Albie Pearson
Albie Pearson | ||
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Runs batted in | 214 | |
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Albert Gregory Pearson (September 12, 1934 – February 21, 2023) was an American professional
Named for star
With the Angels, Pearson turned his career around. He batted .288 in his first year with the ballclub and became a starting outfielder again. The Angels named him their starting
After retiring, Pearson was involved in Christian ministries. He became an ordained minister in 1972, and in 1997, he and his wife sold their home to found Father's Heart Ranch in Desert Hot Springs, California, an 11-acre (4.5 ha) home for abused, neglected and abandoned 6- to 12-year-old boys. Golf was one of Pearson's hobbies, and he also acted in television shows and released a record under the Capitol label.
Early life
Pearson was named after star college football player Albie Booth. He inherited his short height from his parents; his father was 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) and his mother was 5 feet 1 inch (1.55 m). He was their only child.[1] He was interested in baseball from a young age. When he was six, he borrowed his mother's decorative pillows and used them for a makeshift baseball field, then pretended to hit a home run to beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. He said God told him during that game, "Join my team."[2]
Pearson pitched and played the outfield for the baseball team, played
Baseball career
Minor leagues
Promoted to the
Major leagues
Washington Senators and Baltimore Orioles (1958–60)
On January 23, 1958, the Red Sox traded Pearson and
A hernia and a lingering, physically draining cold caused Pearson to miss games in 1959 spring training, but he was healthy enough to play by Opening Day.[1][14][15] However, Pearson started the 1959 season hitting only .188 over the first 25 games with no home runs and only two RBIs, after which he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for centerfielder Lenny Green.[13][1] With the Orioles in 1959, Pearson was used as a reserve outfielder in all three outfield positions.[14] In 80 games for the Orioles, he batted .232 with 22 runs scored, 32 hits, no home runs, and six RBIs. His combined batting average in 105 games between Baltimore and Washington was .216.[13]
Pearson started the 1960 season again as a reserve outfielder for the Orioles, batting .286 in his first 12 games. By June 12, with his average dropping to .231, Pearson was sent to the Miami Marlins, Baltimore's Class AAA team in the International League.[1][16] After hitting over .300 in Miami, Pearson returned to Baltimore in September.[4][16] He ended the year playing in only 48 games for the Orioles, batting .244 with 17 runs scored, 24 hits, one home run, and six RBIs.[13]
Los Angeles Angels (1961–66)
Following the 1960 season, the Orioles sent Pearson back to their Class AAA affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings, in 1961. Meanwhile, baseball owners approved the creation of the Los Angeles Angels as an expansion team in October 1960, meaning there would be an expansion draft in which the Angels got to select players from all of the major league teams. Since he was from California, Pearson wrote Fred Haney, the Angels' general manager, asking the Angels to pick him in the 1960 expansion draft. Haney chose Pearson with their 30th and final pick.[3] With the expansion Angels, Pearson turned around his career. In the team's first game, Pearson scored the franchise's first run,[2] in a 7–0 win against his old team, the Orioles.[17] Used mostly as a centerfielder early on, Pearson batted .250 in 30 games through May 21. For the next 30 days, he was used mainly as a pinch-hitter, batting .319 over that period. From June 19 through the end of the year, he made most of the team's starts in right field, batting .296 for the rest of the season.[18] Pearson hit .288 with 7 home runs, 41 RBIs, and 92 runs for the season.[13]
Pearson began the 1962 season as the Angel right fielder, but he was moved to centerfield on May 4 after Lee Thomas batted only .149 in his first 17 games. In the first game of a doubleheader against Boston on May 30, 1962, Pearson had three hits and scored four runs in a 10–5 victory.[19] The Angels played another doubleheader two days later, but Pearson became the first player to go hitless when receiving at least 11 at bats in a doubleheader.[20] He walked three times and had three RBIs on June 28 in a 19–7 victory over the Red Sox.[21] With the Angels trailing the Yankees 7–6 in the bottom of the ninth inning on July 14, Pearson led off the inning with a game-tying home run against Marshall Bridges; however, the Yankees won the game in the tenth.[22] Eleven times during the year, Pearson had three hits in a game.[23] Pearson set a career-high with 160 games played, and he led the AL with 115 runs scored. He batted .261 with 160 hits, five home runs, 42 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases in 21 attempts.[13]
On April 24, 1963, he had five walks, playing all 15 innings of a 4–3 loss to the
Pearson only batted .214 in the 1964 season's first couple of months, and in June, he lost the starting centerfield job to Bob Perry.[30][31] For the rest of the season, he was used as a pinch-hitter and pinch-runner, making occasional starts in left field and centerfield.[30] On May 11, he had three hits, including a two-run home run against Moe Drabowsky in a 6–5 win over the Athletics.[32] He also had three hits on May 22 in a 4–3 loss to the Yankees.[33] In 107 games, Pearson had only 265 at-bats, batting .223 with 59 hits and two home runs. His runs scored total dropped from 92 the previous season to 34.[13]
In 1965, Pearson began the season as a pinch-hitter.[34] After Lou Clinton, the right fielder, only batted .200 in April, Angels manager Bill Rigney began using Pearson in a platoon role with him. Pearson, who was left-handed, typically started against right-handed pitchers, while Clinton, who was right-handed, typically started against left-handed pitchers.[35] On June 12, Pearson had three hits, three RBIs, and two stolen bases in a 13–2 victory over the Yankees.[36] In the first game of a doubleheader against the Twins on August 20, Pearson had four hits in a 3–1 victory.[37] Eight days later, in the seventh inning of a game against the Tigers that was tied 3–3, Pearson delivered a go-ahead RBI single against Orlando Peña, providing the margin of victory in a 4–3 win.[38] On August 31, his first-inning home run against Bill Stafford provided all the scoring in a 1–0 win over the Yankees.[39] In 122 games for the Angels in 1965, Pearson had 360 at-bats and batted .278 with 41 runs scored, 100 hits, four home runs, and 21 RBIs. He only stole 12 bases but also only got caught stealing once all season.[13]
A jarring slide into third base during 1966 spring training resulted in two ruptured discs in Pearson's back.[40][41] The injury kept him from playing until July, and he only made two pinch-hit appearances before sitting out the rest of the season.[41] He retired after the year, due partly to his back problems and partly to his belief that God wanted him to retire.[2][6] In his final major league appearance on July 16, Pearson pinch-hit for Angel starting pitcher Dean Chance in the fifth inning, then finished a 7–1 loss to Boston in left field.[42]
In his nine-year major league career, Pearson was a .270 hitter with 28 home runs and 214 RBIs in 988 games. He compiled a 2.45 walk-to-strikeout ratio (477-to-195) and a .369 on-base percentage.[13]
Stature
During his career, Pearson was the shortest player in the major leagues.[1] He stood 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall and weighed 140 pounds (64 kg).[13] His small size helped make him a favorite of children, as he was closer to their height.[6] Gilbert Rogin of Sports Illustrated wrote that in 1956, the Little Guys and Dolls of America, who did not allow anybody to join who was more than 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m), voted Pearson their Athlete of the Year.[1] Worried his small size would deter scouts, Pearson credits the 5-foot-6-inch (1.68 m) Bobby Shantz's successful 1952 season (in which he won 24 games) with helping Boston become interested in him. He took his short size in good humor, saying, "I never have the satisfaction of looking an umpire in the eye, I'm forever signing autographs for kids taller than I am, and human skyscrapers like Norm Zauchin and Jim Lemon of our club make me feel like a midget when they walk by but, hand me a bat and let me step into the box, and I'm as good as the next guy - some of 'em, at least."[3]
Personal life and later years
Pearson and his wife Helen married in 1954. A 2011
Pearson became an ordained minister in 1972.
In 1997, Pearson and his wife sold their home to found Father's Heart Ranch in Desert Hot Springs, California, an 11-acre (4.5 ha) home for abused, neglected and abandoned 6- to 12-year-old boys. The ranch includes a Pop Warner football team and a Little League baseball team. "It's interesting and amazing how they respond to love," Pearson said of the boys at Father's Heart Ranch. "We found that to be a key. When they find out that they are not just something to kick and hit, but that they have a purpose, a God who really loves them, they begin to respond in a dramatic way. They are little miracles."[6] In 2011, the Orange County Register noted that the Pearsons' Father's Heart International foundation was providing food to about 4,000 Zambian children each week whose parents had died of AIDS.[2]
Pearson died in Bentonville, Arkansas, on February 21, 2023, at age 88.[46]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rogin, Gilbert (May 27, 1963). "Albie Pearson: The Littlest Angel". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Smith, Marcia C. (April 9, 2011). "Former Angel Albie Pearson heard a higher calling". Orange County Register. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "Albie Pearson Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Albie Pearson". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
- ^ "1956 Texas League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Peter Hartlaub (October 22, 2012). "Former S.F. Seal keeps kids safe at home". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ "Senators, Bosox trade 3 players". The Deseret News. January 23, 1958. p. B9. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ a b "Albie Pearson 1958 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox at Washington Senators Box Score, April 19, 1958". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ "Washington Senators at Chicago White Sox Box Score, July 28, 1958". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ "Baltimore Orioles at Washington Senators Box Score, September 2, 1958". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ "Washington Senators at New York Yankees Box Score, September 5, 1958". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Albie Pearson Stats". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ a b "Albie Pearson 1959 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Reichler, Joe (March 30, 1959). "Lavagetto Predicts No Definite Finish". The Dispatch. p. 8. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ a b "Albie Pearson 1960 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ "Apr 11, 1961, Angels at Orioles Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
- ^ "Albie Pearson 1961 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Angels Box Score, May 30, 1962". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ Kurkjian, Tim (July 6, 1992). "Baseball". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Angels at Boston Red Sox Box Score, June 28, 1962". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "New York Yankees at Los Angeles Angels Box Score, July 14, 1962". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Albie Pearson 1962 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Angels at Detroit Tigers Box Score, April 24, 1963". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Angels Box Score, May 6, 1963". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees Box Score, May 19, 1963". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Angels Box Score, June 5, 1963". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City Athletics Box Score, September 1, 1963". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "1963 AL Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ a b "Albie Pearson 1964 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Bob Perry 1964 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Kansas City Athletics at Los Angeles Angels Box Score, May 11, 1964". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees Box Score, May 22, 1964". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Albie Pearson 1965 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
- ^ "Lou Clinton 1965 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
- ^ "New York Yankees at California Angels Box Score, June 12, 1965". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
- ^ "Minnesota Twins at California Angels Box Score, August 20, 1965". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
- ^ "Detroit Tigers at California Angels Box Score, August 28, 1965". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
- ^ "New York Yankees at California Angels Box Score, August 31, 1965". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
- ^ Shaikin, Bill (December 14, 1997). "Hit By A Bombshell". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ a b "Albie Pearson 1966 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox at California Angels Box Score, July 16, 1966". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
- ^ "'Team of the Year' Next Says Philadelphia's Mauch". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. October 23, 1962. p. 7. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ "Our Story". Community Christian Fellowship. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
- ^ "Our Leaders". Desert Christian Community Church. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
- ^ "Albie Pearson". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Albie Pearson - Baseballbiography.com
- Father's Heart Ranch
- Pearson singing "I'll Trust in Him"