| David Green | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Green in 1983 | |||||||||||||||
| First baseman,outfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Born:(1960-12-04)December 4, 1960 Managua, Nicaragua | |||||||||||||||
| Died: January 25, 2022(2022-01-25) (aged 61) Florissant, Missouri, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| Professional debut | |||||||||||||||
| MLB: September 4, 1981, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||||||||
| NPB: July 6, 1986, for the Kintetsu Buffaloes | |||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | |||||||||||||||
| MLB: October 4, 1987, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||||||||
| NPB: October 10, 1986, for the Kintetsu Buffaloes | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .268 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 31 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 180 | ||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .270 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 10 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 39 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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David Alejandro Green Casaya (December 4, 1960 – January 25, 2022) was a Nicaraguan professionalbaseball player who was anoutfielder andfirst baseman inMajor League Baseball (MLB). Between 1981 and 1987, he spent parts of six seasons in the MLB. He was a member of theSt. Louis Cardinals for five of those years, and he also spent one season with theSan Francisco Giants.
Green was born inManagua, Nicaragua, on December 4, 1960.[1][2] He was one of ten children of Edward Green Sinclair and Bertha Casaya.[1] His father, Edward (or Eduardo) Green, was a very successful baseball player in Nicaragua, as an outfielder for theCinco Estrellas club of Managua and theNicaragua national baseball team.[3] Green was raised in a primarilySpanish-speaking home in the primarilyCreole-speaking city ofBluefields. His sisters, Isabel and Carlota, were noted basketball players. Green is considered to have been born in 1960, although there has been some debate about his age.[1]
An amateur free agent, Green signed a contract with theMilwaukee Brewers on September 24, 1978.[2] He made his professional debut the following year with theClass AStockton Ports of theCalifornia League. He appeared in 136 games for Stockton, batting .262 with 8 home runs and 70 RBI.[4] Green spent the 1980 season with theClass AAHolyoke Millers of theEastern League. He batted .291 over 129 games, hitting 8 homers and driving in 67 runs.[4] Green's 19triples were the most in the Eastern League that season.[1]
Green was part of a major trade between the Brewers andSt. Louis Cardinals, who later went on to face each other in the1982 World Series. On December 12, 1980, the Brewers traded Green,Dave LaPoint,Sixto Lezcano, andLary Sorensen to the Cardinals in exchange forRollie Fingers,Ted Simmons andPete Vuckovich.[5]
For the 1981 season, Green was promoted to theClass AAA level as a member of theSpringfield Redbirds. In 106 games with Springfield, he tallied a .270 batting average, 10 home runs, and 67 RBI.[4] He was called up by the Cardinals during theSeptember roster expansion that year,[1] and made his MLB debut on September 4, 1981, at the age of 20,[2] entering as apinch hitter and being held hitless in twoplate appearances in a 7–2 win over theLos Angeles Dodgers.[6] Green was the youngest player in the major leagues that year, and batted only .147 during 21 appearances for the Cardinals.[2] He earned his first MLB hit, an RBI single offPittsburgh Pirates pitcherLuis Tiant, on September 26.[7][8]
Green split the 1982 season between St. Louis and theLouisville Redbirds, who had relocated from Springfield. He batted .345 in 46 games with Louisville, while recording a .283 average in 76 appearances with the Cardinals.[4] While facing Pirates pitcherRandy Niemann on August 15, Green hit the first home run of his MLB career.[1] The Cardinals would go on to defeat the Brewers in the World Series that season, with Green batting .200 during the Fall Classic.[1][2]
After splitting the 1981 and 1982 seasons between the Cardinals and their Class AAA affiliate, Green would not return to the minors until 1987.[4] In 1983, he saw action in a career-high 146 games.[4] He posted a .284 batting average, 8 homers, and 39 RBI, and he also recorded 34stolen bases and 10 triples.[2]
Green played in 126 games during the 1984 season. His average fell slightly to .268, and his stolen bases and triples decreased to 17 and 4, respectively. However, his home run total nearly doubled from the previous year, as he connected for 15 home runs and drove in 65 runs.[2]
On February 1, 1985, the Cardinals traded Green,Dave LaPoint,Gary Rajsich andJose Uribe to theSan Francisco Giants forJack Clark.[9] Green made 106 appearances for the Giants during the 1985 season. He posted a .248 batting average, 5 home runs, and 20 runs batted in.[2]
San Francisco traded Green back to Milwaukee, on December 4, 1985. A week later, San Francisco received minor leaguer Héctor Quiñones to complete the trade.[1][2] Green did not make the Opening Day roster, and was released on April 1.[1][2] He was reacquired by the Brewers eight days later and was assigned to theMonterrey Sultanes in theMexican League as part of a player-loaning deal between the Brewers and the Mexican team.[2][4][1] Green batted .391 in 48 appearances with Monterrey.[1]
Green was acquired by a Japanese team, theKintetsu Buffaloes ofNippon Professional Baseball, on June 24.[1][2] Appearing in 67 games for Kintetsu, he tallied a .270 batting average, 10 homers, and 39 RBI.[4]
Green rejoined the Cardinals organization on July 11.[2] He saw action in 50 games with Louisville, and only appeared in 14 games with St. Louis.[4] With the Cardinals, he batted .267 and hit one home run. Green played his final major league game on October 4, 1987, at the age of 26.[2]
In 489 games over six major league seasons, Green posted a .268batting average (374-for-1398) with 168runs, 31home runs, 180RBI, 68stolen bases and 84bases on balls. He finished his career with an overall .986fielding percentage.[2]
During the 1989 season, Green appeared in 34 games for theGreenville Braves, the Class AA affiliate of theAtlanta Braves. He batted .271, with 5 homers and 22 RBI.[4]
Green joined theTexas Rangers organization for the 1990 season. He saw action in only 16 games for the Class AATulsa Drillers,posting a .286 average.[4] Green returned to Tulsa in 1991. He appeared in 59 games, and recorded a .285 average, 4 home runs, and 32 runs batted in.[4] It was Green's final season as a professional baseball player.[1]
Green played with theNicaragua national baseball team for international competition. At the1978 Central American and Caribbean Games inMedellín,Colombia, Green hit .470 with three home runs and nine RBIs over 12 games.[10]
After retiring from professional baseball, Green worked for the dog-grooming business of a friend. He was later employed in security around 2010. He was married, and had a daughter from a previous relationship during the 1980s.[1]
Green died on January 29, 2022, at Christian Northeast Hospital nearSt. Louis, Missouri, of respiratory failure resulting from a choking incident the week prior.[11] He was 61.[12][13]
In January 1995, Green was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in a car crash in suburban Country Club Hills, Mo. According to the Post-Dispatch, a passenger in the car Green struck, Gladys Yount, 85, of Jennings, Mo., suffered a fractured pelvis in the accident and died of a heart attack two hours later. Green was charged with involuntary manslaughter and served six months in jail, the Post-Dispatch reported.
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| Preceded by | Youngest Player in the National League 1981 | Succeeded by Scott Garrelts 1982 |
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