Robert Ralph Moose Jr. (October 9, 1947 - October 9, 1976) was a
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
from 1967 to 1976. Moose spent his entire career with the
Pittsburgh PiratesThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
. His best season came in 1969 when he posted a 14-3 won-loss record and a 2.91
Earned Run AverageIn baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
working equally as a starter and reliever. On September 20 of that year, he
no-hitA no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
the eventual
World Series championThe 1969 World Series was played between the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles, with the Mets prevailing in five games to accomplish one of the greatest upsets in Series history, as that particular Orioles squad was considered to be one of the finest ever...
New York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
. He is also known for his
wild pitchIn baseball, a wild pitch is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, perhaps even the batter-runner on strike three or ball four, to advance.A wild pitch usually...
in the bottom half of the ninth inning which allowed
George Foster to score the winning run in the fifth and deciding game of the
1972 NLCS-Game 1:Saturday, October 7, 1972 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaThe Reds got a first-inning homer from second baseman Joe Morgan to take a short-lived 1–0 lead. But Pittsburgh bounced back with three in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by an RBI triple from Al Oliver and...
, sending the
Cincinnati RedsThe Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
to the
World SeriesThe 1972 World Series matched the American League champion Oakland Athletics against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds, with the A's winning in seven games. These two teams would meet again in the fall classic eighteen years later...
after Pittsburgh had a one-run lead entering the bottom of the ninth, in the final game of
Roberto ClementeRoberto Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest of seven children. Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in...
's career.
During the 1974 season, Moose suffered a blood clot under the shoulder of his pitching arm. Surgery was required to remove the clot plus one of Moose's ribs.
Moose was killed in an auto accident heading to
Bill MazeroskiWilliam Stanley Mazeroski , nicknamed "Maz", is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates...
's golf course near
Martins FerryDuring the census of 2000, there were 7,226 people, 3,202 households, and 1,959 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,345.1 people per square mile . There were 3,680 housing units at an average density of 1,703.6 per square mile...
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, on his 29th birthday.
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