Reggie Baldwin was a catcher for the Houston Astros in
1978-79.
Reginald Conrad Baldwin was born August 19, 1954, in River
Rouge, Michigan, adjacent to Detroit. He attended Southwestern High School in
Detroit, where, according to a 1976 article, he hit .500 as a junior catcher and
.532 as a senior (1972), leading the state both years, and being named the
city’s MVP both years as well. He was also a star quarterback. He got baseball
scholarship offers from Arizona State, Grambling, and Wayne State, and chose
Grambling.
In 1973 Reggie hit .342 as a freshman and was named to the All-Southwestern Athletic Conference team. In 1974, he hit .385 with seven homers and was named to the NAIA District 30 All-Star first team, and was named Grambling’s MVP.
In 1975 he missed time to a knee injury but hit .444; over the
summer he played with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in Alaska’s summer league
for college players. In his senior year he hit .393, was the team’s MVP again,
and was named the catcher on the All-American second team. From the Ruston
Daily Leader, May 12, 1976:
Tigers’ Baldwin: Big League Next?
By Andrew Harris
Grambling Assistant SID
GRAMBLING—Grambling catcher Reggie Baldwin grew up in the shadows of Detroit’s Tiger Stadium and his fondest dream is to return there as a player—either with the Detroit Tigers, or if worst comes to worst, with another major league team.
Baldwin, Grambling’s team leader for the past four seasons, appears to be a lead pipe cinch to make the grade in professional baseball but whether he returns to the Motor City will be left to a number of things, number one of which will be the upcoming major league draft of college and free agent players.
Baseball experts rate Baldwin among the nation’s top prospects and many believe that he will be a number one draft pick.
Baldwin has all of the tools and figures to impress major league talent scouts…
A line drive hitter, Baldwin feels that his main strength is in his defensive abilities behind the plate. He has a bazooka-like arm and according to his coaches can handle pitchers with the aplomb of a seasoned veteran.
If Baldwin has a weakness it is in his tendency to be inselective at the plate.
“I hit both the fastball and breaking pitches well but I have to develop the patience to wait for my pitch and to hit pitches in the strike zone better. Patience is the key to the whole thing,” he says…
Everywhere Grambling plays Reggie is watched avidly by a corps of scouts from practically every team in the major leagues.
Grambling coach Dr. R.W.E. Jones, who has been at the helm of Tiger baseball for a number of years, says that Baldwin’s chances of making the grade in pro baseball are excellent. He rates him on a par with Ralph Garr and Tommie Agee, past Grambling performers who played in the big leagues.
“Baldwin is a very knowledgeable ballplayer and his greatest asset is his attitude. He is very coachable and keeps his head in the game at all times. He rates among the alltime best here and I feel certain that he will make somebody a great ballplayer,” Dr. Jones says.
Tiger assistant coach Wilbert Ellis is equally impressed with Baldwin saying that the most overlooked thing about the big catcher is his leadership ability.
Reginald Baldwin is also a great student in the classroom. In four years at Grambling he has a cumulative average of 3.4 on a 4.0 system. He is an accounting major.
His knowledge of numbers could come in handy if he becomes a first round draft choice later this spring.
In the June 9 draft Reggie was the first player taken in the
third round, by the Astros. He quickly signed a contract and was assigned to
the Covington Astros of the Rookie class Appalachian League. He played in 63 of
the team’s 70 games, catching 51, and hit .286/.309/.457; he tied for second in
the league in RBI with 54. He was named to the league’s all-star team, and
Topps selected him as the catcher on their Short-Season A/Rookie League
all-star team.
From the February 19, 1977, Sporting News:
[Bob] Watson is among several veteran Astros predicting future greatness for young catcher Reggie Baldwin, a Grambling University prospect who was a high draft choice last year. He has been working out in the Astrodome this winter.
By this time Reggie had been ordained as a Baptist minister,
a fact that I first found reference to in the March 25 Lubbock Avalanche
Journal. This was the same day that he was reassigned from Houston’s major
league spring training camp, to which he had been invited, to the minor league
camp; among the others sent down at the same time were Terry Puhl, Bruce Bochy,
Luis Pujols, and Dave Smith. He ended up with the Columbus (Georgia) Astros of
the Class AA Southern League, skipping over Class A entirely. On June 4 the Sporting
News ran a feature on him:
‘Rev.’ Mixes Preaching and Playing
By Allan Morris
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—Reggie Baldwin doesn’t see any conflict between being a minister and a professional baseball player.
