# Craig Eaton

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Eaton
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{{Short description|American baseball player (1954–2025)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name       = Craig Eaton
| image      = 1984 Indianapolis Indians - Craig Eaton (cropped).webp
|caption=Eaton with the [Indianapolis Indians](/source/Indianapolis_Indians) {{circa}} 1984
| position   = [Pitcher](/source/Pitcher)
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1954|9|7}}
| birth_place = [Glendale, Ohio](/source/Glendale%2C_Ohio), U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2025|10|14|1954|9|7}}
| death_place = [Jupiter, Florida](/source/Jupiter%2C_Florida), U.S.
| bats       = Right
| throws     = Right
|debutleague = MLB
| debutdate  = September 5
| debutyear  = 1979
| debutteam  = Kansas City Royals
|finalleague = MLB
| finaldate  = September 28
| finalyear  = 1979
| finalteam  = Kansas City Royals
|statleague = MLB
| stat1label = [Win–loss record](/source/Win%E2%80%93loss_record_(pitching))
| stat1value = 0–0
| stat2label = [Earned run average](/source/Earned_run_average)
| stat2value = 2.70
| stat3label = [Strikeout](/source/Strikeout)s
| stat3value = 4
| teams      =
* [Kansas City Royals](/source/Kansas_City_Royals) ({{mlby|1979}})
}}

'''Craig Eaton''' (September 7, 1954 – October 14, 2025) was an American [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball) [pitcher](/source/pitcher) who played for one season. He was a pitcher who pitched in five games for the [Kansas City Royals](/source/Kansas_City_Royals) during the [1979 season](/source/1979_Kansas_City_Royals_season). Eaton played [college baseball](/source/college_baseball) at [Florida State University](/source/Florida_State_University).

==Biography==
Eaton attended [Lake Worth Community High School](/source/Lake_Worth_Community_High_School) ([Lake Worth Beach, Florida](/source/Lake_Worth_Beach%2C_Florida)) and graduated in the class of 1972 at the age of 17. He went to Miami-Dade College (Miami, FL) for 2 years and was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 6th round of the 1974 MLB June Amateur Draft. He declined the draft to complete his B.S. in Marine Biology at Florida State University. After graduating, he signed with the Kansas City Royals on June 25 as a free agent, and was called up to the major leagues toward the end of the 1979 season.

He was sent to the [California Angels](/source/Los_Angeles_Angels) on April 1, 1980, to complete a transaction from four months prior on December 6, 1979, when the Royals acquired [Willie Aikens](/source/Willie_Aikens) and [Rance Mulliniks](/source/Rance_Mulliniks) for [Al Cowens](/source/Al_Cowens) and [Todd Cruz](/source/Todd_Cruz).<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/07/archives/angels-get-cowens-in-deal-with-royals.html |last1=Durso |first1=Joseph |title=Angels Get Cowens In Deal With Royals |newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=December 7, 1979 |page=B-11 |access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref> At Angel's organization he played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (PCL), followed by Triple-A for the Detroit Tigers in 1983 and finished his career with the Montreal Expos in 1984. In the 1983 off-season, Craig sustained knee injuries on a golf course and had the first of three knee surgeries after completing the 1984 season.

Eaton married his high school sweetheart, Suzanne Sullivan, in 1977 and they had four daughters. He later lived in [Lake Worth Beach, Florida](/source/Lake_Worth_Beach%2C_Florida). Eaton died in [Jupiter, Florida](/source/Jupiter%2C_Florida), on October 14, 2025, at the age of 71.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=eatoncr01 |title=Craig Eaton |publisher=[Baseball Almanac](/source/Baseball_Almanac) |access-date=November 4, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.taylorandmodeenflorida.com/obituaries/craig-eaton/#!/Obituary |title=Craig Eaton |publisher=Taylor & Modeen Funeral Home |access-date=November 4, 2025}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats |mlb=113717 |espn= |br=e/eatoncr01 |fangraphs= |brm=eaton-001cra |retro=E/Peatoc101 |almanac=eatoncr01}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Craig}}
Category:1954 births
Category:2025 deaths
Category:Baseball players from Hamilton County, Ohio
Category:Daytona Beach Islanders players
Category:Evansville Triplets players
Category:Florida State Seminoles baseball players
Category:Gulf Coast Royals players
Category:Indianapolis Indians players
Category:Jacksonville Suns players
Category:Kansas City Royals players
Category:Leones del Caracas players
Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Category:Major League Baseball pitchers
Category:Miami Dade Sharks baseball players
Category:Omaha Royals players
Category:People from Glendale, Ohio
Category:Salt Lake City Gulls players
Category:Spokane Indians players
Category:Waterloo Royals players
Category:Sportspeople from Lake Worth Beach, Florida
Category:Baseball players from Palm Beach County, Florida
Category:Anchorage Glacier Pilots players
Category:20th-century American sportsmen

{{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Craig Eaton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Eaton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Eaton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.