Dick Billings
Encyclopedia
Richard Arlin Billings is a former American
professional
baseball
player. He played in Major League Baseball
as a catcher
, outfielder
and third baseman
for the Washington Senators
/Texas Rangers
(1968-74) and St. Louis Cardinals
(1974-75).
. He played as an outfielder and occasional third baseman
in the Senators' minor league
system for four years before making his major league debut as a pinch hitter
on September 11, 1968
. Billings had his first appearance as a starting player on September 20, when he appeared as a left fielder
in a game against the Detroit Tigers
.
Billings began the 1969
season with the Senators but, in June he returned to the minor leagues and was converted into a catcher. In , he posted a .305 batting average
with 15 home runs and 67 runs batted in while playing for the Denver Bears. His performance earned him a late-season return to the major leagues in September 1970
, where he served as a backup catcher behind Paul Casanova
.
Billings won the starting catcher's job in July 1971
when Senators manager
Ted Williams
benched Casanova for weak hitting
. Although he led American League catchers with 16 passed ball
s, he ended the season with a career-high .992 fielding percentage
in 116 games. In 1972
the Senators relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and were renamed the Texas Rangers. Billings started the season in a platoon
role alongside left-hand hitting catcher Hal King
. King was sent to the minor leagues in July and, Billings eventually played in a career-high 133 games. He also posted career-highs with a .254 batting average, 15 doubles
, 5 home runs, and 68 runs batted in. On August 13, , Billings produced 5 runs batted in on 4 hits in a 13 to 4 victory over the Kansas City Royals
.
Williams resigned as the Rangers' manager and was replaced by Whitey Herzog
, who installed Billings into a platoon role alongside catcher Ken Suarez
for the 1973
season. In May, he went on the 15-day disabled list
. Billings was the Rangers catcher on July 30, when Jim Bibby
pitched a no-hitter
against the defending world champion Oakland Athletics
. Batting as the Rangers' cleanup hitter
, his average dropped to .179 with 3 home runs and 32 runs batted in.
With the arrival of new manager Billy Martin
in 1974
, Billings found himself in a backup role behind defensive standout Jim Sundberg
. In August he was purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals
and, was sent to the minor leagues to play for the Tulsa Oilers
. He was called back up to the major leagues late in the season where he appeared in only one game on September 11. Billings began the 1975
season with the Tulsa Oilers before being brought up to the Cardinals in June. After only 3 games with the Cardinals, he was sent back to Tulsa in order to make room on the roster for outfielder Buddy Bradford
. Billings retired at the end of the season at the age of 32.
, accumulating 280 hits
in 1,231 at bats for a .227 career batting average along with 16 home runs, 142 runs batted in and an on base percentage
of .281. He had a .984 career fielding percentage in 248 games as a catcher, a .966 fielding percentage in 92 games as an outfielder and, a .906 fielding percentage in 14 games as a third baseman.
Billings was also a player-manager for the Águilas del Zulia
in the Venezuelan Winter League
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player. He played in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
as a catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
, outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
and third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
for the Washington Senators
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
/Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
(1968-74) and St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
(1974-75).
Baseball career
Billings was drafted by the Washington Senators in the 25th round of the 1965 Major League Baseball Draft1965 Major League Baseball Draft
The 1965 Major League Baseball Draft is the first year in which a draft took place for Major League Baseball.In Major League Baseball's first Free Agent Amateur Draft, the Kansas City Athletics selected Arizona State sophomore Rick Monday as the number one pick...
. He played as an outfielder and occasional third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
in the Senators' minor league
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
system for four years before making his major league debut as a pinch hitter
Pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...
on September 11, 1968
1968 Washington Senators season
The Washington Senators season involved the Senators finishing 10th in the American League with a record of 65 wins and 96 losses.- Offseason :...
. Billings had his first appearance as a starting player on September 20, when he appeared as a left fielder
Left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
in a game against the Detroit Tigers
1968 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers won the 1968 World Series, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3. The 1968 baseball season, known as the "Year of the Pitcher," was the Tigers' 68th since they entered the American League in 1901, their eighth pennant, and third World Series championship...
.
Billings began the 1969
1969 Washington Senators season
The Washington Senators season involved the Senators finishing 4th in the newly-established American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses.- Offseason :* January 8, 1969: John Orsino was purchased from the Senators by the New York Yankees....
season with the Senators but, in June he returned to the minor leagues and was converted into a catcher. In , he posted a .305 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
with 15 home runs and 67 runs batted in while playing for the Denver Bears. His performance earned him a late-season return to the major leagues in September 1970
1970 Washington Senators season
The Washington Senators season involved the Senators finishing 6th in the American League East with a record of 70 wins and 92 losses.- Offseason :...
, where he served as a backup catcher behind Paul Casanova
Paul Casanova
Paulino Ortiz Casanova is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1965 to 1974 for the Washington Senators and Atlanta Braves.-Minor league career:...
.
Billings won the starting catcher's job in July 1971
1971 Washington Senators season
The 1971 Washington Senators season involved the Senators finishing fifth in the American League East with a record of 63 wins and 96 losses. This was the Senators' 11th and last season in Washington, D.C., as they moved to Arlington, Texas the following season, becoming the Texas Rangers...
when Senators manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
benched Casanova for weak hitting
Batting (baseball)
In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher...
