{{Short description|American baseball player (1943–2001)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography | name = Dick Selma | image = Dick Selma 1972.jpg | caption = Selma with the Philadelphia Phillies, circa 1972 | width = 250px | position = Pitcher | birth_date = {{birth date|1943|11|4}} | birth_place = Santa Ana, California, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2001|8|29|1943|11|4}} | death_place = Clovis, California, U.S. | bats = Right | throws = Right |debutleague = MLB | debutdate = September 2 | debutyear = 1965 | debutteam = New York Mets |finalleague = MLB | finaldate = August 9 | finalyear = 1974 | finalteam = Milwaukee Brewers | stat2label = Earned run average | stat2value = 3.62 |statleague = MLB | stat1label = Win–loss record | stat1value = 42–54 | stat3label = Strikeouts | stat3value = 681 | teams = *New York Mets ({{by|1965}}–{{by|1968}}) *San Diego Padres ({{by|1969}}) *Chicago Cubs ({{by|1969}}) *Philadelphia Phillies ({{by|1970}}–{{by|1973}}) *California Angels ({{by|1974}}) *Milwaukee Brewers ({{by|1974}}) |highlights= * Won San Diego Padres' first game (1969) }} '''Richard Jay Selma''' (November 4, 1943 – August 29, 2001) was a professional baseball player who was a pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1965 to 1974. He played for the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels, and Milwaukee Brewers during his 10-year major league career.
==College and minor league career== Selma attended Fresno High School and played college baseball at Fresno City College.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://thedeadballera.com/Obits/Selma.Richard.Obit.html |publisher=Associated Press |title=THE OBIT FOR DICK SELMA; Selma suffered from liver cancer |date=2001-08-30 |access-date=2008-01-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061113011244/http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Selma.Richard.Obit.html |archive-date=November 13, 2006 }}</ref> After a year, Selma was signed as an amateur free agent by the Mets on May 28, 1963, and made his Major League debut two seasons later.<ref name=br>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/s/selmadi01.shtml|title=Dick Selma Statistics|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=2008-01-02}}</ref>
==Major league career== In only his second career start, he threw a 10-inning shutout in a 1–0 victory against the Milwaukee Braves, accumulating 13 strikeouts in the process.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/gl.cgi?n1=selmadi01&t=p&year=1965|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719020628/http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/gl.cgi?n1=selmadi01&t=p&year=1965|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-07-19|title=Dick Selma 1965 Pitching Gamelogs|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=2008-01-02}}</ref> The 13 strikeouts were at the time a Mets franchise record.<ref name=bl>{{cite web|url=https://baseballbiography.com/dick-selma-1943 |title=The Ballplayers - Dick Selma |publisher=baseballbiography.com |access-date=2007-01-02 }}</ref> He had two wins and one loss in four games that season, and spent the next two seasons with the Mets as a relief pitcher. During the 1968 season, Selma again became a starting pitcher and started 23 games, posting a 9–10 record with an ERA of 2.76.<ref name=br/> This, along with his 117 strikeouts, led the expansion San Diego Padres to draft him with the fifth pick in the 1968 expansion draft on October 14, 1968.<ref name=br/>
[[File:Dick Selma 1969.jpg|thumb|left|160px|Selma in 1969 with the Chicago Cubs.]] Selma was given the start for the Padres on opening day of the 1969 season. On April 8, 1969, Selma pitched a complete game and threw 12 strikeouts en route to a 2–1 victory, the Padres' first in franchise history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SDN/SDN196904080.shtml|title=April 8, 1969 Houston Astros at San Diego Padres Box Score and Play by Play|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=2007-01-03}}</ref> Selma ended up pitching only four games for the Padres, as he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Joe Niekro, Gary Ross and Frankie Librán on April 24, 1969.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35634286/the-record-hackensack-new-jersey25/ "Selma Traded For 3 Players," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Friday, April 25, 1969.] Retrieved June 9, 2020</ref> It was during his time with the Cubs that Selma became known as a cheerleader for those sitting in Wrigley Field's bleachers.<ref name=bl/> He finished his tenure with the Cubs with a 10–8 record, 161 strikeouts, and a 3.63 ERA.<ref name=br/> However, he had a 7–1 record before finishing 10–8, and partially as a result of this skid was traded.<ref name=bl/> Selma was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on November 17, 1969, with Oscar Gamble for a player to be named later (who became Larry Colton) and Johnny Callison.<ref name=br/>
The Phillies turned Selma into their closer for the 1970 season. He converted 22 saves in 73 appearances, and his 73 games pitched and 47 games finished were both second highest in the National League.<ref name=br/> He started 10 games in the 1972 season, but in his four seasons in Philadelphia, Selma was primarily used as a reliever. He was released by the Phillies on May 8, 1973, but was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals on May 21.<ref name=br/> He never appeared in a game for the Cardinals, and at the end of the season his contract was purchased by the California Angels.<ref name=br/> He played 18 games for the Angels during the 1974 season, his contract was purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers, whom he only played two games with.<ref name=br/> Selma was returned to the Angels after the two appearances, and did not appear in a major league game again.
After retiring from the game, Selma returned to Fresno and took a night job so that he could play and coach baseball in the area. He was an assistant coach at his alma mater and served as the pitching coach at Clovis High School. Selma died on August 29, 2001, in Clovis, California, as a result of liver cancer.<ref name=obit/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{baseballstats|mlb=121992 |espn=27332|br=s/selmadi01 |fangraphs=1011737|brm=selma-001ric|retro=S/Pselmd101}} *[https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/d413f8ad Dick Selma] at SABR (Baseball BioProject) *[https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=selmadi01 Dick Selma] at Baseball Almanac
{{San Diego Padres Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selma, Dick}} Category:1943 births Category:2001 deaths Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Chicago Cubs players Category:New York Mets players Category:San Diego Padres players Category:Philadelphia Phillies players Category:California Angels players Category:Milwaukee Brewers players Category:Salinas Mets players Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Category:Deaths from liver cancer in California Category:Baseball players from Fresno, California Category:Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players Category:Albuquerque Dukes players Category:Greenville Mets players Category:Jacksonville Suns players Category:Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Category:Salt Lake City Angels players Category:Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Category:20th-century American sportsmen