Jack Pierce (baseball)

Jack Pierce
First baseman
Born: (1948-06-02)June 2, 1948
Laurel, Mississippi
Died: September 13, 2012(2012-09-13) (aged 64)
Monterrey, Mexico
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 27, 1973, for the Atlanta Braves
Last MLB appearance
September 12, 1975, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Batting average .211
Home runs 8
Runs batted in 22
Teams
Member of the Mexican
Baseball Hall of Fame
Inducted 2001

Lavern Jack Pierce (June 2, 1948 – September 13, 2012) was a Major League Baseball player. He was born in Laurel, Mississippi.

Pierce played in parts of three seasons in the majors from 1973 until 1975 for the Atlanta Braves and Detroit Tigers. He also played for the Nankai Hawks in Japan in 1977. However, Pierce is better known for his exploits in minor league baseball. As of 1998, he ranked 9th all-time in minor league home runs with 395.

Career

Braves organization

Pierce hit 20 homers in the Carolina League in 1971 (tied for second, two behind league leader Charlie Spikes in his second pro season), 23 homers in the 1972 Southern League (tied for third, 7 behind leader Mike Reinbach and 14 in his first season at AAA with the 1973 Richmond Braves. This earned him a brief call-up to the Atlanta Braves, where he played eleven games in April and May. However, he managed just one hit in 20 at bats and was returned to Richmond.

The next season, Pierce was sent to the Mexican League at a young age for an American prospect. That year he again was a home run runner-up, with 28, while he hit .306/~.431/.609. That earned him a return trip to the American minors, and in September another call-up to Atlanta, where he again managed just a single hit in nine at bats.

Tigers organization

In the spring of 1975, Pierce was traded by the Braves to the Detroit Tigers for fellow minor league first baseman Reggie Sanders (first baseman). He hit .280 with 9 homers for the Evansville Triplets of the American Association, earning his last and longest look in the majors, where he hit 8 homers in 170 AB and slugging .424, but with a .235 average. This wasn't enough for the Tigers, who brought up Jason Thompson to take over first base in 1976.

Pierce returned to Mexico, where he homered 36 times, winning the first of three homer crowns. He hit .331/~.410/.599 for Puebla in 1976 and also topped the Liga with 109 RBI.

Japan

The next season, Pierce once again found himself in another country, this time Japan, where he signed with the Nankai Hawks for the 1977 season. He hit .227/.302/.399 with 13 homers in 291 at-bats. Right before opening day the next year, the Hawks let Pierce go.

Mariners organization

Pierce returned to America in 1978, signing a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners. In 1978, he played for the San Jose Missions, and in 1979 for the Spokane Indians, both Triple-A farm clubs of the Mariners, without getting to the majors.

Third stint in Mexico

Pierce returned to his old haunts in Mexico, but struggled in his third trip to the Liga, hitting just .198 in 32 games. Jack returned to form somewhat in 1980; while his average was low and he slugged under .500, he did hit a league-best 17 homers in the strike-shortened season, taking his second home run crown.

In 1984 the Mexican League began using the lively Commando ball and Pierce took advantage better than most – he raised his average 118 points to .364 with an OBP around .438 and a slugging of .659. He was second to Antonio Lora in RBI (117) and third in homers. A year later he cranked out 40 in his second season for the Bravos de León, with 104 runs and 118 RBI, slugging .620. He was third in RBI and second in homers, one behind league leader Andrés Mora.

1986 saw Pierce set a Mexican League record with 54 home runs for the Braves. The old mark had been 46 by Héctor Espino – in addition to Pierce, Nick Castaneda (53) and Willie Aikens (46) at least matched the old record. Pierce hit .381, scored 111, drove in 148, slugged .783 and had an OBP around .464. Pierce also spent some time as Leon's player-manager that year.

After slipping to .277/~.372/.516 with 24 homers in 1987, Pierce retired. As of 2000, his 294 homers in the Liga were 8th in league history, the best by a U.S. native. Pierce had hit .300 and slugged .553 in his 11 years in Mexico.

Pierce was elected to the Salón de la Fama in 2001. He was the batting coach of the Sultanes de Monterrey team.

Pierce died in Monterrey, Mexico at the age of 64.

Sources

External links

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