Randall James Moffitt is a former American

United States

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

 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...

 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...

 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....

, Houston Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

 and Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

. Born in Long Beach, California

Long Beach, California

Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

, he is the younger brother of tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 star Billie Jean Moffitt King

Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...

.

Moffitt was drafted by the Giants in the 1st round (18th pick) of the 1970 amateur draft

1970 Major League Baseball Draft

-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1970 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Background :The regular and secondary phases of the January draft proved more fruitful to major league clubs than the June draft...

. After a successful year as a starting pitcher

Starting pitcher

In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

 for the Class-A Fresno Giants (9–6, 1.60) he was converted to relief with the Triple-A Phoenix Giants

Phoenix Firebirds

The Phoenix Firebirds, formerly the Phoenix Giants, were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Phoenix, Arizona, USA from 1958-1959, and 1966 until 1997....

 in 1971. He was called up to the big club in 1972, making his 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...

 debut on June 11.

He was a dependable relief pitcher

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 many years, and finished in the 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...

 Top Ten four times for saves and three times for games pitched

Games pitched

In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...

. During the 1970s he partnered first with Elias Sosa

Elias Sosa

Elías Sosa Martínez , is a former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent on March 4, 1968. He played for the Giants , St...

 and later with Gary Lavelle

Gary Lavelle

Gary Robert Lavelle is a retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1974–1985 and 1987....

to give the Giants one of the league's better bullpens. In 534 career pitching appearances (all but one in relief) he finished 306 games including 96 saves.

External links

• Moffitt statistics at Baseball reference
• Retrosheet