Ralph Pierre "Pete" LaCock was a first round choice of the Cubs in the 1970 amateur draft after graduating from Taft Highschool in Woodland Hills, California---the same school which produced Hall of Famer Robin Yount and major leaguers Larry Dierker, Gabe Kapler, Rick Auerbach, Kelly Paris and Larry Yount. [caption id="attachment_3563" align="alignright" width="275" caption="Pete LaCock - Kansas City Royals"][/caption] LaCock, a first baseman-outfielder-pinch-hitter-designated hitter, made his big league debut at 20 late in 1972 when future Hall of Fame outfielder Billy Williams injured his ankle. He had brief stays with Chicago the next two years. Pete was the American Association MVP at Wichita in 1974, hitting .327 with 23 home runs and 91 runs-batted-in. In 1975, LaCock was on the Cubs all season, and remembers his salary was $ 18, 500, but he earned another $ 37,000 doing appearances. "So something was wrong when I was playing," he told me in Mesa, Arizona this month during an autograph-signing appearance at a Cubs exhibition game. After the 1976 season, Pete was traded to Kansas City where he spent  four seasons and thoroughly enjoyed playing for manager Whitey Herzog.  LaCock says, "Whitey instilled winning. He taught guys how to win, he expected you to keep doing  that. He always expected your best and you wanted to play for him. Whitey made it enjoyable and made everyone feel part of the team." The Royals had been frustated by the Yankees three straight years in the American League Championship Series (1976-1978) before Kansas City swept New York in the 1980 LCS. That was LaCock's last season in the American major leagues. In 1981, he played in Japan which he calls interesting." [caption id="attachment_3562" align="alignright" width="141" caption="Pete LaCock - Tucson Toros"][/caption] In his nine major league seasons, Pete played in 715 games and fashioned a .257 career batting average. LaCock has been active in charity work for years. He works with terminally ill children through the Ronald McDonald House. Pete and his dad, former Hollywood Squares host Peter Marshall, hosted a golf tournament for years and built two Ronald McDonald Houses in Kansas City. Jana LaCock is the executive director of the Mid America chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Kansas City. Pete's wife started a project called "Team In Training" which he says raises $ 90 million a year for the Leukemia Society. Each year, he runs in a marathon or participates in a triathlon to support the cause. Now 57, Pete LaCock will be the hitting coach this year for the Tucson Toros in the Golden Baseball League.