Dick Dietz, 63, Who Didn't Try to Avoid a Drysdale Pitch, Dies

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 30, 2005

CLAYTON, Ga., June 29 (AP) - Dick Dietz, a former All-Star catcher who was involved with Don Drysdale in one of baseball's most disputed plays in the 1960's, died here on Tuesday. He was 63.

The cause was a heart attack, the Hunter Funeral Home said.

Dietz hit .261 with 66 home runs and 301 runs batted in, playing from 1966 to 1973, mostly with the San Francisco Giants. He finished his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves.

His best season was 1970, when he hit .300 with 22 home runs and 107 R.B.I. He was an All-Star that season, and his leadoff homer in the ninth inning against Catfish Hunter started a three-run rally that tied the All-Star Game, which the National League won in the 12th inning.

But Dietz was best known for what happened at Dodger Stadium on May 31, 1968. Drysdale was in the midst of setting a major league record of 58 2/3 scoreless innings and bidding for his fifth straight shutout when the Giants loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth inning.

Dietz came up, and was hit on the elbow by a 2-2 pitch from Drysdale, a future Hall of Famer. But before Dietz could take his base and force home a run that would break Drysdale's streak, the plate umpire Harry Wendelstedt ruled that Dietz had not tried to get out of the way of the ball, nullifying the hit batsman.

"He stood there like a post," Dietz's former Giants teammate Ron Hunt recalled Wednesday. "It was a high slider, and he didn't make an attempt."

The Giants argued, but Dietz returned to the plate with a full count and hit a shallow fly ball that was not deep enough to score a run. Drysdale retired the next two batters to finish off the shutout and extend his string to 45 scoreless innings.

Dietz is survived by his wife, Betty, and two daughters, Robin Duffie and Kristen Danielson.