Richmond Virginians (minor league) players

Johnny_James

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.

Billy_Muffett

Billy Arnold Muffett (September 21, 1930 – June 15, 2008) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He pitched in the Major Leagues for all or parts of six seasons (1957–1962) for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox. In his playing days, he stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall, weighed 198 pounds (90 kg), and threw and batted right-handed. He was born in Hammond, Indiana.
Beginning his professional career in 1949, Muffett missed the 1952 and 1953 seasons due to military service. He returned to minor league baseball in 1954.Muffett came to the major leagues with St. Louis in 1957 and fashioned his best overall season, winning three of five decisions, posting an earned run average of 2.25 and notching eight saves. Over his career, he won 16 and lost 23 (.410) with a 4.33 ERA in 125 games. He threw seven complete games and one shutout and was credited with 15 career saves.
After retiring as a player, Muffett was a longtime MLB pitching coach for the Cardinals, California Angels and Detroit Tigers between 1967 and 1994, as well a minor league instructor. He coached on the Cardinals' 1967–68 National League pennant-winning clubs, and their 1967 World Series champion edition. He survived a bout with cancer in 1987, but continued in his role as Tiger pitching coach during his recovery.
Billy Muffett died June 15, 2008, at his home in Monroe, Louisiana.

Stan_Hollmig

Stanley Ernest Hollmig (January 2, 1926 – December 4, 1981) was an American professional baseball player and scout. Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, he was an outfielder who played in 94 games over all or parts of three seasons (1949–51) in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies.Nicknamed "Hondo", Hollmig was listed as 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 190 pounds (86 kg); he threw and batted right-handed. He signed with the Phillies after attending Texas A&M University, where he was an All-Conference football player.

Hal_Reniff

Harold Eugene Reniff (July 2, 1938 – September 7, 2004) was an American professional baseball player. The right-handed relief pitcher appeared in Major League Baseball for all or parts of seven seasons, from 1961 to 1967, almost exclusively as a member of the New York Yankees. Reniff was listed as 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 215 pounds (98 kg). He was born in Warren, Ohio, and signed with the Yankees in 1956 after graduating from Chaffey High School in Ontario, California.
Reniff spent five full years in minor league baseball (winning 21 games for the Modesto Reds of the Class C California League in 1959) before he was called up to the Yankees in June 1961. He also spent part of 1962 in the minors, before making the Bombers' bullpen corps for good in 1963. That season, the best of his career, he recorded a career-high 18 saves (sixth in the American League) and posted his finest earned run average (2.62). He pitched in the 1963 and 1964 World Series for the Yankees, allowing two hits and a base on balls, but no runs in 31⁄3 total innings pitched. He did not get credit for a decision or a save, as the Yankees fell in both Fall Classics, to the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals respectively.
The Yankees sold Reniff's contract to the crosstown New York Mets in June 1967, and he completed his major league career on the Mets' bullpen staff, getting into 29 games. Returning to the Yankee organization in 1968, he spent five full years at Triple-A Syracuse, but did not earn a recall to the majors. He retired after the 1972 season, his 17th in pro ball, at age 34. He died in the city of Ontario, aged 66, in 2004.

Bob_Meyer

Robert Bernard Meyer (born August 4, 1939) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1960. Meyer pitched for the Yankees (1964), Los Angeles Angels (1964), Kansas City Athletics (1964), Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers (1969–1970). His first major league strikeout victim was future Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. During a three-year baseball career, Meyer compiled two wins, 92 strikeouts, and a 4.38 earned run average.On September 12, 1964, while starting for the Athletics on the road at Memorial Stadium, he and Baltimore Orioles left-hander Frank Bertaina each pitched a complete game one-hitter, but the A's lost 1–0 as Jackie Brandt hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth to score pinch-runner Bob Saverine from third.Other career highlights include a six scoreless inning win against the Kansas City Athletics on June 26, 1964, a six-hit, complete game win (6–1) against the Baltimore Orioles on September 7, 1964, and pitching the first nine innings and giving up one unearned run in a 13-inning victory over the New York Yankees on September 1, 1969.