Ron Pruitt--1978
No, this is not a picture of Ron Pruitt
in his beer-league softball uniform;
the Indians actually wore those
God-awful threads during the
fashion-challenged '70s.
Always the backup, Pruitt logged nine
seasons in the bigs, never playing in
more than 80 games in any one
season. Wielding a contact bat, Pruitt
was a handy player as noted on his
1978 card:
A valuable player for the Indians,
Ron can play 6 positions on the
diamond. Has also been used as
designated hitter, pinch-hitter and
runner.
Besides filling in behind the plate (he
was an All-American catcher at
Michigan State University in 1972),
Pruitt played all three outfield
positions, served as DH and would
take an occasional groundball at
third base. A lean version of a
catcher, Bruitt was not blessed with
speed, although he would indeed
pinch-run for a slowing Bill Melton
and an even slower Rico Carty in
1977. While he would serve as a
defensive replacement for John
Lowenstein in left field; we find him
squatting in this 1978 card, as well as
in his 1977 and 1978 cards.
In all, Pruitt played in 341 major
league games, but only 89 of them
as a catcher. We surmise that the
Topps cameraman routinely corralled
Pruitt after the utility player helped
out catching a bullpen. Of course he
may have just wanted to remind
major league GMs that he can
indeed catch and not just pinch-run.
(12/05/08)
in his beer-league softball uniform;
the Indians actually wore those
God-awful threads during the
fashion-challenged '70s.
Always the backup, Pruitt logged nine
seasons in the bigs, never playing in
more than 80 games in any one
season. Wielding a contact bat, Pruitt
was a handy player as noted on his
1978 card:
A valuable player for the Indians,
Ron can play 6 positions on the
diamond. Has also been used as
designated hitter, pinch-hitter and
runner.
Besides filling in behind the plate (he
was an All-American catcher at
Michigan State University in 1972),
Pruitt played all three outfield
positions, served as DH and would
take an occasional groundball at
third base. A lean version of a
catcher, Bruitt was not blessed with
speed, although he would indeed
pinch-run for a slowing Bill Melton
and an even slower Rico Carty in
1977. While he would serve as a
defensive replacement for John
Lowenstein in left field; we find him
squatting in this 1978 card, as well as
in his 1977 and 1978 cards.
In all, Pruitt played in 341 major
league games, but only 89 of them
as a catcher. We surmise that the
Topps cameraman routinely corralled
Pruitt after the utility player helped
out catching a bullpen. Of course he
may have just wanted to remind
major league GMs that he can
indeed catch and not just pinch-run.
(12/05/08)
