Ralph Botting

Ralph Botting
Pitcher
Born: (1955-05-12) May 12, 1955 Houlton, Maine
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
June 28, 1979 for the California Angels
Last MLB appearance
October 5, 1980 for the California Angels
Career statistics
Win-Loss record	2–3
Earned run average	7.39
Innings pitched	56
Teams
California Angels (1979–1980)

Ralph Wayne Botting (born May 12, 1955) is a retired American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher who worked in 18 games in Major League Baseball for the California Angels during the 1979–1980 seasons. He stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg).

Although he was born in Houlton, Maine, on the Canadian border, he attended high school in Burbank, California, and was selected by the Angels in the seventh round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft. He then spent 5½ years in the club's farm system before his recall during the middle of the 1979 campaign.

Botting made his Major League debut in relief on June 28, 1979, against the Texas Rangers at Arlington Stadium. Angels starting pitcher Jim Barr came out of the game with one out in the top of the first inning, with runners on second and third, and already behind 3–0. Botting "threw gasoline on the fire," and when the inning ended it was 8-0, Texas. He then pitched to four batters in the top of the second and retired no one, though there was an error committed by Angels shortstop Jim Anderson. In two-thirds of an inning, Botting allowed not only the two inherited runners to score, but gave up seven runs (six earned) of his own.

Almost four weeks later, on July 26, Botting pitched 5⅓innings of relief at Yankee Stadium to earn his first Major League win. Nolan Ryan had come out of the game after pitching one scoreless inning because he heard popping in his elbow. In relief, Botting allowed three hits, three walks, and one run, striking out six. The Angels won, 9-5.^[1]

His second and last win came on August 6, 1979, in a road game against the Oakland Athletics. He was the starting pitcher, allowed 1 run in 7⅔nnings, and the Angels beat the A's by a score of 5-2.

In 1980, again splitting time between the Triple-A Salt Lake City Gulls of the Pacific Coast League and the Angels, he made six starts for California, going 0–3 with a 5.81 ERA.

Career totals for 18 games pitched include a 2–3 record, seven games started, and five games finished. He struck out 34, walked 28, and allowed 86 hits and 46 earned runs in 56 innings pitched. His ERA was 7.39, and his WHIP was 2.036.

He left pro baseball after the 1980 season, which he spent in the Kansas City Royals' organization.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Retrosheet

Persondata
Name	Botting, Ralph
Alternative names
Short description	American baseball player
Date of birth	May 12, 1955
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death