Rich Hand

Richard Allen Hand

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 195 lb.
• School University of Puget Sound
• High School Lincoln High School (Seattle)
• Debut April 9, 1970
• Final Game September 26, 1973
• Born July 10, 1948 in Bellevue, WA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Rich Hand was the best pitcher on the inaugural edition of the Texas Rangers in 1972, going 10-14, 3.34 on a team that lost 100 games against just 54 wins. It was by far his best season as he never won more than 6 games in any other of his four seasons. He started out with the Cleveland Indians, who had drafted him in the secondary phase of the 1969 amateur draft, in 1970 and 1971. Following that season, he was part of a major trade that sent him to the Rangers alongside OF Roy Foster, P Mike Paul and C Ken Suarez in return for Ps Gary Jones, Terry Ley and Denny Riddleberger and OF Del Unser.

He split the 1973 season between the Rangers and the California Angels, being traded with 1B Mike Epstein and C Rick Stelmaszek in return for P Lloyd Allen and 1B Jim Spencer. He combined to go 6-6, 4.39 between the two teams, then after the season was traded for a third time, this time to the St. Louis Cardinals as the player to be named later in return for P Orlando Pena, who had been sent from St. Louis to the Angels the previous September. He never pitched for the cardinals, however.

He is the father of Whitney Hand, who was part of a sports family-dominated Oklahoma State basketball team in 2009 along with Courtney and Ashley Paris (daughters of a NFL player), Carlee Roethlisberger (sister of a NFL player) and Abi Olajuwon (daughter of a NBA player).

Further Reading

• Raymond Rossi: "Rich Hand", in Steve West and Bill Nowlin, eds.: The Team That Couldn't Hit: The 1972 Texas Rangers, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2019, pp. 80-84. ISBN 978-1-943816-93-4

Related Sites

• Rich hand at the SABR Bio Project