| Doug Ault | |
|---|---|
 Ault during his time at Texas Tech | |
| First baseman | |
| Born:(1950-03-09)March 9, 1950 Beaumont, Texas, U.S. | |
| Died: December 22, 2004(2004-12-22) (aged 54) Tarpon Springs, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Left | |
| Professional debut | |
| MLB: September 9, 1976, for the Texas Rangers | |
| NPB: April 4, 1981, for the Hanshin Tigers | |
| Last appearance | |
| MLB: October 5, 1980, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| NPB: October 12, 1981, for the Hanshin Tigers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .236 |
| Home runs | 17 |
| Runs batted in | 86 |
| NPB statistics | |
| Batting average | .307 |
| Home runs | 18 |
| Runs batted in | 59 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Douglas Reagan Ault (March 9, 1950 – December 22, 2004) was an American professionalbaseballfirst baseman anddesignated hitter who played for theTexas Rangers (1976) andToronto Blue Jays (1977–1978, 1980). He is best known for hitting the first twohome runs in Blue Jays history, in the team's firstMajor League Baseball (MLB) game on April 7, 1977, a 9–5 Toronto win against theChicago White Sox.
A native ofBeaumont, Texas, Ault was a varsity baseball star atTexas Tech. He was drafted three times in theMLB draft, but refused to sign. He was finally signed by the hometown Rangers in 1973 as an amateurfree agent. He advanced relatively quickly though theminor League hierarchy, making the majors in 1976 as a late season replacement. WithMike Hargrove at first base, Ault became available in the1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft where he was drafted by the Blue Jays. He became the starting first baseman in their first regular season game, and his actions that day turned Ault into the Blue Jays first superstar. However, he did not meet the expectations set for him, had an otherwise average career, and was out of the majors within three years.[citation needed]
He managed in the minor Leagues for several years, leading theSyracuse Chiefs to a pennant in 1985. He retired in 1994, and went to the automobile business, but a series of personal tragedies andbusiness failures plagued him in later life.[1] Ault committed suicide on December 22, 2004.
Doug Ault was born inBeaumont, Texas. When he was young, Ault credited his eldest sister Brenda as his main influence in baseball, for training him every day at the local baseball park and attending all his games as an amateur.[2] He was varsity baseball star atTexas Tech. He was drafted on three occasions, by thePittsburgh Pirates in 1969, theSan Diego Padres in the second round in the 1970 January secondary draft, and by theCleveland Indians in the 1970 June secondary draft, but never signed.[3] While at Texas Tech he hit .473 his senior year and was named to the1972 College Baseball All-America Team.[4]
He was signed by the Rangers in 1973 as an amateurfree agent.[3] He was sent to Gastonia in theWestern Carolina League where he led the league in home runs with 19 in his first season playing professionally.[2] Within the next few years, Ault became a top prospect. In 1976, Ault played in 143 games for theSacramento Solons of thePacific Coast League leading the league inruns with 112 and total bases (278) while finishing third in home runs (25), andhits (168).[2][5] Meanwhile, he worked the off-season in an oil-platform.[4]
Ault made hisMajor League Baseball debut with theTexas Rangers on September 9, 1976, and in his first at-bat, he struck out againstDave Goltz of theMinnesota Twins in the second inning. Ault later singled in the fifth inning off Goltz to record his first career hit. However, the Rangers lost to the Twins 6–0. Ault finished the season appearing in nine games with the Rangers, hitting .300 with six hits in 20 at-bats.[3]
On November 5, theToronto Blue Jays selected Ault with the 32nd overall pick in the1976 MLB expansion draft.[3] He considered that day as "grateful" as it gave him an opportunity to play every day in the major leagues, as he was blocked at first base by All-StarMike Hargrove while at Texas.[2] During spring training, Ault competed with veteransNate Colbert andRon Fairly for the starting first base position.[2]
On April 7, 1977, Ault was the Blue Jays' starting first baseman versus theChicago White Sox, in the team'sfirst professional game.[1] In bottom of the first inning, Ault, batting third in the lineup, slugged the first home run (and first hit) in Blue Jays' history[6] off White Sox starting pitcherKen Brett. He hit another home run off Brett in the third inning, tying a major league record for most home runs in anOpening Day game. Those were the first two home runs of Ault's career (Ault also had an RBI single and a walk in the game), and the Blue Jays defeated the White Sox 9–5.George Bell of the Blue Jays broke the record when he hit three home runs on Opening Day in 1988, and was matched byTuffy Rhodes of theChicago Cubs in 1994 andDmitri Young of theDetroit Tigers in 2005. Ault was covered with "immediate acclaim and nationwide publicity" as a result of the feat.[4]
He finished his rookie season hitting .245 with 11 home runs and 64 runs batted in during 129 games.[3] His 64 runs batted in tied Ault with Fairly to lead the Blue Jays in that category, and was a Blue Jays rookie record untilEric Hinske drove in 84 runs in 2002.
With the Blue Jays acquiring first basemanJohn Mayberry, Ault was limited to 54 games in 1978, in which he hit .240 with three home runs and collected seven runs batted in over 104 at-bats.[3]
He spent the entire 1979 season with theSyracuse Chiefs, the Blue JaysTriple-A affiliate, before reappearing with the Blue Jays in 1980. In 64 games in 1980, Ault hit .194 with three home runs and fifteen runs batted in.[3] All three home runs came against Cleveland atMunicipal Stadium, in a series played in early August. Ault played his final career game with the Jays on October 5, 1980.[3]
After his time with Toronto, Ault played with theHanshin Tigers in theJapanese Central League in 1981, before returning to the Chiefs in 1982. Ault also spent some time with theMexico City Tigres of theMexican League in 1982.[1]
Ault finished his career with a .236 batting average, hitting 17 home runs and recording 86 runs batted in, playing 256 games, 247 of them with the Toronto Blue Jays.[3]
Following his playing career, Ault served as amanager in the Blue Jays organization for the single-A teamsDunedin,Kinston,Myrtle Beach andSt. Catharines. He was promoted to manage his former club, the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs of theInternational League in 1985, where he managed them to apennant that same season, the first in club history. As a result, he won theInternational League Manager of the Year Award.[7] He lasted with the Chiefs until 1987.[7] In 1992, he won theSouth Atlantic League championship with theMyrtle Beach Hurricanes.
Ault and his first wife Julie had one child, Joshua. They divorced in 1990.[1] After the completion of his baseball managing career in 1994, Ault became a car salesman, first in Texas, then inClearwater, Florida, where he moved to be closer to the Blue Jays spring training site.[1]
He married his second wife, Lynn Marie, anobstetrician, in 2000. In 2002, she lost her medical license for violating Florida statutes regarding patient safety; a year later, she filed bankruptcy.[1] In January 2004, their home inTarpon Springs, Florida was sold though a bankruptcy proceeding, and they were separated for "a while".[1] A few months later, Ault's first wife Julie died, after which he left his job at a Clearwater car dealership.[1] According to some of his former teammates, at the time of his death "things were not going great" for Ault.[1]
Ault died at his home in Tarpon Springs on December 22 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It was ruled a suicide by the coroner's office on December 28.[8]
· Baseball Almanac