sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Richard Walter Zisk (born February 6, 1949) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners.

Richie Zisk
Outfielder / Designated hitter
Born: (1949-02-06) February 6, 1949 (age 73) Brooklyn, New York
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 8, 1971, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
September 21, 1983, for the Seattle Mariners
MLB statistics
Batting average	.287
Home runs	207
Runs batted in	792
Teams
Pittsburgh Pirates (1971–1976) Chicago White Sox (1977) Texas Rangers (1978–1980) Seattle Mariners (1981–1983)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star (1977, 1978)

Career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Zisk was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Seton Hall University in the third round of the 1967 Major League Baseball draft. He made his major league debut on September 8, 1971, replacing Roberto Clemente in right field in the eighth inning of Pittsburgh's 10–1 victory over the Chicago Cubs, and got a single in his first major league at-bat.[1] Zisk also made seventeen appearances with the 1972 Pirates, however, he was not on either team's post-season roster.

In Zisk's rookie season, 1973, he batted .324 with ten home runs. On June 9, 1974, he hit for the cycle in a 14–1 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park.[2] For the season, he led the Pirates with 100 runs batted in while also clubbing seventeen home runs. He made his only post-season appearances with the 1974 and 1975 Pirates. While batting an impressive .400 in the post-season, Zisk only scored one run and had no RBIs as the Pirates lost in five games to the Dodgers in the 1974 NLCS and were swept by the Reds in the 1975 NLCS.

Chicago White Sox

Zisk was acquired along with Silvio Martinez by the Chicago White Sox from the Pirates for Goose Gossage and Terry Forster at the Winter Meetings on December 10, 1976.[3] His best season was in 1977, his lone year with the White Sox, when he hit 30 home runs and had 101 RBIs, both career highs, in addition to a .290 batting average. He started in left field for the American League in the 1977 All-Star game. He went two for three with a double and two RBIs.[4]

Texas Rangers

Zisk became a free agent at the end of the season, and signed with the Texas Rangers. He batted clean-up, and started in right field at the 1978 All-Star Game at San Diego Stadium in San Diego. For the season, Zisk batted .262 with 22 home runs and 85 RBIs splitting time between left field, right field and designated hitter.

Seattle Mariners

After three seasons in Texas, Zisk was traded along with Jerry Don Gleaton, Rick Auerbach, Ken Clay, Brian Allard and minor-league right-handed pitcher Steve Finch from the Rangers to the Mariners for Willie Horton, Rick Honeycutt, Leon Roberts, Mario Mendoza and Larry Cox in an 11-player blockbuster deal on December 18, 1980.[5] His first season in Seattle, he batted .311 with sixteen home runs to earn 1981 AL Comeback Player of the Year honors. After three seasons as the Mariners' designated hitter, he retired after the 1983 season.

Career stats

Personal life

Zisk was raised in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey,[6] and played baseball at Parsippany High School.[7] The Daytona Cubs retired Richie's number 22 on July 20, 2007, with his family in attendance and on his bobblehead day. His younger brother, John, played a season in the Texas Rangers' organization, and two for the independent Wausau Timbers of the Midwest League.[8]

In 2004, Zisk was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.[9]

During 2011 and 2012, Zisk was in charge of pro scouting in Florida for the Chicago Cubs.[10][11]

See also

• List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle

References

Further reading

• Kennedy, Doug (March 2008). "Where Are They Now? Richie Zisk". Pittsburgh Sports Report.
• Moland-Kovash, Seth (February 6, 2017). "Better Know a Ballplayer: Richie Zisk". Banished to the Pen.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Richie Zisk at Baseball Almanac

Achievements
Preceded by Joe Torre	Hitting for the cycle June 9, 1974	Succeeded by Lou Brock

---