Rick Kreuger, a pitcher who went undrafted out of college in 1970 and helped the Red Sox reach the World Series five years later, died May 7. He was 77.
Kreuger went 2-2 with a 4.47 ERA in parts of four MLB seasons for the Red Sox (1975-77) and Cleveland Indians (1978). In addition to 17 games in the majors, Kreuger pitched 246 in the minors and spent one season in Japan.
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A native of Wyoming, Michigan, Kreuger was an All-American at Grand Rapids Community College before playing at Michigan State University.
While pitching the amateur Grand Rapids Sullivans to the 1970 National Baseball Congress World Series championship, Kreuger was spotted by a Red Sox scout and signed his first professional contract.
After mostly starting in the minors, Kreuger made two relief appearances for the 1975 Red Sox. However, he was passed over for their playoff roster and did not participate in the World Series, which the Cincinnati Reds won in a memorable seven games.
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Kreuger saw his most major league action in 1976, going 2-1 with a 4.06 ERA in eight games (four starts). He made all but one of his 54 appearances in 1977 at Triple-A, then was traded to Cleveland in March 1978.
After appearing in six games with the Indians, Kreuger joined the Yomiuri Giants for one season (1978). He was one of two American-born players who teamed with Sadaharu Oh in the slugger’s penultimate season in Nippon Professional Baseball.
Kreuger returned home to Michigan and worked as a teacher and baseball coach after his playing career ended.
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“It’s not that I played a long time in Big Leagues, but I got to play at places all players want to play,” he told MLive.com in 2012. “My best memory at Fenway was when I pitched a no-hitter at Fenway Park for seven innings, but ended up losing a three-hitter.
“The crowd there gave me a standing ovation. I tipped my cap, absorbed it all in, and kept on going into the dugout. I wondered at the time, how many people actually get a standing ovation at Fenway Park? It doesn’t get much better than that.”was one of
Kreuger was one of more than 200 Red Sox alumni who attended Fenway Park’s 100th-anniversary celebration in 2012.
Kreuger is survived by his wife, Brenda, three children, four grandchildren and two siblings.
