Baseball and Bliss
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Dick Groat Dick Groat is is a former two-sport athlete best known as a shortstop in Major League Baseball. He played for four National League teams, mainly the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player in 1960 after winning the batting title with a .325 average for the champion Pirates. From 1956 to 1962 he teamed with second baseman Bill Mazeroski to give Pittsburgh one of the game's strongest middle infields; he led the NL in double plays a record five times, in putouts four times and in assists twice. At the end of his career he ranked ninth in major league history in games at shortstop (1,877) and fourth in double plays (1,237), and was among the NL career leaders in putouts (10th, 3,505), assists (8th, 5,811) and total chances (9th, 9,690). Also an excellent basketball player, he attended Duke University and is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He was twice an All-American at Duke and was voted as the Helms National Player of the Year in 1952 after averaging 25.2 points per game. He played one season as a guard in the National Basketball Association. He is currently the color commentator for the Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team. Dick's Career Stats |
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Bobby Doerr Bobby played his entire 14-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox (1937–1951). He led American League (AL) second basemen in double plays five times, tying a league record, in putouts and fielding percentage four times each, and in assists three times. He held the major league record for career double plays at second base (1,507) until Nellie Fox surpassed his mark in 1963, and his career fielding percentage (.980) was a major league record until Red Schoendienst passed him in 1953; Fox broke his AL mark in 1956. Doerr also ended his career ranking fifth in career games (1,852), putouts (4,928) and total chances (10,852) at second base, and sixth in assists (5,710). He set Red Sox records for career games (1,865), at bats (7,093), hits (2,042), doubles (381), total bases (3,270) and runs batted in (1,247),[1] all of which were later broken by his longtime teammate Ted Williams. His 223 home runs were then the third most by a major league second baseman, with his 1,247 RBI ranking fifth. Doerr was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986. He has lived in Oregon since the late 1930s, residing in the vicinity of Agness for much of his career before relocating to Junction City in the 1950s. His jersey number 1 was retired by the Red Sox on May 21, 1988. Since then, Doerr has lived a relatively quiet lifestyle at his Junction City home. He makes annual trips to the Hall of Fame induction at Cooperstown, New York, and when home, regularly fishes large game fish. Doerr married Monica Terpin on October 24, 1938, and they had one son; the union lasted 65 years until she died at age 88 on December 17, 2003 after suffering a number of strokes. He has carried on his quiet life since then.[citation needed] On July 29, 2007, the Baseball Hall of Fame honored Doerr after the induction of Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn into the Hall. On August 2, 2007, the Red Sox held "Bobby Doerr Day" at Fenway Park where he rode along the warning track in a car, threw out the first pitch, and gave a speech. Upon the death of former New York Yankee Phil Rizzuto in August 2007, Doerr became the oldest living player in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Among Hall of Fame members still living, only Lee MacPhail, a member for his contributions as a baseball executive, is older. Bobby's Career Stats |
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