Ron Herbel

Ron Herbel
Herbel with the Tacoma Giants, circa 1961
Pitcher
Born: (1938-01-16)January 16, 1938
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Died: January 20, 2000(2000-01-20) (aged 62)
Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 10, 1963, for the San Francisco Giants
Last MLB appearance
September 19, 1971, for the Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics
Win–loss record42–37
Earned run average3.83
Strikeouts447
Stats at Baseball Reference 
Teams

Ronald Samuel Herbel (January 16, 1938 – January 20, 2000) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who appeared in 331 games, all but 79 in relief, for the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves. A right-hander born in Denver, he was listed as 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and 195 pounds (88 kg).

Herbel's .029 career batting average is the lowest batting average in Major League history for a player with a minimum of 100 at-bats.

Herbel set another record for batting futility: He accumulated the fewest hits of any pitcher or position player in major league history, reaching his first 100 at-bats with one. He got his second hit on June 9, 1966, at the Houston Astrodome, a fifth-inning RBI single off of Larry Dierker. He was 1-for-108 (.009) in the majors up to that point, and 0-for-12 beginning the 1966 season. It was his only safety of the season, going 1-for-38 (.026) overall. After his second MLB hit, he went 4-for-97 (.041) thereafter, completing his major league career in 1971 to finish 6-for-206.