Dick Hall (baseball)

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 6 ft, 200 lb Hall batted and threw right-handed. He earned the nickname "Turkey" due to his unusual pitching motion.

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 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 dropped 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.

He became exclusively a pitcher in 1957 but, battling a sore arm, he spent most of the season with Triple-A Columbus, then all of 1958 on the sidelines. He returned to action in 1959, and at age 28 had a breakthrough season in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League with the Salt Lake City Bees, winning 18 games and earning a September recall to Pittsburgh.

On December 9, 1959, during the interleague trading period just put into effect, the Pirates traded Hall, Ken Hamlin and Hank Foiles to the Kansas City Athletics for catcher/utilityman Hal Smith. In Hall's first season in the American League, working for another cellar-dwelling team, he started 28 games and went 8–13, but his 182 $1⁄3$ innings pitched and nine complete games were third among A's pitchers; his 4.05 earned run average outperformed the staff ERA by 0.33.

As the 1961 season was about to begin, Hall was acquired by the Orioles along with Dick Williams for Chuck Essegian and Jerry Walker on April 12. He transitioned from a starting pitcher into a spot starter and relief pitcher who was paired with relief aces Hoyt Wilhelm and then Stu Miller. Hall's best season came in 1964, when he pitched 87 $2⁄3$ innings with a WHIP of 0.844 and an ERA of 1.85.

Hall helped the Orioles win the 1966 and 1970 World Series and 1969 and 1971 American League pennant. His Baltimore tenure was interrupted by two years (1967–1968) back in the National League as a key member of the Philadelphia Phillies' bullpen. After a stellar 1967 season (ten wins, nine saves, and a 2.20 ERA), he slumped in 1968, and when the Phillies released him on October 29, the Orioles signed him as a free agent in 1969 after a spring training trial. Hall rebounded to win 21 games and save ten others for three consecutive pennant-winning Oriole teams through 1971. Hall pitched in five postseason games without allowing an earned run. Hall was the first pitcher to record a win in League Championship Series play, on October 4, 1969. In 1970 and 1971, he was the oldest player in the American League.

Career statistics
In 495 MLB games pitched over 16 years, Hall compiled a 93–75 win–loss record, 74 games started, 20 complete games, three shutouts, 237 games finished, 68 saves, 1,259 $2⁄3$ innings pitched, 1,152 hits allowed, 512 runs allowed, 464 earned runs allowed, 130 home runs allowed, 236 walks allowed, 741 strikeouts, 18 hit batsmen, one wild pitch, 5,085 batters faced, 70 intentional walks and a 3.32 ERA. In his postseason career, Hall tossed 8 $2⁄3$ innings over five games; he did not give up an earned run and only three hits, registering two wins and two saves. He ranks 22nd on the MLB Career WHIP List (1.102), 39th on the MLB Career Walks per Nine Innings Pitched List (1.69) and 47th on the MLB Career Strikeout to Walk List (3.14). Jim Palmer, who learned about pitching from Hall, called him, "One of the great control pitchers ever."

As a hitter, in 669 games Hall had 714 at bats, 79 runs, 150 hits, 15 doubles, four triples, four home runs, 56 RBI, six stolen bases, 61 walks, .210 batting average, .271 on-base percentage, .259 slugging percentage, 185 total bases, 34 sacrifice hits and nine sacrifice flies. He struck out 147 times and collected 61 walks. He was an occasional pinch hitter through 1966 and batted .257 in 35 at bats in that role.

Legacy and career accomplishments
Hall won the Most Valuable Player award in the Pacific Coast League in 1959, after posting a 18–5 record and leading the PCL in wins, earned run average (1.87), and winning percentage (.783). He would be inducted as a member of the Baltimore Oriole Hall of Fame in 1989.

Personal life
A native of St. Louis, Hall spent most of his childhood in Albany, New York, and Haworth, New Jersey. He was educated at what is now Northfield Mount Hermon School, a college-preparatory school in Massachusetts, and graduated from Swarthmore College. He was the older brother of linguist Barbara Partee, also a Swarthmore graduate. Hall also played football and basketball and ran track at Swarthmore.

Hall died on June 18, 2023, in Timonium, Maryland, at the age of 92.