Rocky Colavito
Encyclopedia
Rocco Domenico "Rocky" Colavito, Jr. (born August 10, 1933 in New York City
) is a former right fielder
in Major League Baseball
best known for his years with the Cleveland Indians
. He wore a #6, #7 or #21 jersey during his MLB career. Colavito was the fifth player in American League
history to have eleven consecutive 20-home run
seasons (1956–66), exceeding 40 home runs three times and 100 runs batted in
six times during that span; he also led the AL in home runs, RBI and slugging average once each. Hitting all but three of his 374 career home runs in the AL, he ranked behind only Jimmie Foxx
(524) and Harmon Killebrew
(then at 397) among the league's right-handed hitters when he retired. In , playing every game, he became the first outfielder in AL history to complete a season with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage
, and his 1272 AL games in right field ranked eighth in league history at the end of his career. He currently lives in Berks County, Pennsylvania
.
as a devoted fan of the New York Yankees
, particularly Joe DiMaggio
. By age nine he was playing semipro baseball, and he dropped out of school at age 16 to pursue Major rules to wait until his school class graduated before signing, and only a special appeal allowed him to go pro after a one-year wait. The Yankees expressed little interest in him, and the Philadelphia Athletics
had to bow out due to financial problems; the Cleveland Indians finally signed him in 1950, with two-thirds of his signing bonus deferred until he progressed in their system. He spent most of the next six years working his way up. With the Indianapolis Indians
in 1954, Colavito would hit 38 home runs and accumulate 116 RBIs.
, once showing off his throwing arm by hurling a ball over the center-field wall from home plate, with his longest mark at 436 feet (132.9 m). He returned to the Indians in July, and after batting
.276 with 21 home runs. He earned one vote in the AL Rookie of the Year
voting. After slipping to a .252 average in 1957, in he batted .303 with 41 home runs (one behind Mickey Mantle
's league lead) and 113 runs batted in, and finished third in the MVP
balloting. He also led the AL in slugging with a .620 average, the highest by a right-handed Indians hitter until Albert Belle
in .
One year later Colavito became the first Indian to have two 40-HR seasons; with 42, he tied Harmon Killebrew
for the AL lead and was one short of Al Rosen
's club record. He finished fourth in the MVP vote, and also made the All-Star team for the first time; he was eventually chosen in six years, including both All-Star Games in 1959, 1961 and 1962, when two were played annually. On June 10, he smashed four homers
in consecutive at bat
s in a single game at the Baltimore Orioles
' cavernous Memorial Stadium
. He later hit four home runs on the same day while playing for Detroit, but they were distributed between the two games of a double header. The Indians finished five games behind the Chicago White Sox
in the 1959 pennant race, the closest he would come to a title until 1967. Colavito would hit 30-plus homers seven times, establishing himself as a major power hitter and as an excellent fielder with a strong arm despite being flat-footed
.
Frank Lane
traded him to the Detroit Tigers
for Harvey Kuenn
, who had won the 1959 batting title. The trade proved to be a good one for the Tigers but a terrible, unpopular one for the Indians, whose fans lost their favorite player and best hitter. Kuenn had a minor injury early in the season and was traded away by the end of the year. Lane, whose reputation as a wheeler-dealer earned him the monicker Frank "Trader" Lane in the sports press, further irritated fans by saying, "What's all the fuss about? All I did was trade hamburger for steak." Tigers GM Bill DeWitt
jokingly responded that he liked hamburger. In with the Tigers, Colavito enjoyed career highs of 45 home runs, 140 RBI and 129 runs scored
as the team led the Major Leagues in scoring; he placed eighth in the MVP race. While in Detroit, he played left field, because Al Kaline
was established in right field.
