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 Frank Knoop ( kuh-NOP; born October 18, 1938) is an American former Major League Baseball second baseman and coach. In his nine-year MLB career, he appeared in 1,153 games as a member of the Los Angeles / California Angels (1964–69), Chicago White Sox (1969–70) and Kansas City Royals (1971–72). He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg).
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.
Rachel Wayne "Rac" Slider (born December 23, 1933) is an American former infielder and manager in American minor league baseball who also spent four seasons (1987–1990) as a Major League Baseball coach with the Boston Red Sox. In his playing days, Slider stood 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall, weighed 160 pounds (73 kg), batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Slider graduated from James Bowie High School in Simms in 1951, and signed his first professional baseball contract in 1954. During an 11-year playing career (1954–1956; 1958–1964; 1966) he never reached the Major League level, although he spent four seasons in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. In his finest year in the PCL, with the 1961 Hawaii Islanders, Slider batted .300 with 154 hits, 75 runs scored, and a career-high seven home runs. In 1962, the Kansas City Athletics sold Slider's contract to the Red Sox, and he spent the remainder of his career in the Boston organization.
He managed Bosox farm clubs for 21 consecutive seasons, from 1965 through 1985, beginning with the Harlan Red Sox and Covington Red Sox in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. His next assignment, in 1967–1968 as skipper of the Class A Waterloo Hawks, saw the professional debut of eventual Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk. Slider spent nine seasons at the helm of the Red Sox' Winter Haven affiliate in the Class A Florida State League. He won pennants in 1970 (in the Class A Western Carolinas League) and 1979 (in the Florida State League). In 1983, his New Britain Red Sox won the Double-A Eastern League playoffs behind first-year pitcher Roger Clemens.
In all, Slider spent three seasons in Double-A and reached the highest minor league level as the pilot of the 1985 Pawtucket Red Sox of the Triple-A International League. Overall, his managerial record was 1,275–1,405 (.476) in 2,680 games.
Slider was promoted to the MLB Red Sox' coaching staff after the 1986 season. He served under John McNamara as Boston's bullpen coach, and under Joe Morgan as the Red Sox' third-base coach, from 1987 to 1990. He was a minor league infield instructor with the Red Sox in 1986 and from 1991 to 1994.
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.
Ronald Edward Samford (February 28, 1930 – January 14, 2021) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1954 to 1959 with the New York Giants, Detroit Tigers and Washington Senators.
David George Baldwin (born March 30, 1938) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.
Dennis Herman Blair (born June 5, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Montreal Expos during the 1974–1976 seasons and for the San Diego Padres in 1980. Blair grew up in Rialto, California, and attended Eisenhower High School in Rialto.
After his major league career ended in 1982, he worked and attended California State University San Bernardino. He graduated in 1993 with a Liberal Studies Bachelor of Arts degree and completed his master's degree at Lamar University.He moved to Texas and taught students with special needs in Garland and Mesquite Independent School Districts. He retired from teaching in 2016 and lives in the Phoenix area part of the year. He is married and has two sons, a step-son and three grandchildren.
Jack Edward Baldschun (October 16, 1936 – June 6, 2023) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for all or part of nine seasons (1961–67; 1969–70), for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and San Diego Padres. Baldschun threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall, weighing 175 pounds (79 kg).
John Nolan Purdin (July 16, 1942 – March 28, 2010) was a Major League Baseball pitcher.Purdin was born in Lynx, Ohio. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers before the start of the 1964 season. He made his debut on September 16, 1964, throwing two innings of no-hit ball in relief against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He struck out Vern Law and Donn Clendenon. Two weeks later on September 30, he threw a two-hit shutout against the Chicago Cubs, giving up his only hits, both singles, to Dick Bertell in the 3rd and 5th inning.In the minors, Purdin threw a perfect game against Lexington in 1964. The game went seven innings, on the backend of a doubleheader. During warmups, he pegged his usual starting catcher, Butch Johnson, in the eye. Jim Connor came in from third base to replace him for the night, and Ed Knipple moved to third. Purdin struck out 11 batters in the perfect outing, with Knipple driving in the only run of the game.At Salisbury, Purdin posted a 14–3 record with a 1.91 ERA and 182 strikeouts in 137 innings pitched, while only giving up 27 walks. For the Spokane Indians in 1967 he led the Pacific Coast League in games started (31) and shutouts (6).Purdin died in Charleston, South Carolina, at the age of 67.