Athletes - Rudy York

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	Athletes - Rudy York

Preston Rudolph York (August 17, 1913 - February 5, 1970) was a Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Detroit Tigers (1934, 1937-45), Boston Red Sox (1946-47), Chicago White Sox (1947) and Philadelphia Athletics (1948). York was born in Ragland, Alabama. He batted and threw right-handed.

With one-eight Cherokee ancestry and less-than-perfect fielding habilities, York prompted one sportswriter to declare: "He is part Indian and part first baseman".

Career

Regarded as a "wood" man rather than a "glove" man, York responded in his own terms slugging his way to major league notoriety, while his managers tried to figure out the position where he could do the least damage as a fielder. Nevertheless, York tried at a variety of positions. He was too awkard at third, too heavy footed for the outfield, extremely wild as a pitcher, and an immobile target as a catcher. From the beginning, though, he was a menacing figure with a bat and amazingly dangerous with the bases loaded --he hit 12 career grand slams, including two in a game.

York's mother moved the family to the Cartersville, Georgia area when Rudy was still a young boy. They lived in the American Textile Company (ATCO) mill town on the outskirts of Cartersville, where Rudy began working in his early teens. In his mid-teens, Rudy was playing baseball with older men on the ATCO mill team and receiving a lot of local attention for his prowess at the plate. Rudy would become the team's star player from 1930 to 1933. He received a tryout and was signed by the Knoxville club of the Southern League in April 1933 but was released after appearing in just three games. Rudy returned to the Atco community and resumed play with the mill team. Later in 1933, Detroit scout Eddie Goosetree spotted him during a textile league game and signed him for the Tigers. Assigned briefly to Shreveport of the Dixie League, he finished the 1933 season with Beaumont of the Texas League. After playing most of the 1934 season with the Fort Worth Cats of the Texas League ("on loan" from Beaumont), York had a brief stay with the Tigers at the end of the 1934 season. He batted just six times and tallied one hit - a single. Although he was on the Tigers' roster for the 1934 World Series, he saw no action in the Fall Classic. At the end of the year, he was shipped back to Beaumont.

As a first baseman, York was selected MVP of the Texas League in 1935 and the American Association in 1936. He came back to Detroit in 1937. Since there was no room for a rookie first baseman on a team that already had Hank Greenberg, York spent his time at third base stopping grounders with his chest and shins or lumbering after passed balls. But he startled the baseball world as a rookie. On the last day of August 1937, York belted two home runs giving him 18 for the month, surpassing the record of 17 set by Babe Ruth in September 1927. York also collected 49 RBI in the month breaking by one the mark set by Lou Gehrig, and finished his rookie season with a .303 batting average, 35 home runs, and 103 RBI in only 305 at-bats. Later in the season, Mickey Cochrane, the Tigers catcher-manager and future Hall of Famer, insisted the rookie try to become the team regular catcher.

York started as a catcher in 1938. A year later, he shared duties with Birdie Tebbetts. Then, in 1940 the Tigers persuaded Greenberg to switch from first base to left field, moved York to first, and replaced him behind the plate with Tebbetts. The experiment was successfully. In that season Greenberg hit .340 with 41 home runs and 150 RBI, and York compiled .316, 33 and 134, for an American League champion team that lost to the Cincinnati Reds in the 1940 World Series in seven games. In the series, York batted .231 (6-for-26) with one home run and two RBI. In addition, York was nominated for the AL MVP Award.

With Greenberg out in the military service, York was the only offensive support for the Tigers in 1941. He hit 27 homeruns (including a three-homer game) with 111 RBI. In 1942 he slipped to 21 and 90, but in 1943 he enjoyed a season career when he led the league in home runs (34), RBI (118), total bases (301), extra base hits (67), slugging percentage (.527) and games played (155), and also got his second MVP consideration.

York fell below 20 homers in 1944 and 1945 (18 each), and had a poor performance in the 1945 World Series, when Detroit defeated the Cubs in seven games. He was sent to Boston in January 1946. It turned out to be a good deal for the Red Sox. York crashed two grand slams in a game against the Browns on July 27, and helped lead Boston to the American League pennant. In that season, York hit .276 with 17 home runs and 119 RBI. He added two decisive homers in the World Series against the Cardinals: a 10th-inning game-winner in the Game One, and a three-run winner in the Game Three. Finally, St. Louis took the series four games to three.

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