Yet Tiger fans didn't take to him the same way as those in Cleveland, preferring the more consistent Kuenn; and sportswriter Joe Falls
, who viewed Colavito as a "self-ordained deity," started a feature chronicling the runs he failed to drive in. In one game, Falls – acting as the official scorer – charged Colavito with a controversial error
, and the outfielder tried to attack him; and on May 12, 1961, he was ejected from the game after climbing into the stands to go after a drunken fan who had been insulting his wife and father. The Detroit journalist kept a statistic on Colavito during his years as a member of the Detroit Tigers. When Colavito stranded a runner, Falls would give him an RNBI (Run Not Batted In). This infuriated Colavito and created a tense relationship between the two for several years. After his excellent 1961 season, he drew the local fans' criticism by holding out for a higher salary than established team star Al Kaline
.
running the Indians, Colavito was brought back; but to obtain the slugger in a three-team deal, Paul had to send the White Sox pitcher Tommy John
, who would play until and win 286 games after the trade, as well as Tommie Agee
, who won the Rookie of the Year award in , then became the New York Mets
' top hitter in as they won their first pennant.
Colavito made his last years in Cleveland worthwhile, making the All-Star team in 1965 and 1966 and placing fifth in the 1965 MVP vote after leading the league with 108 RBI and 93 walks
while finishing among the AL's top five in home runs, hits and runs, as well as playing without an error in the outfield. In July 1967 he was traded to the Chicago White Sox
after hitting only .241; he hit .221 with the Sox, who finished three games out of first, and was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers
before the next season, batting .204 with 3 home runs in his National League
debut. Later in that final season of , with his last team, his boyhood idol Yankees, he became the last position player until Brent Mayne
in to be credited as the winning
pitcher
in a game, earned in a scoreless two and two-thirds inning relief appearance in the first game of a doubleheader. He also homered in the second game.
, 283 doubles
and 21 triples
. As an outfielder, he recorded 3323 putout
s, 123 assists
, 26 double play
s, and committed 70 errors in 3516 total chances for a .980 fielding percentage. In he was voted the most memorable personality in Indians history, and in he received a huge ovation at the introduction of the Indians' All-Century team.
In 1994
, Terry Pluto
, who covered the Indians for The Plain Dealer in the 1980s and became the top sports columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal
(but returned to The Plain Dealer in 2007), published The Curse of Rocky Colavito
, a book that tried to explain why the Indians had not come within even 11 games of first place since 1959. His explanation was that the trade of Colavito in 1960 sent the team on a path to mediocrity that lasted more than three decades, also suggesting that the trade to bring Colavito back was as bad as the one that sent him away.
When the Indians finally won their first pennant in 41 years in , Pluto wrote a sequel, Burying the Curse. The Indians also won the pennant in , but lost the World Series
both times, the second time after needing just two more outs in Game 7 to win. Insisting that the curse was still in effect, Pluto wrote Our Tribe, a history of the team, in 1999
. , the Indians have not won another pennant since 1997, and have not won the World Series since 1948
.
On July 29, 2006, Colavito, along with Ray Chapman
, Addie Joss
, Sam McDowell
, Al Rosen
, Herb Score
and manager Al Lopez
, was inducted into the Cleveland Indians' Hall of Fame.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) is a former right fielder
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
in 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...
best known for his years with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
. He wore a #6, #7 or #21 jersey during his MLB career. Colavito was the fifth player in 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...
history to have eleven consecutive 20-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...
seasons (1956–66), exceeding 40 home runs three times and 100 runs batted in
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
six times during that span; he also led the AL in home runs, RBI and slugging average once each. Hitting all but three of his 374 career home runs in the AL, he ranked behind only Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx
James Emory "Jimmie" Foxx , nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was a right-handed American Major League Baseball first baseman and noted power hitter....
(524) and Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Clayton Killebrew , nicknamed "Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. During his 22-year career in Major League Baseball , he played for the Washington Senators, a team which later became the Minnesota Twins, and...
(then at 397) among the league's right-handed hitters when he retired. In , playing every game, he became the first outfielder in AL history to complete a season with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
, and his 1272 AL games in right field ranked eighth in league history at the end of his career. He currently lives in Berks County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Childhood in the Bronx
Colavito grew up in the BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
as a devoted fan of 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...
, particularly Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
. By age nine he was playing semipro baseball, and he dropped out of school at age 16 to pursue Major rules to wait until his school class graduated before signing, and only a special appeal allowed him to go pro after a one-year wait. The Yankees expressed little interest in him, and the Philadelphia Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
had to bow out due to financial problems; the Cleveland Indians finally signed him in 1950, with two-thirds of his signing bonus deferred until he progressed in their system. He spent most of the next six years working his way up. With the Indianapolis Indians
Indianapolis Indians
The Indianapolis Indians are a minor league baseball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates major-league club. The Indians play at Victory Field, located in downtown Indianapolis...
in 1954, Colavito would hit 38 home runs and accumulate 116 RBIs.
A sensation in Cleveland
After breaking in with the Indians briefly in , he started in the Pacific Coast LeaguePacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
, once showing off his throwing arm by hurling a ball over the center-field wall from home plate, with his longest mark at 436 feet (132.9 m). He returned to the Indians in July, and after batting
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.276 with 21 home runs. He earned one vote in the AL Rookie of the Year
MLB Rookie of the Year Award
In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is annually given to one player from each league as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America . The award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA, which selected an annual winner from 1940 through 1946...
voting. After slipping to a .252 average in 1957, in he batted .303 with 41 home runs (one behind Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
's league lead) and 113 runs batted in, and finished third in the MVP
MLB Most Valuable Player Award
The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...
balloting. He also led the AL in slugging with a .620 average, the highest by a right-handed Indians hitter until Albert Belle
Albert Belle
Albert Jojuan Belle is a former American Major League Baseball outfielder for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Baltimore Orioles...
in .
One year later Colavito became the first Indian to have two 40-HR seasons; with 42, he tied Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Clayton Killebrew , nicknamed "Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. During his 22-year career in Major League Baseball , he played for the Washington Senators, a team which later became the Minnesota Twins, and...
for the AL lead and was one short of Al Rosen
Al Rosen
Albert Leonard Rosen , nicknamed "Al", "Flip", and the "Hebrew Hammer", is a former American professional baseball player who was a third baseman and right-handed slugger in the Major Leagues for ten seasons in tthe 1940s and 1950s.He played his entire 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians in...
's club record. He finished fourth in the MVP vote, and also made the All-Star team for the first time; he was eventually chosen in six years, including both All-Star Games in 1959, 1961 and 1962, when two were played annually. On June 10, he smashed four homers
MLB hitters with four home runs in one game
Writers of Sporting News described hitting four home runs in a single Major League Baseball game as "baseball's greatest single-game accomplishment". Fifteen players have accomplished the feat to date. No player has done this more than once in his career and no player has ever hit more than four...
in consecutive at bat
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...
s in a single game at 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...
' cavernous Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)
Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road...
. He later hit four home runs on the same day while playing for Detroit, but they were distributed between the two games of a double header. The Indians finished five games behind 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...
in the 1959 pennant race, the closest he would come to a title until 1967. Colavito would hit 30-plus homers seven times, establishing himself as a major power hitter and as an excellent fielder with a strong arm despite being flat-footed
Flat feet
Flat feet is a formal reference to a medical condition in which the arch of the foot collapses, with the entire sole of the foot coming into complete or near-complete contact with the ground...
.
Sent to Tigers in blockbuster deal
Colavito was easily the Cleveland fans' favorite, with his handsome appearance and approachability, always accommodating the hundreds of autograph seekers after each game even if it took a few hours. But just days before the Opening Day of the season, Indians general managerGeneral manager (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, the general manager of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players....
Frank Lane
Frank Lane
Frank Lane was an American executive in professional baseball, most notably serving as a general manager in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox, St...
traded him to the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
for Harvey Kuenn
Harvey Kuenn
Harvey Edward Kuenn was an American player, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. As a shortstop and outfielder, he played with the Detroit Tigers , Cleveland Indians , San Francisco Giants , Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies . He batted and threw right-handed...
