Editing Gene Tenace (section)

==Playing career==
===Oakland Athletics (1969–76)===
Tenace was selected in [[baseball]]'s first entry draft, being taken in the 20th round of the [[1965 Major League Baseball draft]] by the then [[Kansas City Athletics]]. Tenace made his major league debut for Oakland on May 29, [[1969 Oakland Athletics season|1969]], against the [[1969 Detroit Tigers season|Detroit Tigers]] at [[Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum]] where he went 0-for-4 with two [[Strikeout|strikeouts]] in an 8–4 Oakland loss.<ref>{{cite web|date=May 29, 1969|title=May 29, 1969 Tigers-Athletics box score|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK196905290.shtml|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref> He hit the first [[home run]] of his career on June 6, 1969, at [[Tiger Stadium (Detroit)|Tiger Stadium]] against [[Earl Wilson (baseball)|Earl Wilson]] of the Detroit Tigers.<ref>{{cite web|date=June 6, 1969|title=June 6, 1969 Athletics-Tigers box score|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET196906060.shtml|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref> He finished the {{Baseball year|1969}} season with a .158 [[Batting average (baseball)|batting average]], a home run and two [[runs batted in]], appearing in just 38 games as a third-string catcher.<ref name="Gene Tenace at Baseball Reference2" />

He continued to play the next two years as the third-string catcher before serving as [[Dave Duncan (baseball)|Dave Duncan]]'s backup in [[1971 Oakland Athletics season|1971]].<ref>{{cite web|title=1971 Oakland Athletics|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/OAK/1971.shtml|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref> Tenace entered the [[1972 Oakland Athletics season|1972]] season backing up Duncan, but was given a chance to show his abilities by being made the team's regular catcher in the post-season. Tenace took full advantage of this opportunity, excelling in the 1972 playoffs and World Series. In the [[1972 American League Championship Series]] against the [[1972 Detroit Tigers season|Detroit Tigers]], he drove in the clinching [[Run (baseball)|run]] in Oakland's 2–1 victory in Game 5; it was his only hit of the series.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Gene Tenace post-season statistics|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/tenacge01.shtml#batting_postseason|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref>  Tenace's heroics made up for an error in Game 4 of the series when he had to play second base (for the first time since high school) in the late innings due to regular second baseman [[Dick Green]] getting hurt and backup second baseman [[Ted Kubiak]] having to play shortstop due to [[Bert Campaneris]] being suspended.  Tenace dropped a throw from [[Sal Bando]] on a potential game-ending double play attempt in the bottom of the 10th which kept the inning alive as the Tigers eventually won.

He put himself in the spotlight once again in Game 1 of the [[1972 World Series]] when the Athletics faced the [[1972 Cincinnati Reds season|Cincinnati Reds]]. He became the first player to hit home runs in his first two World Series [[At bat|at bats]] and drove in all three runs in the A's 3–2 victory.  Prior to Tenace's feat, only eight other players had homered in their first World Series at bat.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Murray |first=Jim |date=January 1973 |title=How The A's Curbed the Big Red Machine |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_baseball-digest_1973-01_32_1/page/32/mode/2up |url-access=limited |access-date=2025-02-11 |magazine=[[Baseball Digest]] |pages=30–32 |volume=32 |issue=1}}</ref> In Game 4, the A's were losing 2–1, with their only run to that point coming on Tenace's solo home run.<ref>{{cite web|title=1972 World Series Game 4 box score|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK197210190.shtml|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref> A ninth-[[inning]] one-[[Out (baseball)|out]] rally consisting of four [[Single (baseball)|singles]], with Tenace's the second and the rest coming from [[Pinch hitter|pinch hitters]], won the game against Cincinnati's ace [[relief pitcher]], [[Clay Carroll]]. He hit a three-run [[home run]] in the A's Game 5 loss.<ref>{{cite web|title=1972 World Series Game 5 box score|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK197210200.shtml|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref> Before Game 6 of the 1972 Series, he was the target of a death threat.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Fimrite|first=Ron|date=April 2, 1973|title=A Hero Finds There's No One For Tenace|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1973/04/02/618018/a-hero-finds-theres-no-one-for-tenace|access-date=November 5, 2008}}</ref> In Game 7, he was once again the hero, driving in two runs in a 3–2 victory for Oakland.<ref>{{cite web|title=1972 World Series Game 7 box score|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN197210220.shtml|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref> In total, he went 8-for-23 in the Series, with four [[Home run|home runs]] and 9 RBI to earn the [[World Series Most Valuable Player Award]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Reiter|first=Ben|date=July 2, 2007|title=Video|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|publisher=[[CNN]]|url=http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1111928/index.htm|url-status=dead|access-date=May 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080404172017/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1111928/index.htm|archive-date=April 4, 2008}}</ref>

