| Del Unser | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born: (1944-12-09)December 9, 1944 (age 80) Decatur, Illinois, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 10, 1968, for the Washington Senators | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 6, 1982, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .258 |
| Home runs | 87 |
| Runs batted in | 481 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Delbert Bernard Unser (born December 9, 1944) is an American former professionalbaseball player. He played inMajor League Baseball as acenter fielder andutility player from1968 to1982, most prominently with thePhiladelphia Phillies, where he was a member of the1980 World Series winning team. He also played for theWashington Senators,Cleveland Indians,New York Mets and theMontreal Expos. His father was major leaguecatcherAl Unser.
Unser attendedSt. Teresa High School and played baseball atEastern Illinois University andMississippi State University. He was a three-year starter for Mississippi State, and was first team All-SEC as an outfielder in 1965 and 1966. In both seasons he helped Mississippi State to a conference championship. In 1966, Unser led the team in runs with 31, hits with 39, and a .333 batting average. That same year he was named aSporting News All-American. In 1997, the university inducted Unser into the school's hall of fame.[1]
TheMinnesota Twins had selected Unser in the June draft in 1965, but Unser did not sign with them, nor did he sign with thePittsburgh Pirates after they selected him in the winter draft in 1966. However, Unser was drafted in the first round of the June 1966 draft by theWashington Senators and signed with them, reporting to their Double-A team, theYork White Roses of theEastern League. Unser struggled his first season in the minors, batting only .220. However, management in Washington saw something in Unser, and in 1968, he made the leap from double-A to the majors. At the age of 23, on April 10, 1968, Unser made his MLB debut, against the team that had drafted him a year earlier, the Minnesota Twins. Unser got a hit in his major league debut.[2]
Unser played for theWashington Senators from 1968 to 1971. In his first season, he had a five-hit game (foursingles and ahome run) against theOakland Athletics on August 20, 1968.[3] In the 1969 season, he led the American League intriples, with 8. The franchise was moved to theDallas–Fort Worth metroplex and rebranded as theTexas Rangers, but Unser would not be part of the transition as he was dealt along withDenny Riddleberger,Terry Ley andGary Jones to theCleveland Indians forRoy Foster,Rich Hand,Mike Paul andKen Suarez at theWinter Meetings on December 2, 1971.[4]
Unser was traded again after one season in Cleveland, this time to thePhiladelphia Phillies along with minor league third baseman Terry Wedgewood forOscar Gamble andRoger Freed on December 1, 1972.[5] He also played for the Phillies from 1973 to 1974. After aseason batting .264 with 11 homers, Unser was dealt along withJohn Stearns andMac Scarce from the Phillies to theNew York Mets forTug McGraw,Don Hahn andDave Schneck at theWinter Meetings on December 3, 1974.[6] He hit .294 for the Mets in 1975, and might have hit .300 that year, but sustained a late-season rib injury which affected his swing. He was hit by a pitch early in the 1976 season and sustained an arm injury, then was traded to theMontreal Expos on July 21.[7]
In 1977, he began to be used primarily as apinch-hitter, and also split his time on the field between theoutfield andfirst base, and in winter of 1978 became a free agent, returning to the Phillies from 1979 to 1982.
Unser played a key role in the Phillies' 1980 World Series victory over the Kansas City Royals, getting crucialdoubles to drive in runs as a pinch hitter in the late innings of Games 2 and 5. The first cut the Royals' lead from 4-2 to 4–3 in the bottom of the 8th inning, and scored the tying run before Mike Schmidt drove in the winning run with a double for a 2-0 Series lead for Philadelphia. In Game 5 in Kansas City and with the series tied at two games apiece, the Phillies were at bat in the top of the ninth and trailing by a score of 3–2. After Schmidt led off with a single, Unser again delivered a double to score Schmidt with the tying run. He later scored the go-ahead run on Manny Trillo's single as the Phillies won the game 4-3 to take a 3–2 lead in the World Series back to Philadelphia, where they closed it out in the 6th game.
Unser played a few more years in Philadelphia after that World Series win. However, on June 8, 1982, the Phillies released Unser, ending his stay in the major leagues.[8]
Unser's career totals include 1,799games played, 1,344hits, 87 home runs, 481runs batted in, and a lifetimebatting average of .258. Unser, along withLee Lacy, is one of two players to hit pinch-hit home runs in three consecutive at-bats.
When Unser played in the minors, one of his coaches was the legendaryHarry Walker, aka "Harry The Hat". Although Unser never hit in professional baseball the way he did in college, he was a star on defense. After he was released by the Phillies, Unser ran a sporting goods store, then returned to baseball as a coach, returning to the city of Philadelphia.
Unser was hired in 1983 by Phillies PresidentBill Giles to be a roving minor league instructor. WhenJohn Felske became the manager in 1985, Unser was offered the role of first base coach and hitting coach and jumped at the chance for the role. After a few years of being a coach, Phillies general managerLee Thomas offered Unser the role of farm director, a position he would hold for the next nine seasons. Unser oversaw the development of future Phillies stars likeMike Lieberthal,Jimmy Rollins andScott Rolen.[9] After being the farm director, he became a scout for the Phillies.[10]