{{short description|American baseball player (born 1966)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Dave Liddell |image=Dave Liddell - Reno Silver Sox - 1988.jpg |caption=Liddell in 1988 |position=Catcher |birth_date ={{birth date and age|1966|6|15}} |birth_place=Los Angeles |bats=Right |throws=Right |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=June 3 |debutyear=1990 |debutteam=New York Mets |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=June 3 |finalyear=1990 |finalteam=New York Mets |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=1.000 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=0 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=0 |teams= *New York Mets ({{mlby|1990}}) }} '''David Alexander Liddell''' (born June 15, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. He caught one game for the New York Mets in 1990.<ref name="minors">{{cite web|title=Dave Liddell|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/liddeda01.shtml|work=Baseball-Reference|accessdate=2011-04-14}}</ref> He hit a single in his only Major League at bat, on June 3, 1990, giving him a lifetime batting average of 1.000.<ref name="minors"/><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Baseball Digest|date=June 1998|page=48|author=Hageman, W.|title=One-Game Wonders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7i4DAAAAMBAJ&q=dave+liddell+mets&pg=PA48}}</ref> His Major League slugging percentage and on-base percentage are also 1.000.<ref name="minors"/> His at bat came in the 8th inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies as a pinch hitter for Mets' catcher Mackey Sasser against pitcher Pat Combs.<ref name=wonders>{{cite book|title=One Hit Wonders: Baseball Stories|author=Rose, G.|pages=167–168|year=2004|publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-0-595-31807-0}}</ref> His hit came on the only Major League pitch he ever faced; author George Rose estimates that his Major League career as a hitter thus lasted only about 20 seconds.<ref name=wonders/> He scored a run later in the inning.<ref name=wonders/> He also caught one inning with one putout for a lifetime fielding percentage of 1.000.<ref name="minors"/>
Liddell had been called up to the majors on June 3 due to the death of backup catcher Orlando Mercado's father.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dave Liddell|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/dave-liddell/|publisher=SABR|accessdate=2022-11-06|author=Raylesberg, Alan}}</ref> Pitcher Wally Whitehurst was sent to the minors to clear roster space for Liddell and after the minimum ten days that Whitehurst was required to remain in the minors, Whitehurst was recalled and Liddell was sent back to the Tidewater Tides for the remainder of the season. <ref>Christine, Ed. "Doubleheader strategy double-crosses Mets", ''The Journal News'', White Plains, New York, 12 June 1990.</ref> After the 1990 season, he was signed by the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent, but he never played in the Reds' system.<ref name="minors"/>
Liddell was a 4th round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs in 1984 – the 83rd overall pick in the draft – after attending Rubidoux High School in Riverside, California.<ref name="minors"/><ref name=almanac>{{cite web|title=Dave Liddell|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=liddeda01|work=Baseball Almanac|accessdate=2011-04-14}}</ref><ref name=cube>{{cite web|title=Dave Liddell |url=http://www.thebaseballcube.com/Fielding/L/Dave-Liddell.shtml |work=The Baseball Cube |accessdate=2011-04-14 }}</ref> He was traded to Mets with minor league pitcher Dave Lenderman on June 30, 1986, in exchange for pitcher Ed Lynch.<ref name="minors"/> He also played in the Milwaukee Brewers' and Baltimore Orioles' organizations.<ref name="minors"/> In 529 minor league games between 1984 and 1992 he had a batting average of .215 with 24 home runs and at least 109 runs batted in in 1505 at bats.<ref name=minors/> He had a minor league slugging percentage of .309.<ref name=minors/> He also pitched in one game for the unaffiliated Reno Silver Sox in 1988, giving up one run in 2/3 of an inning.<ref name=minors/> He also played as a first baseman in 13 games over the course of his minor league career.<ref name=minors/> Liddell played in 18 games for the 1986 South Atlantic League champion Columbia Mets and 32 games for the 1991 American Association champion Denver Zephyrs.<ref name=minors/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liddell, Dave}} Category:1966 births Category:New York Mets players Category:Major League Baseball catchers Category:Tidewater Tides players Category:St. Lucie Mets players Category:Jackson Mets players Category:Reno Silver Sox players Category:Lynchburg Mets players Category:Columbia Mets players Category:Pikeville Cubs players Category:Peoria Chiefs players Category:Denver Zephyrs players Category:El Paso Diablos players Category:Rochester Red Wings players Category:Living people Category:Baseball players from Los Angeles Category:20th-century American sportsmen