Ed Armbrister


Edison Rosanda Armbrister is a Bahamian former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1973 to 1977 for the Cincinnati Reds. Armbrister was a utility player for the Reds team known as the Big Red Machine that won three National League pennants and two World Series championships between 1973 and 1976.

Baseball career

Armbrister was born in Nassau, Bahamas. He was signed by the Houston Astros as an amateur free agent before 1967 Season. On November 29, 1971, Armbrister was involved in one of the most significant trades in the history of the Cincinnati Reds when he was acquired from the Astros along with Jack Billingham, Cesar Geronimo, Denis Menke and Joe Morgan. The trade helped to transform the Reds into the into the juggernaut known as the Big Red Machine that would dominate the National League for the next five seasons.
Armbrister made his major league debut with the Reds on August 31, 1973 at the age of 25. He is notable for his involvement in a controversial play in the 1975 World Series. In the tenth inning of Game Three, with César Gerónimo on base and nobody out, Armbrister collided with Boston Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk at home plate while starting to run out a sacrifice bunt, leading to a wild throw by Fisk to second base that allowed Gerónimo to reach third base and eventually score the winning run; home plate umpire Larry Barnett did not make an interference call on Armbrister, a decision which was a source of heated debate after the Reds won the game 6–5.
After baseball, he returned to the Bahamas. He was a craps table croupier at Resorts International’s Paradise Island Casino and worked for at least one other establishment in the gaming business, a staple of the Bahamian tourist economy. As of 2006, he was with the Local Government and Consumer Affairs agency, on Arawak Cay, a popular attraction in the Nassau area. He also served as a consultant to the Ministry of Sports and managed the Bahamian junior national team. In his downtime, Armbrister became a notable local softball player.
In 2008, he was inducted into the Bahamas National Hall of Fame.