Pedro, California at the age of 64.
John Phillip James (born July 23, 1933) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels between 1958 and 1961. James was originally signed by the Yankees in 1953. He batted left-handed but threw right-handed, and he was 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), 160 pounds. He attended the University of Southern California.
He played only one game in his debut season, 1958. Appearing in relief for Art Ditmar (who had given up seven earned runs in six innings of work) on September 6, James pitched three innings of scoreless baseball, walking four batters and striking out one. He also had one at-bat in that game, and struck out.He did not play in the major leagues in 1959, but he did appear in 28 games in relief for the Yankees in 1960. He earned a spot on the team by being a part of a spring training no-hitter. In 43 innings of work, he posted a 5–1 record, allowing 21 earned runs and striking out 29 batters. He walked 26. He also saved two games.
1961 would end up being his final season in the majors. He pitched in only one game for the Yankees that year before being traded to the Angels with Ryne Duren for Tex Clevenger and Bob Cerv on May 8. In 36 games with the Angels, he posted a 5.30 ERA. Overall that season, he walked 54 batters and struck out 43. His record was 0–2. James gave up the 20th home run of Roger Maris' then record-setting 61 home run season.
His career ended on October 1 of that year. He had a 5–3 record in 66 career games, starting 3 games. In 119 innings of work, he walked 84 and struck out 73, finishing with a 4.76 ERA. Although he did not collect a single hit in 17 at-bats (and struck out 8 times), he did score three runs. He was a perfect fielder, handling 25 total chances (4 putouts, 21 assists) for a 1.000 fielding percentage.
He wore three numbers in his career: 27 in 1958, 53 in 1959 and 1960, and 22 in 1961.
David George Baldwin (born March 30, 1938) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.
Richard Carl Tomanek (January 6, 1931 – August 11, 2023) was an American professional baseball player, a pitcher who played for five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Cleveland Indians from 1953 to 1954 and 1957 to 1958 and the Kansas City Athletics from 1958 to 1959. Nicknamed "Bones", he stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg). In the early 1950s, he served in the United States Marine Corps.
Joseph Rudolph Nossek (born November 8, 1940) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach and scout. He threw and batted right-handed, and stood 6' (183 cm) tall and weighed 178 pounds (81 kg) as an active player.