, who had won the 1959 batting title. The trade proved to be a good one for the Tigers but a terrible, unpopular one for the Indians, whose fans lost their favorite player and best hitter. Kuenn had a minor injury early in the season and was traded away by the end of the year. Lane, whose reputation as a wheeler-dealer earned him the monicker Frank "Trader" Lane in the sports press, further irritated fans by saying, "What's all the fuss about? All I did was trade hamburger for steak." Tigers GM Bill DeWitt
Bill DeWitt
William Orville DeWitt Sr. was a longtime executive in Major League Baseball whose career spanned more than 50 years in the game. His son William DeWitt, Jr. is currently the principal owner and managing partner of the St. Louis Cardinals, while grandson William O...
jokingly responded that he liked hamburger. In with the Tigers, Colavito enjoyed career highs of 45 home runs, 140 RBI and 129 runs scored
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
as the team led the Major Leagues in scoring; he placed eighth in the MVP race. While in Detroit, he played left field, because Al Kaline
Al Kaline
Albert William "Al" Kaline is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kaline played his entire 22-year baseball career with the Detroit Tigers. Kaline still works for the Tigers as a front office official. Because of his lengthy career and...
was established in right field.
Yet Tiger fans didn't take to him the same way as those in Cleveland, preferring the more consistent Kuenn; and sportswriter Joe Falls
Joe Falls
Joseph Francis Falls was an American journalist. He began his career in his native New York City. At the age of 17 in 1945, he took a job as a copyboy for the Associated Press. After an apprenticeship of eight years, Falls moved to the Detroit bureau of the AP.In Detroit, Falls flourished...
, who viewed Colavito as a "self-ordained deity," started a feature chronicling the runs he failed to drive in. In one game, Falls – acting as the official scorer – charged Colavito with a controversial error
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
, and the outfielder tried to attack him; and on May 12, 1961, he was ejected from the game after climbing into the stands to go after a drunken fan who had been insulting his wife and father. The Detroit journalist kept a statistic on Colavito during his years as a member of the Detroit Tigers. When Colavito stranded a runner, Falls would give him an RNBI (Run Not Batted In). This infuriated Colavito and created a tense relationship between the two for several years. After his excellent 1961 season, he drew the local fans' criticism by holding out for a higher salary than established team star Al Kaline
Al Kaline
Albert William "Al" Kaline is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kaline played his entire 22-year baseball career with the Detroit Tigers. Kaline still works for the Tigers as a front office official. Because of his lengthy career and...
.
Return to the Indians
He was traded to the Athletics (by that time in Kansas City) after the 1963 season, but spent only one year with the team, becoming one of the youngest players to reach the 300-home-run mark. In 1965, with Gabe PaulGabe Paul
Gabriel Howard Paul was an American executive in Major League Baseball who served as general manager of three teams and, perhaps most famously, as president of the New York Yankees under George Steinbrenner during the 1970s....
running the Indians, Colavito was brought back; but to obtain the slugger in a three-team deal, Paul had to send the White Sox pitcher Tommy John
Tommy John
Thomas Edward John Jr. is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball whose 288 career victories rank as the seventh highest total among left-handers in major league history...
, who would play until and win 286 games after the trade, as well as 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:...
, who won the Rookie of the Year award in , then became 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...
' top hitter in as they won their first pennant.
Colavito made his last years in Cleveland worthwhile, making the All-Star team in 1965 and 1966 and placing fifth in the 1965 MVP vote after leading the league with 108 RBI and 93 walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
while finishing among the AL's top five in home runs, hits and runs, as well as playing without an error in the outfield. In July 1967 he was traded to 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...
after hitting only .241; he hit .221 with the Sox, who finished three games out of first, and was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
before the next season, batting .204 with 3 home runs in his National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
debut. Later in that final season of , with his last team, his boyhood idol Yankees, he became the last position player until Brent Mayne
Brent Mayne
Brent Danem Mayne is a former Major League Baseball catcher who has played with the Kansas City Royals , New York Mets , Oakland Athletics , San Francisco Giants , Colorado Rockies , Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers...
in to be credited as the winning
Win (baseball)
In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
in a game, earned in a scoreless two and two-thirds inning relief appearance in the first game of a doubleheader. He also homered in the second game.
Still a Cleveland icon
In his 1,841-game career, Colavito batted .266 with 374 HRs, 1,159 RBI, 971 runs, 1,730 hitsHit (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....
, 283 doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
and 21 triples
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
. As an outfielder, he recorded 3323 putout
Putout
In baseball statistics, a putout is given to a defensive player who records an out by one of the following methods:* Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base...
s, 123 assists
Assist (baseball)
In baseball, an assist is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is awarded to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional...
