Pete Runnels
| Pete Runnels | |||
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Runnels in about 1953.
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| Infielder / Manager | |||
| Born: January 28, 1928 Lufkin, Texas |
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| Died: Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Pasadena, Texas |
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| MLB debut | |||
| July 1, 1951, for the Washington Senators | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| May 14, 1964, for the Houston Colt .45s | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .291 | ||
| Hits | 1,854 | ||
| Runs batted in | 630 | ||
| Teams | |||
| As player
As manager |
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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James Edward "Pete" Runnels (January 28, 1928 – May 20, 1991) was an American Major League Baseball infielder who played for the Washington Senators (1951–57), Boston Red Sox (1958–62) and Houston Colt .45s (1963–64). Runnels won two American League batting average championships while a member of the Red Sox.
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Major League playing and coaching career
Born in Lufkin, Texas, the 6 ft (1.8 m), 170 lb (77 kg) Runnels batted left-handed and threw right-handed. A master at handling the bat, he was a notorious singles hitter who had one of the best eyes in the game, compiling an outstanding 1.35 walk-to-strikeout ratio (844-to-627). Altogether, he batted over .300 six times, once with the Senators, five with the Red Sox. Despite winning the batting title in 1960, he drove in just 35 runs, a record low for a batting title winner.
Solid and versatile with the glove, Runnels started as a shortstop with the Senators, but ultimately played 644 games at first base, 642 at second, 463 at shortstop, and 49 at third. Twice he led the American League in fielding percentage, at second base in 1960 (.986), and at first base in 1961 (.995). He was not a good base stealer: in 1952 he set the record for most attempted steals with no successes, at 10. In his career he stole 37 bases and was caught 51 times.
In five seasons with Boston, Runnels never hit less than .314 (1959), winning two batting crowns in 1960 (.320) and 1962 (.326), and just missed the 1958 American League Batting Crown by six points to his teammate Ted Williams on the final day of the 1958 season (.328 to .322). On August 30, 1960, in a double-header against the Tigers, Runnels hit 6-for-7 in the first game (including a game-winning RBI-double in the 15th inning) and 3-for-4 in the second, tying a Major League record for hits in a double-header (9). In 1962, Runnels played in his third All-Star Game for the American League and hit a home run off the Philadelphia Phillies' Art Mahaffey.[1] He went on to win the American League batting title that year. But after the season, Runnels was traded to the Houston Colt .45s (forerunners of the Astros) in exchange for outfielder Román Mejías.[2] Runnels was released by Houston early in the 1964 season.
Runnels was a career .291 hitter (1854-for-6373) with 49 home runs, 630 RBI, 876 runs, 282 doubles, 64 triples, 37 stolen bases, and a .375 on-base percentage in 1799 games. He was selected an All-Star in 1959, 1960 and 1962. He also coached for the Red Sox in 1965–1966, serving as an interim manager for the last 16 games of the 1966 season. Under Runnels, the Sox played .500 baseball and escaped last place by one-half game. However, he was replaced by Dick Williams for the 1967 season.
Post-baseball life
After leaving Major League Baseball, Runnels returned to his native state and opened a sporting goods store in Pasadena, Texas. He helped found and operate a co-ed camp, Camp Champions in Marble Falls, Texas, which is still in existence.[3]
After suffering a stroke while golfing on May 17, 1991, Pete Runnels died three days later at Bayshore Hospital in Pasadena, Texas. He was buried at Forest Park East Cemetery in Houston.[4]
Honors
Runnels was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.[5] He was also inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in November 2004.[6]
See also
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball hitters with six hits in one game
References
- ↑ The Baseball Page.com, "Pete Runnels". http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/runnepe01/bio . Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ↑ Baseball-Reference.com, "Pete Runnels". http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/runnepe01.shtml . Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ↑ The Baseball Page.com, ibid.
- ↑ Baseball Page.com, ibid; Associated Press, "Pete Runnels" (obituary), The New York Times, May 21, 1991.
- ↑ Texas Sports Hall of Fame, "Inductees: Pete Runnels". http://tshof.org/inductees/?staff_id=245 . Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ↑ Boston Red Sox, "Red Sox Hall of Fame". http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/history/feature_hall_of_fame.jsp . Retrieved September 2, 2013.
External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career playing statistics and managing record
- Baseball Library
- Baseball Page
- Camp Champions [1]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Boston Red Sox first-base coach 1965–1966 |
Succeeded by Bobby Doerr |
- 1928 births
- 1991 deaths
- American League All-Stars
- American League batting champions
- Baseball players from Texas
- Boston Red Sox coaches
- Boston Red Sox managers
- Boston Red Sox players
- Chattanooga Lookouts players
- Chickasha Chiefs players
- Houston Colt .45s players
- Major League Baseball first base coaches
- Major League Baseball infielders
- People from Lufkin, Texas
- Texarkana Bears players
- Washington Senators (1901–60) players
