Bobby Pfeil

Robert Raymond Pfeil

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.
• High School Reseda High School
• Debut June 26, 1969
• Final Game September 16, 1971
• Born November 13, 1942 in Passaic, NJ USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Bobby Pfeil made his big league debut at the age of 25 on June 26, 1969 for the New York Mets against pitcher Grant Jackson and the rest of the Philadelphia Phillies. Pfeil went 1-for-4 in his debut, although Jackson shut out the Mets, 2-0 ,and held them to just four hits. In addition, Jackson collected 10 strikeouts in that game. Pfeil did well during the first two weeks of his debut - he was hitting .333 on July 4th - but by July 31st his batting average had slumped to .232. Ironically, that is what his final batting average for the season would end up being. After July 31st, he was able to pull his average above .240 only once, and he let it slip down to .217 at one point. However, after going 3-for-6 in the final two games of the season, he brought his average up to its final mark of .232. In 211 at-bats, he also scored 20 runs, drove 10 runs in, hit 9 doubles but no triples or homers, walked 7 times and struck out 27 times.

Analysis of Pfeil's performance during the last 49 games of the regular season, when the Mets won 38 times and only lost 11, suggests that he made modest contributions at bat and in the field. Pfeil batted .250 during the 49 games (23 hits in 92 at-bats), and only made one error at third base. During the last 17 games of August, of which the Mets won 14, Pfeil was a regular who hit .250 on 16 hits in 64 at-bats with 3 doubles. Throughout the year, Pfeil showed good range, with the second-best assist-per-inning ratio for Met third basemen (Ed Charles had the highest ratio at .336, and Pfeil was a close second at .327).

Although the Mets reached the playoffs and eventually won the 1969 World Series , Pfeil did not appear in the postseason.

On May 26, 1970, Pfeil was sent as the player to be named later to the Philadelphia Phillies to complete a trade that occurred originally on April 10th of that year. In return for Pfeil, the Mets received Ron Allen.

Pfeil did not appear in the majors in 1970, however by 1971 he was back in a major league uniform. He appeared in 44 games for the Phillies that year, collecting 19 hits in 70 at-bats for a .271 batting average. He played his final game on September 6th as a defensive replacement against the St. Louis Cardinals. He had made his big league debut against the Phillies while playing for the Mets and ironically, he ended up facing the Mets while playing for the Phillies in his final career at-bat, on September 5th.

Although he didn't play in the majors after 1971, he was still active in the minor leagues. On February 8, 1972, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later, who ended up being minor leaguer Chico Vaughns. On March 20th of that year, he was purchased by the Boston Red Sox from the Brewers.

Related Sites

• Bobby Pfeil at the SABR Bio Project