Fred Earl Gladding (June 28, 1936 – May 21, 2015) was an American professionalbaseball player and coach. He was a right-handed pitcher for all or parts of 13 seasons (1961–1973) with the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. He was born in Flat Rock, Michigan, and attended Flat Rock Community High School. He was listed at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and 220 pounds (100 kg).
In seven seasons with the Tigers, Gladding compiled a career record of 26–11 and a 2.70 ERA in 217 games. His .703 winning percentage with the Tigers is the highest in the franchise's history for a pitcher appearing in at least 200 games for the team.[1] He returned to Detroit in 1976 as pitching coach and served three seasons on the staff of managerRalph Houk.
Gladding also has the distinction of having the lowest non-zero lifetime batting average in major league history. For his career he batted .016 (1 for 63).[1]
Gladding died on May 21, 2015, in Columbia, South Carolina.[1][2]
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