Pete Richert

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Pete Richert (born Peter Gerard Richert on October 29, 1939 in Floral Park, New York) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.

A left-hander, Richert pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1962-64), Washington Senators (1965-67), Baltimore Orioles (1967-71), Los Angeles Dodgers (1972-73), St. Louis Cardinals (1974) and Philadelphia Phillies (1974).

On April 12, 1962 against the Cincinnati Reds, Richert had a Major League debut to remember, tying Karl Spooner’s record by striking out the first six batters he faced. This included a four-strikeout 3rd inning; a passed ball allowed Gordy Coleman to reach base. Richert won the game in 3 1/3 innings of relief, giving up no hits or walks and striking out seven. That year, he went 5-4 as a spot starter in a rotation led by the duo of Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax. In 1963 he went 5-3 on a Dodger team that won the World Series; Richert did not pitch in the Series, which the Dodgers swept from the New York Yankees.

After the 1964 season Richert, Frank Howard, and two other players were traded to the Washington Senators for two players (one of whom was fellow pitcher Claude Osteen) and $100,000 cash. Richert’s two full seasons with the Senators, 1965 and 1966, were the two best seasons of his career. In the former he won a career-high 15 games with a 2.60 earned run average, also a career high. In the latter he went 14-14 with a 3.37 ERA and set a career-high with 195 strikeouts. He also struck out seven consecutive batters in an April 24 game against the Detroit Tigers in the latter year, but still lost, 4-0. Richert was also an All Star during both seasons and was the losing pitcher in the latter game, giving up an single to ex-Dodger teammate Maury Wills, which scored Tim McCarver for the winning run in the 10th inning.

After going 2-6 to start the 1967 season Richert was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in the same deal that sent Mike Epstein to Washington. Richert went 7-10 as an Oriole in this, his final season as a starter. In 1968 he went 6-3 with a 3.47 earned run average in his first season as a relief pitcher.

Richert pitched on an Oriole team that played in three consecutive World Series from 1969 to 1971. In 1969 he went 7-4 with 12 saves and a 2.20 ERA. The Orioles lost the World Series in surprising fashion to the New York Mets, and Richert was involved in a controversial play that ended Game Four. In the bottom of the tenth, with the game tied at 1-1, J.C. Martin laid down a bunt and was hit by Richert’s throw; the error allowed Rod Gaspar to score the winning run from second. Television replays would later show that Martin had been running inside the baseline, which should have made him out for interference.

In 1970 Richert went 7-2 with 13 saves and a 1.98 ERA. He was a member of the World Championship Orioles team that year, the Orioles defeating the Cincinnati Reds in five games. Richert saved Game One of that Series in relief of Jim Palmer.

In his 13 Major League seasons Richert won 80 against 73 losses, with a 3.19 ERA and 925 strikeouts in 1165 2/3 innings pitched.