Gentile, who hit 28 homers, credited Colavito with his own fine season. Cleveland reacquired Colavito as part of a three-team swap January 20, Athletics general manger Pat Friday said it was with great reluctance that Colavito was dealt. Cleveland also received catcher Cam Carreon from Chicago. John won games in his career after leaving Cleveland, mostly with the Dodgers and Yankees.
Agee won AL Rookie of the Year honors in Cleveland general manager Gabe Paul said he had tried to right the wrong made by Lane five years earlier.
Birdie Tebbetts was in charge for the Tribe in The crowd of more than 44, was the largest opening day gate in the major leagues in With the hometown fans cheering wildly that their favorite star had come back to them, Colavito did not disappoint. He slugged a two run homer off California Angels reliever Fred Newman. Besides Colavito, the Indians were counting on home run production from Leon Wagner. Colavito played errorless defense in right field all season, handling chances.
He reached the 1,RBI plateau on September 6, , in the second game of a doubleheader in Washington. Colavito clobbered 30 home runs for the Indians in , but his batting average dropped to a career low of. Colavito, who played with a sore shoulder for much of the season, set a record for playing in games without committing an error. Tebbetts resigned on August 19 and was replaced by George Strickland.
Strickland had some previous managerial experience. He filled in for Tebbetts as manager in the first half of when Tebbetts had suffered a heart attack. Strickland benched Colavito for his poor showing during the last month of the season.
Now, with 12 games left, he is going to rest me. Rocky was a holdout at the beginning of spring training in Gabe Paul asked Colavito to take a 25 percent pay cut, the highest percentage that was allowed to be taken by a player. Colavito balked and held out until March 7, when Paul and Colavito came to an understanding.
Gabe gave in some and so did I. I hope to have a big year and win the cut back. Former Milwaukee Brave Joe Adcock became the new manager in Adcock, who had no previous managerial or coaching experience at any level, moved Colavito to left field and instituted a platoon situation with Wagner. The circumstances made both players extremely unhappy. Colavito had similar thoughts. Colavito and Adcock became embroiled in a heated argument in the dugout.
The article spoke specifically about his holdout over his salary debate with Paul, putting money demands over the team. Rocky was in the lead at the time of the trade. Colavito believed that Paul and Adcock were both working in concert against him so that he could not recoup his lost salary by meeting incentives on the field. The Cleveland brass insisted there were no problems. Chicago had a two-game lead over Boston in the American League.
Two days after the trade, Chicago was in Cleveland, and Colavito hit a two-run home run off Luis Tiant in the tenth inning that would prove to be the winning margin of a Sox victory. The White Sox posted a record in August and September, while Boston went to win the pennant in , with Chicago finishing three games back and in fourth place. For Colavito, he would appear in 60 games, hitting 3 home runs and 29 RBIs. Toward the end of spring training in , Colavito was sold to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers wanted an insurance policy against left-handed pitching and Colavito was available. He hit three home runs for the Dodgers, all of them coming in a two game series at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Colavito was released by the Dodgers and signed with the Yankees on July The highlight for Colavito came on August 25 when manager Ralph Houk beckoned him from the bullpen to relieve starter Steve Barber in the fourth inning.
Pitching two and two-thirds innings of one-hit ball, Colavito picked up the victory for the Yankees. He was the last non-pitcher to win a game until catcher Brent Mayne of Colorado equaled the feat on August 22, Colavito walked two and struck out one.
Colavito retired after the season. Rocky also helped his father-in-law run his mushroom farm near Reading, Pennsylvania.
In it, Pluto details the trials and tribulations of the Cleveland franchise after Frank Lane traded Colavito to Detroit. He picked up the phrase from his father when he was quite young, as did most Tribe fans of that generation.
In , as a celebration of their year anniversary, the Cleveland Indians named their greatest players of all time. The players were selected by a panel of veteran baseball writers, executives and historians.
Rocky was selected as one of 23 outfielders to the all-time team. Colavito is among career leaders in many categories, with his home runs as a right-handed hitter and his four-baggers as a right fielder, and one-game mark of 16 total bases. He also shares all-time single-season marks for best fielding average by an outfielder 1.
As of , Rocky and Carmen live in Bernville, Pennsylvania. They have three children, Rocky Jr. Rocky enjoys hunting and denies that he ever put a curse on the Cleveland Indians. Publications Pluto, Terry. The Curse of Rocky Colavito.
Simon and Schuster, Spatz, Lyle ed. Scribner, Articles Cleveland Press , various articles between and Detroit Times , various articles in New York Times , various articles between Plain Dealer Cleveland , various articles between and The Sporting News , various articles between and Time , August 24, Support SABR today!
Central Ave. All Rights Reserved. Sources Publications Pluto, Terry. Full Name Rocco Domenico Colavito. Baseball Reference. Donate Join. In the end, the Tigers fared better in the deal.
Kuenn lasted one year in Cleveland before being dealt to the Giants. Whenever MLB returns, it won't be normal ]. Colavito, however, remained a prodigious slugger for four more seasons.
With the Tigers battling the Yankees for the pennant in , he smashed 45 homers, drove in runs. Free Press special writer Bill Dow recently caught up with Colavito to discuss the death of Al Kaline, the big trade, his career and his thoughts on baseball today. He played for the Athletics one season before rejoining the Indians.
In , he led the league with RBIs and while playing in all games without an error, he became the first outfielder in league history to complete a season with a perfect 1.
He later served as a Indians TV analyst, coached for the Indians and Royals, briefly operated a mushroom farm, and was a sales representative for a temporary staffing agency. Today: Colavito, 86, has been married to his wife, Carmen, for 65 years and they reside in eastern Pennsylvania. They have three children, four granddaughters and a great grandson. Al was a super athlete, really a super star. He could to everything.
He could run, field, throw, hit, and hit with power. He was just a really good guy and a great teammate. To go straight from high school at 18 and then win the batting title at 20 was amazing. Al was a gentleman and a good family man and his childhood sweetheart Louise always stood by him.
I was taken out of the game, and I told my teammates who were shocked and disappointed like me. I had to fly that night with my now ex-teammates to Cleveland for the opener with my new team which was a little awkward.
CW43 Cleveland. Investigate TV. Gray DC Bureau. Latest Newscasts. Cleveland baseball legend Rocky Colavito honored with statue in Little Italy. By Jim Nelson. Published: Aug. Share on Facebook. Email This Link. Share on Twitter. Share on Pinterest. Share on LinkedIn. Colavito, who turned 88 on the same day, was on hand to celebrate. Most Read.
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