, 26 double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
s, and committed 70 errors in 3516 total chances for a .980 fielding percentage. In he was voted the most memorable personality in Indians history, and in he received a huge ovation at the introduction of the Indians' All-Century team.
In 1994
1994 in literature
The year 1994 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Kevin J. Anderson - Champions of the Force, Dark Apprentice and Jedi Search*Reed Arvin - The Wind in the Wheat*Greg Bear - Songs of Earth and Power...
, Terry Pluto
Terry Pluto
Terry Pluto is an award-winning sportswriter who primarily writes columns for The Plain Dealer, and formerly for the Akron Beacon Journal about Cleveland sports and religion. He has been named Ohio Sportswriter of the Year eight times...
, who covered the Indians for The Plain Dealer in the 1980s and became the top sports columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal
Akron Beacon Journal
The Akron Beacon Journal is a four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States, and published by Black Press Ltd.. It is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper places a strong emphasis on local news and business...
(but returned to The Plain Dealer in 2007), published The Curse of Rocky Colavito
Curse of Rocky Colavito
The Curse of Rocky Colavito is a phenomenon that supposedly prevents the Cleveland Indians baseball team from winning, be it the World Series, the American League pennant, reaching postseason play, or even getting into a pennant race...
, a book that tried to explain why the Indians had not come within even 11 games of first place since 1959. His explanation was that the trade of Colavito in 1960 sent the team on a path to mediocrity that lasted more than three decades, also suggesting that the trade to bring Colavito back was as bad as the one that sent him away.
When the Indians finally won their first pennant in 41 years in , Pluto wrote a sequel, Burying the Curse. The Indians also won the pennant in , but lost the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
both times, the second time after needing just two more outs in Game 7 to win. Insisting that the curse was still in effect, Pluto wrote Our Tribe, a history of the team, in 1999
1999 in literature
The year 1999 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*June 19 - Stephen King is hit by a Dodge van while taking a walk. He spends the next three weeks hospitalized...
. , the Indians have not won another pennant since 1997, and have not won the World Series since 1948
1948 World Series
The 1948 World Series matched the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Braves. The Braves had won the National League pennant for the first time since the "Miracle Braves" team of . The Indians spoiled a chance for the only all-Boston World Series by winning a one-game playoff against the Boston...
.
On July 29, 2006, Colavito, along with Ray Chapman
Ray Chapman
Raymond Johnson Chapman was an American baseball player, spending his entire career as a shortstop for Cleveland....
, Addie Joss
Addie Joss
Adrian Joss was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire nine-year baseball career for the Cleveland Bronchos/Naps .-Early life:...
, Sam McDowell
Sam McDowell
Samuel Edward Thomas McDowell , is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball, with the first 11 coming for the Cleveland Indians before a 1971 trade to the San Francisco Giants, followed by stints with the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates...
, Al Rosen
Al Rosen
Albert Leonard Rosen , nicknamed "Al", "Flip", and the "Hebrew Hammer", is a former American professional baseball player who was a third baseman and right-handed slugger in the Major Leagues for ten seasons in tthe 1940s and 1950s.He played his entire 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians in...
, Herb Score
Herb Score
Herbert Jude Score was a Major League Baseball pitcher and announcer.-Athletic career:Score came up as a rookie in with the Cleveland Indians...
and manager Al Lopez
Al Lopez
Alfonso Ramon "Al" Lopez was an American catcher and manager in Major League Baseball, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977....
, was inducted into the Cleveland Indians' Hall of Fame.
See also
- List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
- List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
- List of Major League Baseball home run champions
- Batters with four home runs in one game
- 1961 Detroit Tigers season1961 Detroit Tigers seasonThe Detroit Tigers won 101 games but finished in second place, eight games behind the Yankees. The team's 1961 record tied the 1934 Tigers team record of 101 wins, and only twice in team history have the Tigers won more games: 1968 and 1984 .- Offseason :On January 1, the Tigers' home park,...
External links
- BaseballLibrary - career highlights
- Baseball Almanac
- Cleveland Indians Press Release, July 11, 2006 - Indians Hall Of Fame