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Rocky Colavito Photo Gallery
Rocky Colavito, RIP
The baseball world was saddened to learn of the passing this week of Rocky Colavito, aged 91. Rocky passed away on December 10 at his home in Burnsville, Pennsylvania surrounded by family members.
Born on August 10, 1933, the Bronx native made his major league debut on September 10, 1955, with the Indians. He went on to become one of the most popular players in Cleveland franchise history. The 6’3″, 190-lb. right fielder was the subject of one of the most controversial trades in major league history. In 1959, after leading the American League with 42 home runs, he was traded by General Manager Frank Lane to the Tigers days before the start of the 1960 season for batting champion Harvey Kuenn, initiating the “Curse of Colavito.” It was a trade that worked out well for the Tigers, but, to put it mildly, not so well for the Indians.
Eight years ago, I wrote a tribute to Rocky, making the case that he should at least be considered for the Hall of Fame. His granddaughter, Gina, saw the essay and contacted me. Gina thanked me and informed me that she showed it to her grandfather and that he was pleased with it. I was thrilled to learn that Rocky had actually read the tribute. Ever since, I’ve always felt a bit of a personal attachment to this great ball player.
Today, at the time of Rocky’s passing, I thought this would be an appropriate time to repost my essay:
Tribute to Rocky Colavito (Written June 10, 2016)
“He was everything a ball player should be.” Terry Pluto, Akron Beacon Journal sportswriter, speaking of Rocky Colavito
I’ve been wanting to write about Rocky Colavito for a while – another player who I think is overlooked for the Hall of Fame. Since today is the 57th anniversary of his four-homer game (June 10, 1959), I thought this would be a good occasion.
I’m actually old enough to remember the game in which Indians’ slugger Rocky Colavito hit four home runs in one game at Baltimore’s cavernous Memorial Stadium. In the entire history of baseball, only 15 players have accomplished this feat. He’s one of only six in history to hit four home runs in consecutive at-bats in a single game. He later hit four home runs on the same day while playing for Detroit, but they were distributed between the two games of a doubleheader.
Rocky Colavito always brought excitement to the game, either with his hitting or his rocket arm. He was one of those guys people paid to see. It’s unusual for the fans at a baseball game to jump to their feet because of an outfielder’s throw, but they did it routinely for Colavito. His arm was like a high-caliber gun and ranks with Roberto Clemente and Carl Furillo as among the very best ever. Few runners tried to stretch hits or advance to third when the ball went to Rocky Colavito in right field.
Rocky’s Great Career
Colavito played 14 seasons in the major leagues (1955-68). While he is best known for his years with the Indians, he also played for the Tigers, Athletics, White Sox, Dodgers, and Yankees. Over his career, he hit .266, with 374 home runs, 1159 RBIs. 971 runs, 1,730 hits, 283 doubles, and 21 triples. As an outfielder, he recorded 3323 putouts, 123 assists, 26 double plays, and a .980 fielding percentage. He was a nine-time All-Star and led the American League in home runs (42) in 1959, RBIs (108) in 1965, and slugging (.620) in 1958. Colavito was the fifth player in American League history to have 11 consecutive 20-home run seasons (1956–66), hitting over 40 home runs three times and 100 runs batted in six times during that span. Rocky also hit 30-plus homers seven times.
Hitting all but three of his 374 career home runs in the American League, he ranked behind only Jimmie Foxx (524) and Harmon Killebrew (then at 397) among the league’s right-handed hitters when he retired. In 1965 playing every game, he became the first outfielder in American League history to complete a season with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, and his 1272 American League games in right field ranked eighth in league history at the end of his career. While with the Tigers in 1962, he once went 7-for-10 in a 22-inning loss to the Yankees.
Colavito was easily one of the most popular players in Indians’ history, always accommodating the hundreds of autograph seekers after each game. But just days before the Opening Day of the 1960 season, Indians general manager “Trader Frank” Lane traded him to the Tigers for Harvey Kuenn who had won the 1959 batting title. The trade proved to be a good one for the Tigers but a terrible one for the Indians, whose fans lost their favorite player and best hitter. Kuenn had a minor injury early in the season and was gone by the end of the year. In 1961 with the Tigers, Colavito enjoyed career highs of 45 home runs, 140 RBI and 129 runs scored.
With his strong arm, he was asked to make two appearances on the mound in 1968 against the Tigers – and he actually won a game! He became the last position player until 2000 to be credited as the winning pitcher, with a scoreless two and two-thirds-inning relief appearance in the first game of a doubleheader. Not only did he retire Al Kaline and Willie Horton, he also scored the winning run in the eighth inning and later homered in the second game.
Does Rocky Colavito belong in the Hall of Fame?
You can certainly make that case as his stats speak for themselves. Hopefully, the Veterans’ Committee will vote him in. Probably the most telling statistic is his career .848 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging average) compared to players already in the Hall of Fame from his era. Colavito ranks 17th when added to the list of 35 already Hall members, ahead of stars like Reggie Jackson, Carl Yastrzemski and Roberto Clemente. In 1976, Rocky was voted the most memorable personality in Cleveland Indians history. He was elected to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1981 and inducted into the Cleveland Indians’ Hall of Fame in 2006.
Gary Livacari
Photo Credits: All obtained from Google search
Information: Excerpts edited from the Rocky Colavito Wikipedia page.
Statistics from Baseball.Reference.com
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Interesting that in the 1959 baseball card showing Minoso, Colavito, and Doby, only Colavito would not make the Hall-of-Fame. If you had asked in 1959 which of the three would make the Hall, I suspect it would have been Rocky. None of the three would be with Cleveland in 1960. The “Destruction Crew” became the “Deduction Crew”.
Thanks Kevin…nice observation!