Donald Leon Choate is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional baseball

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....

 player. The right-handed pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 appeared in four Major League

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...

 games

Games 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,...

, all in relief

Relief pitcher

A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

, for the San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

 in . He stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (83.9 kg).

Choate was originally signed by the 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...

, and posted a 19–8 record in his second professional season with the Class C Billings Mustangs

Billings Mustangs

The Billings Mustangs are a minor league baseball team based in Billings, Montana. The Mustangs are the Pioneer League Rookie affiliate of the Major League Cincinnati Reds. The team has been a part of the Pioneer League since 1948 with a five-year gap between 1964 and 1968, and has been affiliated...

 in 1957. After splitting the next year between Double-A and Triple-A Cardinal affiliates he was traded to Giants as a prospect as part of a major off-season trade that netted first baseman

First baseman

First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...

 Bill White

Bill White (baseball)

William De Kova "Bill" White is a former professional baseball first baseman who played for the New York and San Francisco Giants , St...

, future National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 president, for the Redbirds. White became a star player — a five-time NL All Star

Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

 and seven-time Gold Glove winner — as well as a team leader of the 1964 world champion Cardinals

1964 St. Louis Cardinals season

The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 83rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 73rd season in the National League. The Cardinals went 93-69 during the season and finished first in the National League, edging the co-runner-ups Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies by one game each on...

.

Choate's only Major League service came in September 1960 when he was recalled from the Triple-A Tacoma Giants

Tacoma Rainiers

The Tacoma Rainiers are a minor league baseball team that plays in the Pacific Coast League , and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners...

. In eight MLB innings pitched

Innings pitched

In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...

, he gave up two earned runs, seven 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....

 and four bases on balls, with seven strikeouts.

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