“In fact,” said the Columbus (Southern) catcher, “I get to reach a lot more people and talk with them in my baseball travels.” Just as he did here when Columbus came to Chattanooga for a series.
Baldwin, whose nickname among the players is “Rev,” is a minister of the Mayflower Institution Missionary Baptist Church of Detroit. He was ordained last January…
He plans to continue his baseball career from March through September, with the hope of eventually reaching the major leagues. In the meantime, he will serve in the pulpit during the fall and winter before devoting himself fully to the ministry after his baseball days are over.
But even during the season, he finds time for preaching. He gave the invocation at opening-day ceremonies in Columbus and also at Montgomery, when the Astros opened the season there.
“During spring training, I was able to hold services for the players—major and minor leaguers—and there was real participation,” he said. “And usually, I can take part at a Baptist church on Sunday evenings, both at home and on the road.
“I know there is usually profanity on the bench and in the clubhouse, but I’ve been in sports all my life and I can turn that off,” he added. “I think my teammates respect me and my religious beliefs—and I’ve been associated with a great bunch of guys always.”
On July 7 Reggie was on the Southern League all-star team
that played a game against the Atlanta Braves at Chattanooga. He ended the
season hitting .282/.306/.417 in 348 at-bats in 101 games; he struck out just
25 times but walked only five, his OBP being helped a little by eight
hit-by-pitches. At the end of the Southern League season he was called up to
AAA Charleston, where he had four singles in 11 at-bats in three games. He then
went back to Columbus and helped them win the league championship series in
four straight games.
In 1978 Reggie went to spring training with Houston again,
and again he was sent to Columbus. On May 21, though, he was recalled by Houston
when Wilbur Howard was placed on the disabled list. On the 25th he
made his major league debut in San Francisco, replacing Joe Ferguson at catcher
in the middle of the seventh inning with the Astros down 5-1 in a game they
ended up losing 9-1. He batted once, making the final out of the game against
Ed Halicki on a popup to shortstop Vic Harris.
On the 28th he came in at catcher for the final
inning, after Denny Walling pinch-hit for starter Ed Herrmann, but didn’t bat.
On the 29th he pinch-hit for Joe Niekro, again against Ed Halicki of
the Giants, and grounded out to short. On the 30th and 31st
he got his first two starts, due to Ferguson having been injured in a home
plate collision with Darrell Evans, but was held hitless by Bob Knepper and
Vida Blue. On June 3 he started again, at home against the Cardinals, and got
his first two major league hits, a single off Pete Falcone and a double off
John Urrea.
Reggie was the Astros’ primary catcher for a while after that, backed up by Herrmann, as Ferguson remained on the bench. On June 12 against the Pirates he was flattened at home plate by Dave Parker and had to leave the game, though he returned the next day.
Rookie Catcher Sparks 2-1 Astros Win Over Bucs
By Gary Taylor
HOUSTON (UPI)—Reggie Baldwin, a Class AA player until three weeks ago, is on the verge of taking the Houston Astros starting catcher’s job away from Joe Ferguson.
Ferguson, officially, is sidelined with a jammed right shoulder. But he was used in Monday’s game after Baldwin was knocked unconscious on a play at the plate.
“Ferguson could be playing,” a team source said.
Sentiment is high on the team for leaving the hustling rookie catcher in the lineup. He has hit only .214 in 14 games and has not thrown well since being called up from Columbus late last month. But he has struck out only twice in 42 at-bats and has displayed both toughness and power the past two nights.
His first major league home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jim Bibby in Tuesday’s Astros victory tied the score and Houston eventually took a 2-1 win on Cesar Cedeno’s runscoring triple in the eighth inning.
More impressive than the home run, however, was Baldwin’s ability to bounce back from his collision with the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Dave Parker Monday night. Baldwin, 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, tried to block the plate as Parker, running full speed, dove into him.
“I’ve never been hit that hard and I played football in high school,” Baldwin said after Houston’s second straight win over the Pirates. “I don’t remember anything about it.”