. Although he led American League catchers with 16 passed ball
Passed ball
In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control. When, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a runner on base advances, the catcher is thereby charged...
s, he ended the season with a career-high .992 fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
in 116 games. In 1972
1972 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers 1972 season involved the Rangers finishing sixth in the American League West with a record of 54 wins and 100 losses. This was the Rangers' first season in Texas, as well as the club's first year in the AL West, after playing their first 11 seasons in Washington, D.C., and from...
the Senators relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and were renamed the Texas Rangers. Billings started the season in a platoon
Platoon system
The platoon system in baseball is a method of designating two players to a single defensive position—usually one right-handed and one left-handed. Typically the right-handed half of the platoon is played on days when the opposing pitcher is left-handed and the left-handed player is played otherwise...
role alongside left-hand hitting catcher Hal King
Hal King
Harold King , is a retired Major League Baseball player who played catcher from -. He played for the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, and Cincinnati Reds....
. King was sent to the minor leagues in July and, Billings eventually played in a career-high 133 games. He also posted career-highs with a .254 batting average, 15 doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
, 5 home runs, and 68 runs batted in. On August 13, , Billings produced 5 runs batted in on 4 hits in a 13 to 4 victory over the Kansas City Royals
1972 Kansas City Royals season
The Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Royals finishing fourth in the American League West with a record of 76 wins and 78 losses.- Offseason :...
.
Williams resigned as the Rangers' manager and was replaced by Whitey Herzog
Whitey Herzog
Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey" Herzog is a former Major League Baseball manager. Born in New Athens, Illinois, he made his debut as a player in 1956 with the Washington Senators. After his playing career ended in 1963, Herzog went on to perform a variety of roles in Major League Baseball, including...
, who installed Billings into a platoon role alongside catcher Ken Suarez
Ken Suarez
Kenneth Raymond Suarez is a former right-handed Major League Baseball catcher who played from 1966 to 1973 for the Kansas City Athletics, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers. He was 5'9" tall and he weighed 175 pounds....
for the 1973
1973 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing sixth in the American League West with a record of 57 wins and 105 losses.- Offseason :* October 27, 1972: Jim Panther was traded by the Rangers to the Atlanta Braves for Rico Carty....
season. In May, he went on the 15-day disabled list
Disabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...
. Billings was the Rangers catcher on July 30, when Jim Bibby
Jim Bibby
James Blair Bibby was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During a 12-year baseball career, he pitched from 1972-1984 with the St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and Pittsburgh Pirates, with whom he was a member of its 1979 World Series Champions...
pitched a no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
against the defending world champion Oakland Athletics
1973 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics season involved the A's winning their third consecutive American League West title with a record of 94 wins and 68 losses...
. Batting as the Rangers' cleanup hitter
Cleanup hitter
In baseball, the cleanup hitter is the hitter who bats fourth in the lineup. Although the third man up is generally the hitter with the highest batting average, cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best power hitter; their job is to "clean up the...
, his average dropped to .179 with 3 home runs and 32 runs batted in.
With the arrival of new manager Billy Martin
Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, Jr. was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees, a position he held five different times...
in 1974
1974 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing second in the American League West with a record of 84 wins and 76 losses . It would be only the second time in franchise history that the club finished over .500 and the first since the club relocated to Arlington, Texas...
, Billings found himself in a backup role behind defensive standout Jim Sundberg
Jim Sundberg
James Howard Sundberg is a former professional baseball catcher known for being one of the best defensive catchers of his era. He played for a number of Major League teams, most significantly the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, with whom we won a World Championship...
. In August he was purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals
1974 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 93rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 83rd season in the National League. The Cardinals went 86-75 during the season and finished second in the National League East, a game and-a-half behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.-Offseason:* October 26, 1973:...
and, was sent to the minor leagues to play for the Tulsa Oilers
Tulsa Oilers (baseball)
The Tulsa Oilers, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, were a minor league baseball team that existed on-and-off in multiple leagues from 1905 to 1976. For most of their history, they played at Oiler Park, which opened on July 11, 1934, and was located on the Tulsa County Fairgrounds at 15th Street and...
. He was called back up to the major leagues late in the season where he appeared in only one game on September 11. Billings began the 1975
1975 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 94th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 84th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 82-80 during the season and finished in a tie for third in the National League East, 10½ games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.- Offseason :* October 14,...
season with the Tulsa Oilers before being brought up to the Cardinals in June. After only 3 games with the Cardinals, he was sent back to Tulsa in order to make room on the roster for outfielder Buddy Bradford
Buddy Bradford
Charles William Bradford is a former outfielder for the Chicago White Sox , Cleveland Indians , Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals...
. Billings retired at the end of the season at the age of 32.
Career statistics
In an 8 year major league career, Billings played in 400 gamesGames played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...
, accumulating 280 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
in 1,231 at bats for a .227 career batting average along with 16 home runs, 142 runs batted in and an on base percentage
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...
of .281. He had a .984 career fielding percentage in 248 games as a catcher, a .966 fielding percentage in 92 games as an outfielder and, a .906 fielding percentage in 14 games as a third baseman.
Billings was also a player-manager for the Águilas del Zulia
Águilas del Zulia
The Águilas del Zulia is a Venezuelan winter league team that plays in the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional, and one of the most popular teams in Venezuela.-History:The team was founded in 1969...
in the Venezuelan Winter League
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional is the highest level baseball league in Venezuela.-Brief history:Baseball exploded in Venezuela in 1941, following the world championship in Havana....
.