Gates Brown, Tigers’ Clutch Pinch-Hitter, Is Dead at 74

Gates Brown, Tigers’ Clutch Pinch-Hitter, Is Dead at 74

"Gator" was a pinch-hitting specialist. A very fat pinch-hitting specialist. My favorite baseball book, "The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book," called him the spare tire who wore a spare tire.

He loved to joke about himself. His sense of humor was even better than his ability to time a fastball. Gates once said, “In high school I took a little English, a little math, some science, a few hubcaps and some wheel covers.”

All joking aside, he was a genuinely important figure in the pennant drive of the 1968 Tigers, who were the World Series Champs that year. He batted .450 as a pinch hitter that year, with a 1.393 OPS. He still holds the lifetime record for most pinch-hits and most pinch-homers in the American League, with 107 and 16.

But the funny stories are still the best part of the Gator legend:

"Brown was famous for being prepared to hit even though he was not necessarily playing in the field. He was also famous for eating hot dogs during games before his customary moment arrived, usually in later innings. Once, when he was called to hit earlier than usual, he was still getting to his hot dogs. After gulping one down, he slipped another inside his uniform, condiments already applied.

'Wouldn’t you know, Gator hits a double and slides headfirst into second,' the former Tigers pitcher Jon Warden recalled. 'Boom, mustard and ketchup all over him. The umpire said: ‘Stay there, Gator. You’re bleeding.’'”