Born: 5/11/1903 in Fowlerville, Michigan
Died: 1/21/1993 in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Major League Career: 1924-42
Games Played at Second Base: 2,206
Most Games Played For: Detroit Tigers
Photo via BASEBALL'S BLACK HERITAGE
Charlie Gehringer was a Michigan man from cradle to grave. He went to college in Ann Arbor and spent his entire Major League career with the Tigers. He earned a reputation for quiet dependability. Said player-manager Mickey Cochrane: "Charlie says 'hello' on Opening Day, 'goodbye' on closing day, and in between hits .350."
Gehringer was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1949. The Tigers retired his number (#2) in 1983. In 1999, Sports Illustrated ranked him as the third greatest athlete ever to come out of the state of Michigan, behind Joe Louis and Magic Johnson.
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For last year's A-Z Challenge, I featured players of the Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns organization, my favorite baseball team. I managed to cover every position on the field except for one: second baseman. As such, I decided to devote this year's challenge entirely to the second base position, honoring the individuals who earned their keep playing one of the game's most demanding defensive positions.
Head on over to Blogging from A to Z April Challenge to find others joining the adventure.
Be sure to visit my new friends:
Stacy S. Jensen
Choice City Native
Love that you're featuring second basemen on A to Z! It's been a long time since I played ball in little league, but second base was MY position.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for stopping by on the blog challenge www.cdrvalleyfarm.blogspot.com
I have to admit that I know NOTHING abot baseball. Its not something that is broadcast here in the UK (not to my knowledge anyway) I have always been intrigued by it though and saw the film Moneyball earlier in the year. