Eddie Stanky
Eddie Stanky | ||
---|---|---|
Runs batted in | 364 | |
Managerial record | 467–435 | |
Winning % | .518 | |
Teams | ||
As player
As manager | ||
Career highlights and awards | ||
Edward Raymond Stanky (born Stankiewicz
It took Stanky eight years to reach the major leagues at age 27, after starting out at Greenville, Mississippi, in the East Dixie League, where he was a teammate of future St. Louis Cardinals star Harry Brecheen, whom Stanky would manage in St. Louis in 1952. After spending a brief time as a player-manager, he transitioned to managing full-time, ending his MLB career in 1968, along with a brief return in 1977. In the interim, he had a successful run as an NCAA baseball manager.
"He just knows how to win"
Stanky was famous for his ability to draw walks; he drew 100 or more walks in each of six different seasons, 140 or more in two of them. In 1946, he hit just .273 but his 137 walks allowed him to lead the league in OBP with .436, edging out Stan Musial—who led in more than ten hitting categories. His best season was probably 1950 with the Giants, when he hit an even .300 and led the league in walks (144) and OBP (.460). On August 30, he tied a major league record when he walked in seven consecutive plate appearances (in two games).
Leo Durocher, who managed him with the Dodgers and Giants, once summed up Stanky's talents: he said the second baseman "can't hit, can't run, can't field [but] he just knows how to win."[3] Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto still complained years later about a notorious play during Game 3 of the 1951 World Series in which Stanky kicked the ball loose from Rizzuto's glove as he slid into second base, instrumental in the Giant win that put them ahead two games to one, although they lost the next three and the Series with it. Stanky himself said, "I would spike my mother if it meant being safe on a close play."[3]
As a runner at third base with less than two out, he would station himself several feet back of the bag, in shallow left field. He would time the arc of any outfield fly and then take off running, step on third as the catch was being made and continue to run at full speed, making it almost impossible to throw him out at home, a tactic eventually outlawed as a result. He was also (in)famous for what came to be called "the Stanky maneuver", distracting opposing hitters by jumping up and down and waving his arms behind the pitcher from his second base position.
Stanky was also a master of the "delayed steal" in which the runner feigns disinterest after the pitch, but instead of walking back to first breaks for second as soon as the infielders return to their normal positions. As Cardinal player-manager, he would hold up games close to being called on account of darkness or curfew when that would benefit his team, by walking leisurely to the mound from second base or the dugout (when not playing) after every pitch to confer with his pitcher, eventually resulting in the one-trip-per-inning rule.
Contribution to breaking the color barrier
Stanky contributed to the breaking of the
Robinson, a natural second baseman, was shifted to first base in his rookie season as Stanky was already the Dodgers' second baseman and leadoff hitter. Robinson credited Stanky with giving him tips that made the transition to first base easier.[
Manager of Cardinals and White Sox
He appeared in three World Series in the five years between 1947 and 1951—with three different National League champions, the Dodgers, Braves and Giants, all of whom lost to their American League opponents. In 1948, he was on pace to have his finest season. Batting .320 in July, his season was interrupted on July 8 when he broke his right leg in a collision with Bruce Edwards while trying to return to third base during a game. Originally expected to be out for just two weeks, Stanky did not play again for the Braves until September 19 and was used sparingly in the remainder of the regular season.[6][7][8] Following the 1951 World Series, in which he played in all six games for the Giants but hit an anemic .136, he was traded to the Cardinals as player-manager.
In
Stanky then managed the
In
In 1968, the White Sox got off to a terrible start, losing their first ten games (extending their regular-season losing streak to 15 games dating from 1967). They recovered slightly but were only 34–45 on July 11, when Stanky was fired and López came out of retirement to reclaim his old job. One of his players, Tommy John, recalled that "When Eddie Stanky took over as manager of the White Sox in 1966, people would tell me what an absolute tyrant he was, an S.O.B., a slave driver. Yet I probably learned more baseball under Eddie than any manager I ever played for. I wish I could have played for him ten years. He was just that good."[9]
Stanky used to have pitchers throw batting practice without a protective screen, presumably to encourage toughness.
Success as college baseball coach
After his firing in Chicago, Stanky became the head baseball coach of the
Stanky was inducted into the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. He died of a heart attack in 1999 at age 83 in Fairhope, Alabama. He was buried in the Catholic Cemetery of Mobile.
Eddie Stanky Field, the ballpark of the University of South Alabama baseball team, is named for him.
Managerial record
Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
STL | 1952 | 154 | 88 | 66 | .571 | 3rd in NL | – | – | – | – |
STL | 1953 | 154 | 83 | 71 | .539 | 3rd in NL | – | – | – | – |
STL | 1954 | 154 | 72 | 82 | .468 | 6th in NL | – | – | – | – |
STL | 1955 | 36 | 17 | 19 | .472 | fired | – | – | – | – |
STL total | 498 | 260 | 238 | .522 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
CWS | 1966 | 162 | 83 | 79 | .512 | 4th in AL | – | – | – | – |
CWS | 1967 | 162 | 89 | 73 | .549 | 4th in AL | – | – | – | – |
CWS | 1968 | 79 | 34 | 45 | .430 | fired | – | – | – | – |
CWS total | 403 | 206 | 197 | .511 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
TEX | 1977 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | resigned | – | – | – | – |
TEX total | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
Total | 902 | 467 | 435 | .518 | 0 | 0 | – |
Legacy
Stanky was good friends with Alvin Dark, his roommate when the two played together on the Braves and Giants.[15] As players, both dreamed of managing major league teams one day, and Dark spoke highly of Stanky's baseball intelligence.[16] "Stanky knew so much more about the game than anybody else. If there were ten possible percentage plays to make, most guys would know four or five. Stanky would know ten."[15] After their careers, the two did not correspond as much; Dark speculated this was because of his divorce, as Stanky was a devout Catholic.[17]
See also
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball player-managers
References
- ^ ) https://www.mlb.com/news/eddie-stanky-one-game-manager-for-rangers
- ^ "Eddie Stanky Statistics and History". "baseball-reference.com. Retrieved on 2017-05-14.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4165-4790-7.
- ^ Coombs, Karen (1997). Jackie Robinson. Berkly Heights: Enslow Publishers.
- ^ Dark and Underwood, p. 42
- ^ Dark and Underwood, p. 45
- ^ "Eddie Stanky To Be Out For Two Weeks". The Berkshire Eagle. Pittsfield, MA. July 9, 1948. Retrieved February 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sports Briefs". The Caledonian-Record. St. Johnsbury, VT. September 20, 1948. Retrieved February 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ John and Valenti, p. 36
- ^ John and Valenti, p. 99
- ^ John and Valenti, p. 100
- ^ "Rangers Select Stanky," United Press International (UPI), Wednesday, June 22, 1977. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ "'Homesick' Stanky Resigns," United Press International (UPI), Friday, June 24, 1977. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ "Rangers Pick Billy Hunter As 4th Manager in a Week," The Associated Press (AP), Tuesday, June 28, 1977. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ a b Aron, Eric. "Alvin Dark". SABR. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ Dark, pp. 42, 228
- ^ Dark and Underwood, p. 70
- Dark, Alvin; Underwood, John (1980). When in Doubt, Fire the Manager: My Life and Times in Baseball. New York: E. P. Dutton. ISBN 0-525-23264-8.
- John, Tommy; Valenti, Dan (1991). TJ: My Twenty-Six Years in Baseball. New York: Bantam. ISBN 0-553-07184-X.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Eddie Stanky managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
- The Deadball Era
- Eddie Stanky at Find a Grave