Dave Cash

David Cash Jr.
(A.C. or Action Dog)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 170 lb.
• High School Thomas R. Proctor High School
• Debut September 13, 1969
• Final Game October 5, 1980
• Born June 11, 1948 in Utica, NY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Dave Cash was a second baseman and leadoff hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1980. A three-time All-Star, Dave was the man who replaced Pirates' legend Bill Mazeroski at second base.

Cash was part of a loaded Pirates farm system who made his debut at the tail end of the 1969 season. After hitting .314 in limited play in 1970, he became a more integral part of the Pirate operation, gradually wresting the keystone sack from Maz by 1971. On September 1st that year, he was part of what is believed to be the first all-black and Latino lineup in MLB history, along with Rennie Stennett, Gene Clines, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Manny Sanguillen, Al Oliver, Jackie Hernandez and Dock Ellis. Military service commitments combined with the rise of Stennett and a youngster named Willie Randolph conspired to move Cash in-state, swapped to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ken Brett after 1973.

"A.C." (short for "Always Cool", as his Phillies teammates dubbed him) began a three-year All-Star run with the move. Now free to play every day, he played 162 games twice and 160 in the third season, leading the NL in at-bats all three years and in singles twice. He was a .300 hitter twice, batting .300/.351/.378 with 206 hits in 1974, then .305/.356/.388 in 1975 with 40 doubles, 111 runs scored and a league-leading 213 hits. He led the National League in at-bats all three seasons, including 699 the second year, one of the highest totals ever. After Cash, no Phillie would surpass 200 hits again until another All-Star second baseman, Chase Utley, in 2006. Yet, even though he surpassed 200 hits both years, he did not walk often enough for some tastes (his career high was 56 in '75) which triggered 'he's not a prototype leadoff hitter' complaints in abundance. Dave completed the AS run with a .284/.327/.345 line in 1976, leading the NL with 12 triples and making his first postseason appearance since 1972. That season, he had a streak of 227 consecutive plate appearances without striking out; this remains the longest such streak by anyone since 1961.

With his finest three-year stretch in the books, Dave was among the first batch of free agents following the 1976 season. His signing by the Montreal Expos was considered a major coup for the fledgling team. He started at second base for two seasons with the Expos, playing virtually every game. He hit a solid .289/.343/.375 with 42 doubles and 21 stolen bases in 1977 but his hitting slipped significantly in 1978 (.252/.291/.315), as did his fielding. Manager Dick Williams started using Pepe Frias as a defensive substitute every time the Expos had a lead late in a game. In spring training 1979, Cash lost his job to the newly acquired "Cool Breeze" Rodney Scott. It was a hard blow for Cash, who had not seen the demotion coming, and he sulked for the early part of the season as a little-used backup while Scott and the Expos were playing their best baseball ever. Dave got some more playing time in the second half and hit extremely well, batting .321 with a 114 OPS+ in 187 at bats. After the season, he was traded to the San Diego Padres for Bill Almon and Dan Briggs. He was handed the starting second base job to start 1980 but hit only .227 in 130 games. He was released at the end of spring training in 1981 and never played in the majors again. In 1989, he played for the Orlando Juice of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He hit .321 in 35 games. The next season, he played for the Florida Tropics and hit .304 in 14 games before the league folded.

All told, Dave hit .283/.334/.358, scoring 732 runs in a 12-season career. While he was never a big bases on balls guy (424 total), he only struck out 309 times in 5,554 at bats, never more than 36 times in a season. Dave hit .333 (1-for-3) in All-Star Games and reached the playoffs four times in his career. He went three times with Pittsburgh from 1970-1972, winning a World Series ring in 1971 against the Baltimore Orioles, and once with the Phillies in 1976, who lost the NLCS to the Cincinnati Reds. In 59 career NLCS at bats, he hit .288/.295/.356 with four extra base hits (all doubles) and 5 RBI. In his lone World Series, he hit just 4-for-30 (.133).

Cash was a Philadelphia Phillies coach in 1996 and a member of the Baltimore Orioles staff in 2005 and 2006. He has also been a minor league manager and a coach for the Batavia Clippers in 1988, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in 1989 and 1993-1994, Rochester Red Wings in 1997-2000, Ottawa Lynx in 2003-2005, and Bluefield Orioles in 2006. He was the Philadelphia Phillies' minor league infield instructor from 1990-1992.

Notable Achievements

• 1970 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• 3-time NL All-Star (1974-1976)
• 3-time NL At Bats Leader (1974-1976)
• NL Hits Leader (1975)
• 2-time NL Singles Leader (1974 & 1975)
• NL Triples Leader (1976)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1975)
• 200 Hits Seasons: 2 (1974 & 1975)
• Won a World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971

Records Held

• Plate appearance, right handed batter, season, 766, 1975
• Most at bats, extra inning game, 11, 5/21/77 (tied)

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1990	Batavia Clippers	New York-Penn League	12-11	--	Philadelphia Phillies		replaced by Tony Scott on July 11
2001	Frederick Keys	Carolina League	70-69	5th	Baltimore Orioles
2002	Bowie Baysox	Eastern League	29-59	--	Baltimore Orioles		replaced by Dave Stockstill on July 8

Related Sites

• Dave Cash at the SABR Bio Project