 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Ron Nischwitz" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Ron Nischwitz | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1937-07-01)July 1, 1937 (age 87) Dayton, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Both Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 4, 1961, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 19, 1965, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 5–8 |
| Earned run average | 4.21 |
| Strikeouts | 58 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
Ronald Lee Nischwitz (born July 1, 1937) is a formerMajor League Baseball relief pitcher who played from 1961 to 1963, and again in 1965, for theDetroit Tigers andCleveland Indians. A switch-hitter, he threw left-handed, was 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) tall and weighed 205 lb (93 kg).
Before playing professional baseball, he attendedFairview High School and thenOhio State University. Signed by the Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1958, Nischwitz made his big league debut on September 4, 1961, against theBaltimore Orioles. He pitched two perfect innings, striking out three batters. He played in a total of six games in his rookie year, going 0–1 with a 5.56 ERA.
In 1962, Nischwitz was the Tigers' most used reliever, appearing in 48 games. He went 4–5 with a 3.90 ERA. In 642⁄3 innings, he struck out only 28 batters but proved to be a solid hitter, collecting five hits — including a triple — in 12 at-bats, for a .417 batting average. After the season, he was traded by the Tigers withGordon Seyfried to the Indians forBubba Phillips.[1]
Nischwitz played in only 14 big league games in 1963, going 0–2 with a 6.48 ERA. He did not play in the majors in 1964.
1965 was Nischwitz's final big league season. Before the season began, he was purchased by the Tigers from the Indians. He appeared in 20 games for the Tigers, going 1–0 with a 2.78 ERA — one of the best ERAs on the team. He played his final game on September 19.
Overall, Nischwitz 5–8 with a 4.21 ERA in 88 games. In 1151⁄3 innings, he walked 48 batters and struck out 68. He hit .278 in 18 career at-bats.
Following his playing career, he served as the head coach of Dayton'sWright State Universitybaseball team from 1975 to 2004. In 2007 he was inducted into theAmerican Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.[2]