Billy Baldwin 1951-2011

[Met Hunter]

Robert Harvey "Billy" Baldwin was one of the talented and lucky ones who
made it to the major leagues.


The former Buchtel High School baseball star, who played briefly for the
Detroit Tigers and New York Mets, died at age 62 last week at Elms Assisted
Living in Hudson after suffering a variety of health problems.


Andrea Rice, his sister, said her older brother will be missed.


"He was a gifted and talented athlete that had a wonderful laugh," Rice
said. "We are really going to miss him."


Old friends and teammates fondly remembered Mr. Baldwin.


Ike Grant, one of his childhood friends, said Mr. Baldwin loved baseball.


"Billy was a heck of a guy. We would go out every day and throw the ball
around, baseball or football, whether there was sunshine, rain or snow,"
Grant said.


Douglas Lee was a basketball teammate at Perkins Middle School in 1964 and
1965.
"He was a real personable, very friendly guy. He was a down-to-earth person
and a heck of an all-around athlete," Lee said.


Mr. Baldwin played youth baseball with Tim Flossie, Firestone football
coach.


"We played together for the South Akron Cubs in the G League when we were
little.
He was really good and I was not surprised he became a pro player," Flossie
said. "I followed his career in high school through the pros."


John Sarver, Ellet baseball coach, played against Mr. Baldwin in the Akron
Class AA Baseball League after Baldwin's pro career ended.


"Billy was kind of a loner, but a very happy guy. He would joke with you and
he loved talking baseball," Sarver said. "He was the best player I saw in
the league."


One of Sarver's most vivid memories of Mr. Baldwin was an astonishing home
run he hit at Summit Lake Park.


"The ball he hit would have hit the road if it had not hit a light pole,"
Sarver said. "The ball was still going up when it hit the pole."


Sarver was in awe of Mr. Baldwin's hitting talent.


"He could hit the ball anywhere. I was throwing batting practice to him one
time and he said for me to throw the ball anywhere except low and away. So I
wondered why and threw him one just to see what would happen. Thank goodness
I was throwing behind the L-screen on the mound, because he smashed one back
at me and said, 'Don't throw me low and outside! I already know how to hit
those,' " Sarver said.


Born in Tazewell, Va., Mr. Baldwin played at Buchtel High and went on to
Southern University on scholarships for baseball, football and soccer.


In 1972, Mr. Baldwin was signed as a amateur free agent by the Tigers. In
1974, he was the Class AA Florida State League Most Valuable Player, leading
the league in hits and triples.


He was called up to the Tigers and debuted on July 29, 1975, in a game
against the New York Yankees at Shea Stadium. (Yankee Stadium was being
refurbished in 1974-75.) That night, Baldwin got his first big-league hit.


He played in 30 games for the Tigers that season, hitting .221 with four
home runs, eight RBI and two stolen bases.


Before the 1976 season, Mr. Baldwin and legendary Tigers left-hander Mickey
Lolich were dealt to the New York Mets for outfielder Rusty Staub. Mr.
Baldwin spent most of the season at Class AAA Tidewater, hitting .271 with
17 home runs and 72 RBI.


After being recalled by the Mets in September, he hit .273 with a homer and
five RBI in 24 games in what turned out to be his final season in the big
leagues.


Mr. Baldwin had the biggest thrill of his pro career on Sept. 24 against the
Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium, when he hit a walk-off home run off former
Tigers teammate Joe Coleman.


He remained in the Mets organization until he was released in 1979, when he
signed that spring with the Indians organization but never played for the
Tribe.


In his two big league seasons, Mr. Baldwin hit .231 with five home runs and
13 RBI.


The family is holding private services at 4 p.m. Friday at Rhoden Memorial
Home at 1101 Palmetto Ave. A public gathering for friends and family will
start about 5:30 p.m. at the New Seasons banquet room at 1495 S. Hawkins
Ave.

[seawolf17]

Condolences to Mr. Baldwin and his family.

(Checking my list -- there's another guy I need for my auto collection that ain't gonna happen. Argh.)

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

RIP Billy

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Way too young!

