Ron Bottler

Ronald James Bottler

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.

• School University of Oregon
• High School Roosevelt High School (Portland, OR)

• Born August 21, 1933 in Portland, OR USA

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ron Bottler played in the minor leagues and in Japan.

He began his pro career in 1952, hitting .286/.440/.357 with 26 walks in 36 games for the Victoria Tyees and seeing brief action with his hometown Portland Beavers, one step from the majors. That year, he also played basketball at the University of Oregon. He was briefly with Portland again in 1953 but saw little time that year and missed all of 1954. It is unclear if he was completing military service at the time. Returning in 1955, he was 8 for 27 for the Columbus Cardinals and 0 for 10 for Portland. He hit .227/.302/.302 for Portland in 1956, backing up Sam Calderone at catcher.

Bottler split 1957 between the Beavers (.212/.307/.295 in 59 G) and the Fort Worth Cats (.281/.386/.347 in 67 G), seeing regular action behind the dish with both squads. In 1958, he bounced around four different minor league teams, hitting a composite .283 and slugging .381; all the teams were in AA or AAA.

The Kintetsu Buffaloes signed him in 1959. He crushed 8 homers with a .234/.289/.347 batting line in his first season (backing up Masatoshi Kato at C and Hiroyuki Watanabe at 1B; it was unusual in NPB annals for an American to be brought in as a catcher), and he was turned into a pitcher. Bottler was 4-5 with a 2.98 ERA in 1960, but he slumped to 2-11 with a 4.46 ERA in 1961. He was 10th in losses in the Pacific League in '61, tied with Osamu Kubota, Joe Stanka, Takayuki Hata and Glenn Mickens. Bottler left the team after the 1961 season, and his professional career ended.

Bottler's brother Bill Bottler pitched in the minor leagues from 1952 to 1956.

Sources

• Wiki Japan