Gordon Richard Massa (September 2, 1935 – July 16, 2016) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in eight games as a catcher and pinch hitter for the 1957–1958Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball. A left-handed batter who threw right-handed, he stood 6feet 3inches (1.91m) tall and weighed 210 pounds (95kg).
But Massa chose professional baseball as his destination and signed with the Cubs on June 24, 1957.[2] Three months later, after prepping with the Des Moines Bruins of the Class A Western League, Massa made his MLB debut, starting at catcher and notching two hits, both singles, in four at bats with one run batted in against Hal Jeffcoat of the Cincinnati Redlegs.[3] All told, Massa collected seven hits in 15 at-bats with three RBI during his first trial with the Cubs. The following year, he was sent to the Class BIllinois–Indiana–Iowa League for further minor league seasoning, and he batted .316[4] to earn his second late-season call-up to the Cubs. He went hitless in two at-bats.
Massa returned to the minors for good in 1959, and retired in late 1963 after seven seasons in the Cub farm system, pitching in 24 games as well as handling catching chores.[4]
He was elected to the Holy Cross Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.[1]
Massa died July 16, 2016, aged 80, in Cincinnati.[5]
