Dick Tracewski

Dick Tracewski
Tracewski in 1966
Infielder
Born: (1935-02-03) February 3, 1935 (age 87) Eynon, Pennsylvania
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 12, 1962, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
September 27, 1969, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Batting average	.213
Hits	262
RBI	91
Teams
As Player Los Angeles Dodgers (1962–1965) Detroit Tigers (1966–1969) As Coach Detroit Tigers (1972–1995) As Manager Detroit Tigers (1979, 1989)
Career highlights and awards
4x World Series Champion (1963, 1965, 1968, 1984)

Richard Joseph Tracewski (born February 3, 1935) is a retired American professional baseball player, coach and manager. During his active career, he was an infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball, appearing in 614 games over eight seasons (1962–69). He threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighed 160 pounds (73 kg).

Tracewski was a four-time World Series champion as a player and coach. He participated in three Fall Classics as a player: two with Los Angeles (1963, 1965) and one with Detroit (1968). He was the starting second baseman in the Dodgers' four-game sweep of the Yankees in 1963, and also started four games at second during the seven-game 1965 classic. He also served as first-base coach for the Tigers in the 1984 World Series.

Tracewski's playing career began in the Brooklyn Dodgers' organization in 1953 and it took him almost a decade to reach the majors. After early and late-season trials with the 1962 Dodgers, Tracewski earned a spot as a utility infielder, getting into more than 100 games in both 1963 and 1964. He was the Dodgers' second baseman on the evening of September 9, 1965, when Sandy Koufax tossed a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs. He was traded to the Tigers for Phil Regan on December 15, 1965, and spent the rest of his career in the Detroit organization.

During his eight-season MLB playing tenure, he batted .213, with eight home runs and 91 RBIs. His 262 hits (in 1,231 at bats) also included 31 doubles and nine triples. He went 4-for-30 (.133) in World Series play.

Tracewski then managed in the Detroit farm system for two seasons (1970–71). In 1972, he began a 24-year stint as a coach for Detroit, longer than any other coach in Tiger history. Tracewski, on two occasions, filled in as the Tigers' interim manager. He managed the club for two games in 1979 (the Tigers winning both) before Sparky Anderson arrived, and from May 20, 1989, to early July while Anderson recovered from exhaustion.

Tracewski retired from baseball after the 1995 season, as did his long-time boss, Anderson.

External links[]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or SABR Biography Project