William James "Gates" Brown (May 2, 1939 – September 27, 2013) was an American Major League Baseball left fielder who spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers (1963–1975). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Early life
Brown was born in 1939 in Crestline, Ohio. He attended Crestline High School and played tailback for the school's football team.
After his sophomore year, Brown "got in with the wrong crowd" and spent his junior year at the Boys Industrial School for juvenile offenders in Lancaster, Ohio. He returned to Crestline High for his senior year, but he was not permitted to compete in sports. He was encouraged by a prison guard who also coached the reformatory's baseball team to join the squad as a catcher. The coach contacted several major-league teams after being impressed by Brown's batting ability. Tigers scouts Frank Skaff and Pat Mullin helped Brown get paroled a year early and signed him for US$7,000. He chose to join the Tigers despite interest from other teams such as the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians. He explained, "The primary reasons I signed with Detroit is because they didn't have any black players and eventually I figured they would, plus, I had been told about the short right porch at Tiger Stadium."
Baseball career
Minor leagues
After signing with the Tigers, Brown spent four years in the team's farm system. He began his professional baseball career in 1960 with the Class C Duluth-Superior Dukes of the Northern League. In his first season, he played in the outfield, compiled a .293 batting average with 10 home runs and 68 RBIs, and was selected for the All-Star team. He also ranked among the Northern League's leaders with 13 triples (first), 30 stolen bases (second), and 105 runs scored (second). He also played winter league ball at Tampa in 1961. He played winter ball at Dunedin in 1962.
Brown began the 1963 season with the Class-AAA Syracuse Chiefs of the International League. He hit .257 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs in 60 games.
Detroit Tigers
1963 and 1964 seasons
Brown was called up from Syracuse on June 17, 1963. Two days later, on June 19, Brown hit a pinch-hit home run deep into the right field seats at Fenway Park in Boston, becoming the 11th American League batter to hit a home run in his first at bat. He was the third player in American League history to hit a pinch-hit home run in their first at bat. In his second appearance, he hit a clutch single to drive in the winning run in the ninth inning of a game against the Kansas City Athletics. He appeared in 55 games for the Tigers in 1963, including 12 starts in left field and the remainder as a pinch hitter. He also totaled 43 RBIs in 227 at bats, an impressive average of an RBI for every 5.7 appearances.
Frustrated with the lack of playing time, Brown said early in spring training in 1966 that he wished the Tigers would let him go. Horton tallied over 100 RBIs and held the left field spot for the second straight year; Brown was limited to 33 games as the starting left fielder in 1966 and was used primarily as a pinch hitter. He compiled a .266 overall batting average but excelled with a .325 average in the pinch-hitting role.</blockquote>
With injuries to Horton early in the 1967 season, Brown was called on to start 17 games early in the 1967 season. However, in June, Brown dislocated a bone in his left wrist crashing into the outfield wall while trying to field a fly ball. He remained on the injured list until the final month of the season. On the season, he appeared in only 51 games, and his batting average dropped to a career-low .187 in 91 at bats. He hit especially well against rival Boston Red Sox. On April 11, he had a pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning to lead the Tigers to a 4–3 victory over the Red Sox. He hit another pinch-hit home run against the Sox on August 10. Brown's mastery of the Sox peaked in an August 11 double-header before a crowd of 49,087 at Tiger Stadium. In the first game, he hit a game-winning home run in the 14th inning to deliver a 5–4 victory. In the second game, he again had the game-winning RBI in the ninth inning.
Brown also won over fans with his "every man" charisma. On August 7, 1968, after grabbing two hot dogs from the clubhouse, Brown was ordered by manager Mayo Smith to pinch hit. He notoriously stuffed the hot dogs in his jersey to hide them from his manager. "I always wanted to get a hit every time I went to the plate. But this was one time I didn't want to get a hit. I'll be damned if I didn't smack one in the gap and I had to slide into second — head first, no less. I was safe with a double. But when I stood up, I had mustard and ketchup and smashed hot dogs and buns all over me. The fielders took one look at me, turned their backs and damned near busted a gut laughing at me. My teammates in the dugout went crazy." After fining Brown $100, Smith said, "What the hell were you doing eating on the bench in the first place?" Brown replied, "I decided to tell him the truth. I said, 'I was hungry. Besides, where else can you eat a hot dog and have the best seat in the house'"
In August 1968, Detroit Free Press columnist Joe Falls wrote:
<blockquote>"Gates Brown. Everybody's favorite. Anyone who has to struggle in life -- and that's just about all of us -- can relate to this guy. Because nobody has reached the top through a more trying route than Gates Brown. And nobody is happier to be here than Gates Brown.<br>He waddles out to leftfield. That's you playing softball. He stumbles in for a fly ball, lunges and catches it at the last moment. That's you, all right. He rips a triple over the centerfielder's head and raced to third like a runaway fire hydrant. It could be the moment in the office picnic."</blockquote>
Los Angeles Times sportswriter Jim Murray wrote in September 1968 that Brown had "the most level swing since Joe DiMaggio and added:
<blockquote>He's batting .459 as a pinch hitter. He hits the "A" pitches farther than some guys hit the batting practice pitches. He strikes out so seldom that pitchers are convinced he could get wood on a cultured pearl, or a machine gun bullet."</blockquote>
California Angels manager Bill Rigney said: "When I think of Gates Brown, I think of loud noises and line drives. When my pitchers ask me what to do with him, I say, 'Duck'!"
Brown holds the American League record for the most pinch-hit at bats in a career, with 414. In his career, Brown collected 107 pinch hits including 16 pinch homers - both are also American League career records
Brown died of a heart attack on September 27, 2013, at a nursing home, aged 74. He had been in failing health for the last years of his life.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball players with a home run in their first major league at bat
- List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise