Former MLB player and coach Rich Dauer passed away today at the age of 72.
Dauer spent his entire professional playing career with the Baltimore Orioles. A first round draft pick by the O’s in 1974 after winning back-to-back College World Series with the USC Trojans, Dauer made his MLB debut at the tail end of the 1976 season.
He would spend most of the next decade as the O’s everyday second baseman. Dauer would hit a HR in Game 7 of the 1979 World Series as the O’s fell short to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1983, Dauer would earn a World Series ring with Baltimore.
In 984 career games, Dauer hit .257 with 43 HR and 372 RBI. In 4238 career plate appearances, Dauer only struck out 219 times. In 1980, while posting a career high .284 with 63 RBI, Dauer only struck out 19 times in 618 plate appearances.
Dauer would enjoy a long career as a coach with various organizations though not with Baltimore. He had stints at the big league level with the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies before getting the chance to manage in the minor leagues with the San Diego Padres. In 2017, Dauer earned a second World Series ring as a member of the Houston Astros coaching staff.
Unfortunately. amid the World Series Parade, Dauer underwent emergency brain surgery after sustaining a subdural hematoma. He would recover sufficiently to throw out the first pitch at an Astros-Orioles game the following year. However, further health troubles would follow.
Rich Dauer had a solid, if unspectacular career with the Orioles expect for the fact he was nearly impossible to strikeout. R.I.P.
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