Tenace's heroics helped him earn a full-time job in Oakland's lineup. He served as the team's starting [[first baseman]] for two seasons, while still serving as the backup catcher to [[Ray Fosse]]. He had his roles reversed in {{Baseball year|1975}}, starting at catcher while backing up first base. As a regular starter for the A's, Tenace had a low [[Batting average (baseball)|batting average]] but a fair amount of power, hitting 20 home runs in four consecutive years in Oakland, finishing among the top 10 home run hitters in the [[American League]] each year. He further made up for his lack of a high batting average by sporting a tremendous batting eye. He drew over 100 [[Base on balls|walks]] in a season three times for Oakland, and led the American League in [[Walk (baseball)|walks]] in 1974, making up for a career-low .211 average that year.<ref>{{cite web|title=1974 American League Batting Leaders|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1974-batting-leaders.shtml|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref> Statistically, his best year with Oakland was in [[1975 Oakland Athletics season|1975]], when he hit a career-best 29 home runs and drove in 87 runs, drew 106 walks, finished 18th in the American League [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player Award]] balloting and was selected to be the starting first baseman for the American League in the [[1975 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1975 All-Star Game]].<ref>{{cite web|title=1975 American League Most Valuable Player Award balloting|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1975.shtml#ALmvp|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=1975 All-Star Game|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ALS/ALS197507150.shtml|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref>

As a member of the A's, Tenace hit what turned out to be the final home run in the history of Kansas City's [[Municipal Stadium (Kansas City)|Municipal Stadium]] on September 30, 1972, in a 10–5 Oakland victory over the [[Kansas City Royals]].

===San Diego Padres (1977–80)===
[[File:Gene Tenace - San Diego Padres.jpg|thumb|194x194px|Tenace with San Diego, {{c.|1977}}]]
Tenace was one of several Athletics who became [[Free agent|free agents]] after the [[1976 Oakland Athletics season|1976]] season and participated in a newly created re-entry draft, in which teams acquired the rights to negotiate with veteran free agents. Tenace and teammate [[Rollie Fingers]] were the first players from that draft to sign, with both joining the [[San Diego Padres]] in December of that year.<ref name="Gene Tenace Trades and Transactions2">{{cite web|title=Gene Tenace Trades and Transactions|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/trades.php?p=tenacge01|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball Almanac]]|publisher=}}</ref> In four years as a starter with the Padres, his power numbers dropped in part due to the cavernous dimensions of San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, only reaching 20 home runs once; but his batting eye remained, recording three more seasons of 100 walks, with a career best of 125 in [[1977 San Diego Padres season|1977]]. In [[1979 San Diego Padres season|1979]], Tenace led [[National League (baseball)|National League]] catchers with a .998 [[fielding percentage]], committing only one [[Error (baseball)|error]] in 94 games.<ref>{{cite web|title=1979 National League Fielding Leaders|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1979-fielding-leaders.shtml|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref> He recorded an [[on-base percentage]] of over .390 in each of his years in San Diego, and finished third in the National League in that department in three consecutive years.<ref name="Gene Tenace at Baseball Reference2" />

On August 1, 1979, Tenace was part of a [[bench-clearing brawl]] against the [[Atlanta Braves]]. After hitting a home run off of pitcher [[Eddie Solomon]], he charged the mound when Solomon apparently said something to him, and the benches cleared. No punches were thrown, and the Braves won 5–4.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brown|first=Frank|date=August 2, 1979|title=Foster sidelined, but his bat still assisting Reds|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1913&dat=19790802&id=T14gAAAAIBAJ&pg=1565,262830&hl=en|access-date=January 9, 2020|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=The Lewiston Evening Journal}}</ref>

===St. Louis Cardinals (1981–82)===
After the [[1980 Oakland Athletics season|1980]] season, Tenace, Fingers, [[Bob Shirley]], and [[Bob Geren]] joined the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] in a trade for [[Terry Kennedy (baseball)|Terry Kennedy]] and six minor league players.<ref name="Gene Tenace Trades and Transactions2" /> In his two years in St. Louis, Tenace primarily played against left-handed pitchers, [[Platoon system|platooning]] with [[Darrell Porter]]. As a member of the Cardinals team he won the [[1982 World Series]], giving him four [[World Series ring|World Series rings]].<ref>{{cite web|title=1982 World Series|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1982_WS.shtml|access-date=October 4, 2010|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|publisher=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref>

===Pittsburgh Pirates (1983)===
Tenace played his final season as a [[utility player]] and pinch-hitter, appearing in 53 games and batting just .177 with 6 RBI for the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] in [[1983 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1983]].<ref name="Gene Tenace at Baseball Reference2" /> He retired after being released the following year in [[spring training]].