Alan Koch (baseball)

Alan Goodman Koch (March 25, 1938 – May 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher and graduate of Auburn University, Koch spent 1½ seasons in Major League Baseball as a member of the Detroit Tigers and Washington Senators in 1963–1964. He stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg). He was Jewish.[1] He attended Decatur High School in Decatur, Alabama, and Alabama Polytechnic Institute.[2]

Alan Koch
Pitcher
Born: (1938-03-25)March 25, 1938
Decatur, Alabama
Died: May 22, 2015(2015-05-22) (aged 77)
Prattville, Alabama
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 26, 1963, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
September 26, 1964, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Win–loss record4–11
Earned run average5.41
Innings128
Teams

In the minor leagues, pitching in the Southern Association in 1961 he was 15-10, tied for the league league with Bo Belinsky in wild pitches (16), second in strikeouts (173), tied for third in wins, and tied for 6th in complete games (11).[3] He came to the Majors after a posting a sparkling 11–2 win–loss record with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs in 1963.[4] He appeared in seven games, one as a starting pitcher, for the Tigers that season. In 1964, he pitched only four innings during the first three weeks of the season for the Tigers, and was purchased by the Senators on May 4. Washington used Koch in 32 games, 14 as a starter, although he pitched exclusively in relief after mid-August.[5] He won only three of 13 decisions for the Senators that season. Rather than report to the Hawaii Islanders minor league team in 1965, Koch returned home to Alabama to continue his law studies.[6] All told, Koch played in 42 Major League games, and gave up 137 hits and 55 bases on balls, with 73 strikeouts, in 128 innings pitched.

After baseball, Koch became an attorney in Mobile, Alabama.[7] He died on May 22, 2015, at 77 years of age, and was buried in B'nai Jeshurun Jewish Cemetery in Demopolis, Alabama.[8]

References
  1. "Big League Jews". Jewish Sports Review. 12 (137): 19. January–February 2020.
  2. "Alan Koch Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac". Baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  3. "1961 Southern Association Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  4. Minor league statistics from Baseball Reference
  5. retrosheet
  6. Senators ship Koch, Loun to Hawaii
  7. Horvitz, Peter S., and Horvitz, Joachim, The Big Book of Jewish Baseball. New York: SPI Books, 2001, page 96
  8. "Alan Koch Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-02-04.


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