Randy Moffitt, the younger brother of tennis icon Billie Jean King and a former reliever for 12 seasons, died Thursday in Long Beach, Calif., following an extended illness, according to the Associated Press.
He was 76.
Moffitt’s MLB career stretched from 1972 — he was a first-round pick by San Francisco in the 1970 draft — until 1983, and he closed his career with seasons in Houston and Toronto in 1982 and 1983, respectively.
“Like Billie Jean, Randy personified the power of self-belief and the value of competition, forging a successful Major League baseball career as a pitcher with the San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, and Toronto Blue Jays,” the USTA wrote in a statement posted to X on Friday. “This is a sad day for our tennis family, and our sincere condolences go out to Randy’s entire family, including his two daughters—Miranda Harrah and her husband, Rusty, and Alysha Gosse and her husband, James—his four grandchildren, and our dear friend and colleague Billie Jean and her wife, Ilana Kloss.”
The Giants, in a post on X, wrote that they were “deeply saddened to learn of” Moffitt’s death.
Moffitt was inducted into the Giants’ Wall of Fame in 2008 and the Long Beach State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986. He pitched to a 3.65 ERA while collecting 96 saves across his MLB seasons.
He developed into a durable arm who finished in the top 10 for National League saves in four seasons, and he also topped 60 appearances in four campaigns.
Moffitt sits ninth all-time in franchise history for saves (83) and sixth all-time in games pitched (459), according to the team.
Last April on National Siblings Day, King wrote an X post that they were “two very competitive kids, right from the start” and that they’re “alike in so many ways.”
“We were so fortunate to grow up in a loving home,” King, who won 12 Grand Slam titles in singles and became one of the sport’s pioneering presences while advocating for equality, wrote later in her post. “Our bond is unbreakable to this day.”
King also described Moffitt as a “wonderful human being” in an October 2023 post celebrating his birthday.
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