Randy Moffitt obit

Randy Moffitt, major league reliever and brother of Billie Jean King, dies at 76

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ONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Randy Moffitt, a reliever who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball and was the younger brother of tennis great and equality advocate Billie Jean King, has died after an extended illness. He was 76.

Moffitt died on Thursday in Long Beach, California, according to a representative of the family.

Moffitt was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the first round in 1970 and made his major league debut with the team in 1972.

He went on to play 10 seasons with the Giants, before spending one each with the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays. He went 43-52 with 96 saves and a 3.65 ERA in 534 appearances in the majors, all but one in relief.

He was added to the San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame in 2008 and inducted into the Long Beach State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986.

Randall James “Randy” Moffitt was born on Oct. 13, 1948, in Long Beach, the son of Bill and Betty Moffitt.

He is survived by two daughters — Miranda Harrah and her husband, Rusty, and Alysha Gosse and her husband, James — and four grandchildren, along with King and her wife, Ilana Kloss.

Moffitt was drafted by the Giants in the 1st round (18th pick) of the 1970 amateur draft. After a successful year as a starting pitcher for the Class-A Fresno Giants (9–6, 1.60) he was converted to relief with the Triple-A Phoenix Giants in 1971. He was called up to the big club in 1972, making his Major League Baseball debut on June 11.

In 1979, during his eighth year with the Giants, Moffitt contracted Cryptosporidia enteritis. By the end of the season, he was easily exhausted, vomiting frequently and lost around 25 pounds. His physicians were unable to determine what was causing his illness, with one suggesting that his problem was mental. Following a bloody stool incident during a plane trip in 1980, Moffitt had a colonoscopy done and a biopsy of a bleeding ulcer revealed the presence of Cryptosporidium parasites. According to a Sports Illustrated article, "it's reasonable to assume he caught it from a horse—although nobody knows how." Moffitt's recovery was slow and he was released from the Giants on August 4, 1981.

He was a dependable relief pitcher for many years, and finished in the National League Top Ten four times for saves and three times for games pitched. During the 1970s he partnered first with Elías Sosa and later with Gary Lavelle to give the Giants one of the league's better bullpens. In 534 career pitching appearances (all but one in relief) he finished 306 games including 96 saves.