Former No. 1 overall draft pick Mike Ivey, who pitched in 11 big league seasons, has passed away. He was 70 years old.
Ivy died on Friday in North Augusta, SC. According to Posey Funeral Directors, Ivy died due to ongoing health problems.
Ivy batted .269 with 81 homers and 411 RBI in 857 games. san diego padres (1971, 1974–77), San Francisco Giants (1978–81), Houston Astros (1981–82) and Detroit Tigers (1982–83)
In 1970, Ivy was hired as the catcher. padres And claimed to be a future star. But Ivy started having trouble throwing the ball back to the pitcher, which stunted his growth.
He started only five games as a catcher, four in 1971 and one in 1976. San Diego tried him out at third base as well, before he saw most of his playing time at first base. his best season for padres when he batted .291 in 1976
Ivy was traded to the Giants before the 1978 season and hit four pinch-hit homers. He set a major league record that season with two pinch-hit grand slams.
In his second year with San Francisco, he established career highs of 27 homers and 89 RBIs.
Ivy’s major league career ended at age 30 when the Tigers released him in 1983. At the end of his career, Ivy said that the pressures and high expectations affected him deeply.
–Field Level Media