RIP Dick Groat, MLB & NBA
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His wiki is awesome.
Please discuss.
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I was a big baseball fan in 1960. I was in the 6th grade. That was the year the Pittsburgh Pirates upset the New York Yankees in the World Series. Groat was the Pirates’ shortstop. He won the batting title with a .325 average and the National League Most Valuable Player award.
Later he played for the Phillies. The Phillies eventually got every player that was in that Pirates’ infield except Bill Mazeroski. The other two were Don Hoak and Dick Steward, a.k.a. “Doctor Strange Glove.”
I always remember this story and how it may have changed baseball:
While the Pirates failed to build on the momentum in 1959, Groat was selected to an All-Star team for the first time in his career. He hit .275 and paced the NL in putouts and double plays once again. The team finished last in home runs in the league, which convinced Brown to pursue a power hitter in the offseason. One potential trade would have sent Groat to the Kansas City Athletics in exchange for Roger Maris, a highly regarded 24-year-old outfielder. Manager Danny Murtaugh opposed the move.
Maris ends up traded to the Yankees and both became MVPs of their leagues in 1960.
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