Aubrey Gatewood

Aubrey Lee Gatewood
(Woody)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 170 lb.
• School Arkansas State College
• High School North Little Rock High School
• Debut September 11, 1963
• Final Game July 8, 1970
• Born November 17, 1938 in North Little Rock, AR USA
• Died June 5, 2019 in North Little Rock, AR USA

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Biographical Information

Aubrey Gatewood pitched four seasons in the majors with a career ERA of 2.78. He often started when he pitched for the Los Angeles Angels in 1963 and 1964, but was mostly a reliever during his last two years in the majors, with the renamed California Angels in 1965 and the Atlanta Braves in 1970. He also pitched 11 years in the minors, usually as a starter.

Gatewood was born in Little Rock, AR in 1938. Brooks Robinson was born in Little Rock the year before. Aubrey attended Arkansas State University from 1957 to 1959, his time there overlapping a bit with that of Weldon Bowlin. Aubrey was signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1959. The Los Angeles Angels picked him up in the expansion draft. The New York Mets then took him in the 1961 Rule V Draft, but he ended up back with the Angels when the dust settled.

Although his ERA's had ups and downs in the minors, when Aubrey first came to the majors in 1963 he was masterful, with a 1.50 ERA in 24 innings. The next season he was also quite good, with a 2.24 ERA in 60 1/3 innings. He was two years older than fellow pitcher Dean Chance. In 1965 he was assigned to the bullpen primarily, and in 46 games he had an ERA of 3.42.

One might have thought that his big league performances in 1963-1965 were good enough to keep him at the major league level, but he spent 1966 to 1969 in the minors. A number of sources refer to "arm troubles", and one says he developed a knuckleball at this time. It didn't help that a variety of major league teams picked him up and didn't bring him to the show. Finally, he came back one more time at age 31 with the Atlanta Braves in 1970, getting a chance to pitch only two innings. He pitched in 1971 in the minors and then his pro career was over.

"Aubrey Gatewood is a good example of a knuckleball pitcher who would have spent more time in the big leagues if he had been able to put up similar stats throwing conventional pitches." - Source: A scout quoted at Northern League.

After baseball he went into the insurance business.