ATLANTA, GA – AUGUST 14: The New York logo is displayed on a hat during the MLB game between the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves on August 14, 2023 at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Though his time with the New York Yankees organization was relatively short, baseball history will remember a trailblazing left-hander who pitched for the team across two seasons in the early 1970s.
According to Baseball Almanac, former Yankees pitcher, collegiate standout and Olympic baseball pioneer Al Closter has died at the age of 84.
While Closter never became a household name during his professional baseball career, his path through the game included a stint in the major leagues, connections to several prominent organizations and a unique place in international baseball history.
New York Yankees’ Late Pitcher, Al Closter, Represented Team USA At 1964 Tokyo Olympics
Closter’s professional journey took several unusual turns early in his career.
After declining a two-sport offer to play at his local school, Creighton University, Closter played baseball for Iowa State University before he was taken in the 1965 Rule 5 draft by the Cleveland Indians.
The next year, the Washington Senators purchased Closter’s contract. He played only one game in the Senators organization, pitching just one-third of an inning against the Baltimore Orioles in his MLB debut, then his contract was purchased by the Yankees in 1966.
But before becoming a professional pitcher, Closter had already achieved something few American players of his era could claim. He represented Team USA at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo during a demonstration baseball tournament against players from Japan, a country that would come to embrace baseball and produce some of the best contemporary players on earth.
“Amateur baseball players from the United States and Japan put on a demonstration of their game … in hopes that it will be one day accepted as an Olympic sport,” the Associated Press reported at the time. “Because the players could not take part in the impressive Olympic opening ceremonies … they staged their own just before the game.”
Baseball did eventually become an official Olympic sport nearly 30 years later and is set to return to the games in 2028, with numerous contemporary MLB stars indicating that they would like to participate.
But as Closter and his teammates pushed for that inclusion in Tokyo, they had to stay at a local YMCA rather than in the Olympic Village. Closter’s U.S. team also played exhibition games throughout Japan and South Korea, drawing significant crowds and helping to lay the foundations for the sports’ international popularity today.
Former New York Yankees Pitcher Pursued Notable Private Career After Retiring From Baseball
After his Yankees tenure ended, Closter closed out his MLB career with the Atlanta Braves. All told, he pitched in 21 big-league games with a 6.62 career ERA. In his two seasons with the Yankees, his ERA was 5.58 across 30 and two-thirds innings.
After he hung up his spikes, Closter moved to Virginia and began a three-decade career working in product development for Philip Morris International.
Though Closter’s major league career was brief, his baseball story stretched far beyond any single appearance on the mound. From representing the United States on an Olympic stage of sorts to spending time in the Yankees organization during the 1960s, he remained part of a generation that helped expand baseball’s global footprint long before the sport became as prominent abroad as it is now.