Dick Hall

Richard Wallace Hall (September 27, 1930 – June 18, 2023) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 669 games over 19 seasons in Major League Baseball, first as an outfielder, then as a pitcher, from 1952 through 1957 and from 1959 through 1971. Hall is best known as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won four American League pennants and two World Series championships between 1966 and 1971. He also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies. The , Hall batted and threw right-handed. He earned the nickname Turkey due to his unusual pitching motion. Professional career Outfielder Hall started his MLB career in 1952 with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an outfielder. After short trials during that season and in 1953, he spent all of 1954 on the Pittsburgh roster, and started 84 of the club's 154 games: 32 in left field, 43 in center, and nine in right. However, he batted only .239 with 74 hits, two home runs and 27 runs batted in. Pitcher The following year, 1955, he began his transition to the pitcher's mound, going 12–5 with 16 complete games and a sparkling 2.24 earned run average for the Lincoln Chiefs of the Western League. Recalled by Pittsburgh in midseason, he won the first MLB game he ever pitched, a 12–5 triumph over the Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field on July 24, but later started two games in center field, on July 29–30 against the Cincinnati Redlegs at Crosley Field. Hall would pitch in 15 games, with 13 starts, and compile a creditable 6–6 (3.91) record for a team that finished last in the National League and drop 94 games overall. Then, in 1956, he appeared in 33 games for the Pirates, 19 on the mound and 14 as a pinch hitter or first baseman. He lost all seven pitching decisions, but hit .500 (six for 12) in the pinch and .345 overall.