Bob Meyer

Robert Bernard Meyer (born August 4, 1939, in Toledo, Ohio) is a former professional baseball pitcher. The left-hander was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1960. He played for the Yankees (1964), Los Angeles Angels (1964), Kansas City Athletics (1964), Seattle Pilots (1969), and Milwaukee Brewers (1970).

Meyer is probably best-known for being the loser in the best big league game he ever pitched. While starting for the Athletics on the road at Memorial Stadium, he and Baltimore Orioles left-hander Frank Bertaina each pitched a complete game one-hitter, but the A's lost 1-0 as Jackie Brandt hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 8th to score pinch-runner Bob Saverine from third. (September 12, 1964)

Other career highlights include:
*six scoreless innings in a start and win against the Kansas City Athletics (June 26, 1964)
*a six-hit, complete game win (6-1) against the Baltimore Orioles (September 7, 1964)
*pitched first nine innings, giving up just one unearned run, in a 13-inning, 5-1 victory over the New York Yankees (game #2 - September 1, 1969)
*held All-Stars Jackie Brandt, Leo Cardenas, Norm Cash, Dick McAuliffe, Roy White, and Tony Oliva to a .000 collective batting average (0-for-27)
*held Hall of Famers Luis Aparicio and Brooks Robinson to a .125 collective batting average (2-for-16)

Meyer appeared in a total of 38 games, 18 as a starter, with 3 complete games and 6 games finished. During his career, he gave up 80 walks in just 129.1 innings for a BB/9IP of 5.57, quite a bit higher than the American League average at that time. However, with 92 strikeouts, his K/9IP was 6.40, which was higher than the American League average. He finished his career with a total of 2 wins, 12 losses, and an ERA of 4.38.

Trivia

*Meyer's first major league strikeout victim was future Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski...the third batter he ever faced. {Fenway Park -- April 20, 1964}
*His last strikeout victim was All-Star Sal Bando...the next-to-last batter he ever faced. {Milwaukee County Stadium -- May 20, 1970}

External links

*baseball-reference|id=m/meyerbo01
* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Pmeyeb102.htm Retrosheet]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/M/Meyer_Bob.stm Baseball Library]