I remember him in one of the Mets yearbooks, still wearing the Tigers cap, I believe. Don't think he was ever on a Topps card.

[Theoldmole]

Think about what a terrific ballplayer you have to be to even have that much of a career. RIP Billy.

[MFS62]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Way too young! I remember him in one of the Mets yearbooks, still wearing the Tigers cap, I believe. Don't think he was ever on a Topps card.

The image I remember was Billy with a huge Afro under that Tigers cap.
RIP, Billy.

Can't find the necrology thread, but ex-Boston shortstop Don Buddin passed away - age 77.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

Seems like Baldwin was as good as a lot of Mets outfielders of that era, but got numbered out.

[G-Fafif]

Sorry to hear of Billy Baldwin's passing. Passing along some research I did last September when I became obsessed (via the brief presence of Mike Hessman) by Mets who hit only one home run as Mets:

On September 24, he came up as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth and ended what had been a 3-3 game between the Mets and Cubs by homering to beat former two-time 20-game winner Joe Coleman. It would be Baldwin�s only Met homer (earlier that same month, Coleman surrendered the only Met homer ever struck by Leo Foster; he must have liked being a two-timer). OK, Baldwin is hot, so Joe Frazier inserts him in the lineup on September 25. What does he do? He triples in his first at-bat, doubles in his second at-bat and singles in his third at-bat. Billy Baldwin thus accomplished the Two-Day Reverse Natural Cycle: homer, triple, double, single. When all was said and done for Baldwin in the Bicentennial year, he had finished his Met career with exactly one of each kind of extra-base hit.

[Met Hunter]

Looking at the article, I notice it said Billy was 62. His given date of birth with MLB would make him only sixty. Looks like Billy was among the players that were older then they said. That seemed to have happened alot back then.

[ashie62]

I thought it was the actor when I saw the title.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Looking at the article, I notice it said Billy was 62. His given date of birth with MLB would make him only sixty. Looks like Billy was among the players that were older then they said. That seemed to have happened alot back then.

Seemed to be at least 60 in his player photos:

[Benjamin Grimm]

What's your source for this? I've searched Google News and haven't found anything. (I'd like to be able to corroborate his death before I kill him off in the UMDB.)

If you can post a link, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

[Guest Edgy DC]

http://www.ohio.com/sports/akron-native-and-former-big-league-baseball-player-billy-baldwin-dies-1.223941

Hard to find because "Billy" is an odd nickname for "Robert Harvey Baldwin."

[Benjamin Grimm]

Thank you!

I was able to enter his place of death, Hudson, Ohio, but not his date of death. (The article only said "last week".)

If anyone sees anything that has the actual date he died, please let me know. I thank you, and the worldwide community of Mets fans thanks you.

[Met Hunter]

Someone updated his date of death on his wiki page as June 28. They also have his correct year of birth being 1949.

There are a load of players that have different years of birth then what they gave MLB. Willard Hunter, Clarence Coleman, Gil Flores to name a few.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I did some cross-checking of birth dates a while back, and found a few discrepancies myself. I've seen two different birth years for Roger Craig, for example. Other than tracking down and asking Craig himself, I have no way of knowing which is correct.

[Met Hunter]

lol. I just found another piece of info that has Billy being born in 1948. I agree. Who the hell knows.

[Frayed Knot]

Lying about one's age was fairly common for a while for all the same reasons as it did for foreign born hopefuls.
And then they put in the pension plan and suddenly a whole lotta guys fessed up.

[Frayed Knot]

Billy B was one of the two players sister Jen - then about 12 y/o - referred to as 'The Mickey Mouse Twins' for their big, black, and roundish "ears" protruding from their hats.
I believe Nino Espinosa was the other.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Had to have been Nino. Unless Jos� Carden�l was around long enough --- and I don't think he was --- to appear in a yearbook or get your sis's attention some other way.

[Met Hunter]

I have a lasting image of Nino from the late 70s. My brother and I made an impromptu banner, after we realized it was Banner Day. As we walked through the bullpen, Nino was sitting there with that giant fro and gave us one of the laziest hellos on record.