| Gary Pettis | |
|---|---|
| Texas Rangers – No. 24 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born: April 3, 1958 (age 54) Oakland, California | |
| Batted: Switch | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 13, 1982 for the California Angels | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 10, 1992 for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .236 |
| Hits | 855 |
| Runs batted in | 259 |
| Stolen bases | 354 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="266"]
The Gold Glove Award given to Eric Chavez for his performance during the 2005 season (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]Gary George Pettis (born April 3, 1958, in Oakland, California) is the current first base coach of the Texas Rangers. Prior to coaching, he spent eleven seasons as a center fielder in Major League Baseball.
Pettis was selected in the 6th round of the 1979 draft by the Angels, and played minor league baseball for the Salinas Spurs of the class "A" California League in 1980, then the Holyoke Millers of the double "A" Eastern League in 1981. In 1982, Pettis was promoted to theCalifornia Angels, where he played the first six seasons of his career.
After the 1987 season, Pettis went on to play two seasons with the Detroit Tigers, 1988 through the following season of 1989. After two years with Detroit, Pettis joined the Texas Rangers for two seasons 1990-91. Pettis finished his career in the major leagues in 1992. The 1992 season saw Pettis play for two different teams. After leaving the Texas Rangers, Pettis joined the San Diego Padres for the 1992 season but ended that season back in Detroit with the Tigers.
During his career, Pettis consistently hit for low averages and was known for striking out often, but he performed extremely well on defense, earning five Gold Glove Awards. He was noted for making many spectacular leaping or diving catches, depriving hitters of home runs or base hits, and was known in baseball circles as "The man who made center field look easy". Additionally, he was a prolific base runner and had five seasons where he stole over 40 bases. Pettis held the Angels' club record for stolen bases for nearly 20 years, until it was broken byChone Figgins on July 15, 2007. Pettis was tagged as "Pac Man" Pettis by a local radio station listener call-in contest in 1986, referring to his unusual speed in the outfield and ability to chase down opponents' hits.
On his 1985 Topps baseball card, the person posing in the picture is not Pettis, and is in fact a picture of his younger brother.
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