Baldwin was unconscious for two minutes, but when revived he wanted to stay in the game. It was when he tried to place his chest protector on his left leg that he was led to the lockerroom.
Baldwin Tuesday said he felt no aftereffects and he showed it by starting.
Astros rookie Dennis Walling, who contributed two hits and two stolen bases Tuesday, said, “Reggie is a tough man. He comes back tonight and goes deep on them after getting knocked out.”
Baldwin downplayed his role.
“I was surprised I was called up and I’m just happy that I’ve had the chance to play,” he said. “Joe Ferguson is the number one catcher.”
Reggie did have some complications from the collision, and
only started two of the next 13 games, Ferguson starting the others. On June 29
Luis Pujols was called up and immediately installed as the regular. On July 1
Ferguson was traded back to the Dodgers for two players to be named later; since
Herrmann had already been traded to the Angels this left just Reggie and Pujols
to do the catching. But essentially it was just Pujols, as Reggie made a
late-inning appearance behind the plate on July 3 and then was limited to just
pinch-hitting. On July 17 he was sent down to Columbus and Bruce Bochy was
called up; the Corpus Christi Times reported:
Baldwin has been hampered by a strained tendon in his right shoulder and has been able to hit but not catch. He will be used as a designated hitter in Columbus until he is able to catch, at which time he likely will be recalled to Houston.
On August 16 Reggie was recalled to Houston, when Bob Watson
was placed on the DL. He stayed with the Astros the rest of the season, but was
used exclusively as a pinch-hitter. His season numbers with Houston were
.254/.286/.373 in 67 at-bats in 38 games; with Columbus he was .323/.328/.444 in
133 at-bats in 36 games, with, amazingly, just one walk. On November 14 he
underwent surgery to remove loose cartilage fragments from his shoulder.
In February 1979 Reggie signed a new contract with the
Astros, and went to spring training to compete for a backup role behind the
newly acquired Alan Ashby. He lost out to Bochy, though, and was sent to AAA
Charleston, where he backed up Pujols but was mostly used as DH—apparently
there were still shoulder issues. On April 24, after he won a game against the
Syracuse Chiefs with a three-run homer with two out in the ninth, an article in
the Syracuse Herald Journal claimed that he was a Moonie, a follower of
Reverend Sun Myung Moon. This did not go over well with Reggie; from the same
paper, the next day:
Baldwin has ripped the Chiefs for three HRs and 10 RBI this year and prior to the contest, the ordained Baptist minister from Detroit reaffirmed his faith in God (and Jesus Christ) and denied having any association whatsoever with any religious cult group. “I’ve dedicated my life to serving God,” commented the soft-spoken Baldwin. “I play baseball for God and don’t want to have anything to do with any cult.”
On June 18 (at which point he was hitting .272/.290/.422 in
180 at-bats in 49 games) Reggie was called up to Houston to fill a roster spot
created when Bob Watson was traded to the Red Sox. He was used mostly as a
pinch-hitter, making three late-inning catching appearances and getting one
start at first base. On August 11 he was sent down to AA Columbus when Alan
Knicely was brought up; in 22 games, 12 as catcher, he hit .293/.333/.413 in 75
at-bats. After DHing for Columbus in their league championship series loss to
Nashville, he was brought back up to Houston, where he pinch-hit in two games.
Overall he got into 14 games for the Astros and had four hits in 20 at-bats.
After the season the Houston players voted him a ¼ share of their second-place
share of the World Series money, which amounted to $463.95; the Sporting News
called him “another good prospect if he overcomes a shoulder problem.”
In January 1980 Reggie was invited to spring training with
Houston as a non-roster player, but in February he was traded to the Mets for
AA third baseman Keith Bodie. He was sent to AAA Tidewater, where he played in
96 games: 35 at catcher, 21 at first base, and the remainder as a DH and
pinch-hitter. He hit .273/.314/.386 in 311 at-bats, with a career-high 15
walks. This was the end of his professional baseball career; from the website
of Antioch International Ministries:
In January of 1981, God spoke to Apostle Baldwin and told
him to leave his baseball career, and to focus his time to study and ministry. In
January of 1990 he co-founded Antioch International Ministries with his wife
Prophetess Franett Baldwin.
https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B/Pbaldr102.htm
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