Cookie Lavagetto

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Cookie Lavagetto
Cookie Lavagetto (managerr) - Washington Senators - 1959.jpg
Lavagetto in 1959
Third baseman / Second baseman / Manager
Born: (1912-12-01)December 1, 1912
Oakland, California
Died: August 10, 1990(1990-08-10) (aged 77)
Orinda, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 17, 1934, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 1947, for the Brooklyn Dodgers
MLB statistics
Batting average.269
Home runs40
Runs batted in486
Managerial record271–384
Winning %.414
Teams
As player

As manager

Career highlights and awards

Harry Arthur "Cookie" Lavagetto (December 1, 1912 – August 10, 1990) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1934 to 1947, losing four seasons to military service during World War II.[1]

Lavagetto, a four-time All-Star with the Brooklyn Dodgers, is notable for his game-winning performance in Game 4 of the 1947 World Series when he drove home the winning run while Yankees pitcher Bill Bevens was just one out away from throwing what would have been the first no-hitter in World Series history.[1] He also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

After his playing career, Lavagetto was the last manager of the American League Washington Senators, from 1957 through 1960, and the first manager of the Minnesota Twins when the Senators relocated there for the 1961 season.[1]

Major league career[]

Lavagetto, the son of a trash hauler,[2] was born in Oakland, California.[1] Nicknamed "Cookie" after an owner of the Oakland Oaks, his first professional team, he played ten seasons in the National League with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1934–1936) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1937–1941; 1946–1947), missing four full seasons due to World War II service in the United States Navy.[3] A 6 ft (1.8 m), 170 lb (77 kg) right-handed batter and thrower, he hit .269 with 945 hits in 1,043 games, including 183 doubles, 37 triples, and 40 home runs. His best season was 1939, when he hit .300 with 87 runs batted in for Brooklyn.

On October 3, 1947, at Ebbets Field, Bevens was ahead 2–1 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, and got two outs. He had surrendered no hits — an unprecedented World Series achievement at the time — but two runners were on base from Bevens' ninth and tenth walks of the game. Lavagetto was summoned by Dodger pilot Burt Shotton to hit for Eddie Stanky, and with no balls and one strike, he cracked an opposite-field double off the right field wall to break up the no-hitter and score the two Dodger runners (pinch runners Al Gionfriddo and Eddie Miksis) for a 3–2 Brooklyn win.[4][5][6] It was Lavagetto's only hit of the series (won by the Yankees in seven games), and his last as a major league player.[1]

Return to minors and major league coach[]

After being released by the Dodgers following the 1947 Series, Lavagetto returned to Oakland to finish his playing career with the Oaks (1948–1950).[1] When Oakland manager Chuck Dressen was named the field leader of the Dodgers in 1951, Lavagetto accompanied him and returned to Brooklyn as one of his coaches. He was an aide to Dressen with Brooklyn (1951–1953) and the Pacific Coast League Oaks (1954), and followed him a third time as a member of the coaching staff when Dressen became manager of the Washington Senators in 1955.[7]

Senators'/Twins' manager[]

On May 7, 1957, with the Senators foundering in last place, Dressen was fired and Lavagetto named as his successor. The team improved slightly, but finished last in 1957, 1958 and 1959. Finally, in 1960, Lavagetto's Senators rose to fifth place in the eight-team American League. The club featured promising young players such as Harmon Killebrew, Jim Kaat, Earl Battey and Bob Allison, as well as veteran pitcher Camilo Pascual, just entering his prime. However, the Senators' encouraging 1960 season came too late to keep the franchise in Washington; owner Calvin Griffith moved the club to Minneapolis–Saint Paul, where it became the Minnesota Twins in 1961.

Lavagetto was the first manager in Twins history, but did not finish the 1961 season.[1] With the Twins mired in ninth place in the new ten-team AL, he took a seven-game leave of absence June 5 and then returned to the helm on the 13th, but was fired on June 23 with the club still in ninth place. He was replaced by coach Sam Mele, under whom the Twins became pennant contenders in 1962 (finishing in second place to the Yankees) and pennant winners in 1965. Lavagetto, as manager for the so-called "Griffs", won 271 and lost 384 (.414).

Later career[]

Lavagetto then returned to the coaching ranks with the New York Mets (1962–1963), and — back home in the Bay Area — the San Francisco Giants (1964–1967) before leaving baseball.

Death[]

Lavagetto died in his sleep at his home in Orinda, California, at the age of 77.[1]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ James, Bill (11 May 2010). The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781439106938.
  2. ^ Baseball in Wartime.com
  3. ^ Drebinger, John (October 4, 1947). "Dodgers' Only Hit Beats Yankees, 3-2, With 2 Out in Ninth – Lavagetto's Pinch Double Bats in 2 Runs, Evens Series and Spoils Bevens' No-Hitter – 10 Walks Help Brooklyn – Casey Wins in Relief Second Day in Row With Lone Pitch Resulting in Double Play". New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  4. ^ "Brooklyn Dodgers 3, New York Yankees 2". retrosheet.org. Retrosheeet. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  5. ^ Schwartz, Larry (November 19, 2003). "Great Subway Series moments". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  6. ^ Dressen set to overhaul Senators

External links[]

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