Dick Hall

Richard Wallace Hall (September 27, 1930 – June 18, 2023) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 669 games over 19 seasons in Major League Baseball, first as an outfielder, then as a pitcher, from 1952 through 1957 and from 1959 through 1971. Hall is best known as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won four American League pennants and two World Series championships between 1966 and 1971. He also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies. The , Hall batted and threw right-handed. He earned the nickname "Turkey" due to his unusual pitching motion.

Early life Hall was born on September 27, 1930, in St. Louis. His father David Hall was an engineer, originally constructing bridges, but was later an aerospace engineer. His mother Helen Hall was a University of Vermont honors graduate. Hall spent most of his childhood in Haworth, New Jersey. He held multiple baseball records and a long jump record at Swarthmore. He was the older brother of linguist Barbara Partee, also a Swarthmore graduate.

Professional career Hall was heavily scouted by major league teams while playing at Swarthmore College, ultimately choosing to sign with Branch Rickey and the Pittsburgh, Pirates.

Pitcher

Pittsburgh Pirates organization The following year, 1955, he began his transition to the pitcher's mound, going 12–5 with 16 complete games and a 2.24 earned run average for the Lincoln Chiefs of the Western League. Recalled by Pittsburgh in midseason, he won the first MLB game he ever pitched, a 12–5 triumph over the Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field on July 24, but later started two games in center field, on July 29–30 against the Cincinnati Redlegs at Crosley Field.

Hall would pitch in 15 games, with 13 starts, and compile a creditable 6–6 (3.91) record Then, in 1956, he appeared in 33 games for the Pirates, 19 on the mound and 14 as a pinch hitter or first baseman. He lost all seven pitching decisions, but hit .500 (six for 12) in the pinch and .345 overall. and September recall to Pittsburgh.

Kansas City Athletics On December 9, 1959, during the interleague trading period just put into effect, the Pirates traded Hall, Ken Hamlin and Hank Foiles to the Kansas City Athletics for catcher/utilityman Hal Smith. In Hall's first season in the American League, working for another cellar-dwelling team, he started 28 games and went 8–13, but his 182 innings pitched and nine complete games His 4.05 earned run average He transitioned from a starting pitcher into a spot starter and relief pitcher who was paired with relief aces Hoyt Wilhelm (1961–1962) and then Stu Miller (1963–1966). Hall's best season came in 1964, when he pitched 87 innings with a WHIP of 0.844 and an ERA of 1.85. For the Orioles from 1962 to 1966, he led all major leaguers pitching over 150 innings, with a strikeout to walk ratio of 4.6, walking only 1.3 batters per nine innings. In 1963, over a five-game period, Hall got 28 consecutive hitters out. After a stellar 1967 season (ten wins, nine saves, and a 2.20 ERA), he slumped in 1968, In 1970 and 1971, he was the oldest player in the American League. 40th on the MLB Career Walks per Nine Innings Pitched List (1.69) and 69th on the MLB Career Strikeout to Walk List (3.14).

The Orioles greatest pitcher, Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, who learned about pitching from Hall and considered him both a professional and life mentor, called Hall "One of the great control pitchers ever."

Personal life The Pirates sent Hall to Mexico for winter baseball, and he met his future wife Maria Elena Nieto there in 1955. Hall also became fluent in Spanish.