Rick Camp

Rick Lamar Camp (June 10, 1953 – April 25, 2013), was a professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 to 1985 for the Atlanta Braves. Long after his retirement, Camp served a federal prison sentence for convictions related to stealing money from a mental health center.^[1]

Biography

Camp was born in Trion, Georgia, and was best known for hitting a game-tying 18th-inning home run on July 5, 1985, against the New York Mets with two outs and an 0-2 count off Tom Gorman; this was the only home run of his nine-season career. Representing the tying run in the 19th inning, Camp struck out to end the game and was the losing pitcher. The Braves had run out of position players and had no choice but to let Camp bat in the 18th and 19th innings, even though his career batting average was .074. The game started on July 4 at 7:05 pm, but due to extra innings and three long rain delays, it did not end until 3:55 am on July 5, the latest any major league game has ever ended.

In September 2005, Camp was sentenced, along with four other people, to three years in federal prison for conspiring to steal more than $2 million from the Community Mental Health Center in Augusta, Georgia.^[2] Camp remained friends with Chad Long, grandson of Georgia Speaker of the House Tom Murphy, even after their conviction for trying to embezzle money together. Camp died on April 25, 2013 at his home at the age of 59.^[3]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference