Danny Litwhiler
Danny Litwhiler | ||
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Runs batted in | 451 | |
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Daniel Webster Litwhiler (August 31, 1916 – September 23, 2011) was an American professional
Early career
Before entering baseball, Litwhiler graduated from college, unlike most major leaguers at the time.
Major League career
After finishing the 1941 season with a .305 batting average, Litwhiler was selected to the All Star game in 1942, where he hit safely in his only at-bat.
In 1942, he recorded 308
Litwhiler was traded to the Cardinals in 1943 and was a key player for them in the 1944 World Series against the St. Louis Browns. He played left field in five of the six games and had four hits with one RBI and two runs scored.
Coaching career
Litwhiler coached at Florida State University from 1955 to 1963, and led them to three College World Series appearances.
He then coached at Michigan State University from 1964 to 1982, and holds the record for most wins by a coach in the school's history. Among his former players are Steve Garvey, Kirk Gibson and Rick Miller.[3]
During his coaching career, he invented a very effective method of drying baseball fields after rain using calcined clay which was marketed as Diamond Grit, enabling play to resume very quickly and in the process saving organized baseball millions of dollars over the decades. He was also one of the first coaches to make use of radar guns to measure pitching velocity, which effectively revolutionized the assessment of pitchers. It first came on the market in collaboration with the Jugs company, known as the Jugs Gun.
Death
Litwhiler died on September 23, 2011, in Clearwater, Florida, at age 95.[3]
References
- ISBN 0020140053.
- ^ a b "Baseball Almanac – Remembering Yesterday's Heroes : Danny Litwhiler". Retrieved 2007-09-27.
- ^ a b "Danny Litwhiler, former MSU baseball coach, dies at 95". Retrieved 2011-09-24.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference
- Danny Litwhiler at Baseball Almanac