Al Weis
Encyclopedia
Albert John Weis is a former Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 infielder
Infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...

.

Weis grew up in Bethpage, New York
Bethpage, New York
Bethpage is a hamlet located on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, United States, as well as a census-designated place with borders slightly different from those of the hamlet...

, and graduated from Farmingdale, New York
Farmingdale, New York
The Village of Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York in the United States...

, High School in 1955. He was a high school teammate of Jack Lamabe
Jack Lamabe
John Alexander Lamabe was a former professional baseball player. He was born in Farmingdale, New York. He was a pitcher over parts of seven seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs...

, who pitched for several major league teams including the Red Sox, Mets, Pirates and Cardinals.

Weis played for the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...

 from to and the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 from to . He was a switch hitter
Switch hitter
In baseball, a switch-hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed.-Baseball:Usually, right-handed batters hit better against left-handed pitchers and vice-versa. Most curveballs break away from batters hitting from the same side as the opposing pitcher. Such pitches are often...

 until the end of the 1968 season, after which he batted exclusively right-handed.

Signed by the White Sox as an amateur free agent, Weis played 99 games as a utility infielder in his rookie season of , with 48 of those games at second base
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...

 and 27 at shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...

. In he and Don Buford
Don Buford
Donald Alvin Buford is a former Major League Baseball player. An infielder/outfielder, the switch-hitting Buford played for the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles ....

 shared second base duties after the trade of the popular Nellie Fox
Nellie Fox
Jacob Nelson Fox was a Major League Baseball second baseman for the Chicago White Sox. Fox was born in St. Thomas Township, Pennsylvania. He was selected as the MVP of the American League in...

. Weis batted .247 and established career highs with 81 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....

 and 22 stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

s; that year the White Sox finished second in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

, one game behind the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 for the pennant.

Weis resumed his utility infielder duties with the White Sox for the next three years; the most at-bats
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...

 he compiled during this period was 187 in . He suffered a broken leg as the result of a violent collision at second base with Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He played from 1956–1976, most notably for the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues...

 of the Orioles in mid-season in . After the 1967 season he and Tommie Agee
Tommie Agee
Tommie Lee Agee was a Major League Baseball center fielder most noted for making two of the greatest catches in World Series history, both of which occurred in game three of the 1969 World Series.-Cleveland Indians:...

 were traded to the New York Mets for four players (among them Tommy Davis
Tommy Davis
Herman Thomas Davis, Jr. is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder and third baseman. He played from 1959-1976 for ten different teams, but he is best known for his years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. During an 18-year baseball career, Davis batted .294 with 153 home runs, 2,121...

 and Jack Fisher
Jack Fisher
John Howard Fisher was a Major League Baseball pitcher. The right-hander was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent on June 24, 1957. He played for the Orioles , San Francisco Giants , New York Mets , Chicago White Sox , and Cincinnati Reds...

).

Weis was a member of the 1969 Miracle Mets
1969 New York Mets season
The New York Mets season was the eighth season for the Mets franchise, which played its home games at Shea Stadium. Managed by Gil Hodges, the team went 100-62, finishing first in the newly-established National League East by eight games over the Chicago Cubs...

 team that unexpectedly won the World Series
1969 World Series
The 1969 World Series was played between the New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles, with the Mets prevailing in five games to accomplish one of the greatest upsets in Series history, as that particular Orioles squad was considered to be one of the finest ever...

. In that Series, which the Mets won over the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

 in five games, Weis played a major role in both of Jerry Koosman
Jerry Koosman
Jerome Martin Koosman is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies between 1967 and 1985...

’s victories, with Dave McNally
Dave McNally
David Arthur "Dave" McNally was a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher from until . He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles and played with them every season except for his final season with the Montreal Expos.McNally has the unique distinction as the only pitcher in Major League...

 being the victim both times. In Game 2 his 9th-inning single scored Ed Charles
Ed Charles
Edwin Douglas Charles is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball. A right-handed hitter, Charles played for the Kansas City Athletics and New York Mets .-Minor league career:...

 for the winning run in a 2–1 victory; in the clincher, Game 5 at Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...

, after hitting only six home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s for his career to that point, all on the road, he homered off McNally in the seventh inning to tie the game at 3–3. (Ironically, one of Weis' six previous home runs had also been hit off McNally, on June 18, 1964.) The Mets scored two runs in the eighth to complete their improbable World Series victory.

The 1969 World Series was Weis’ last moment of glory; he was released by the Mets July 1, 1971. He had batted .218 with 346 hits, only seven of which were home runs, and 115 RBIs in 800 games played
Games played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...

.

External links

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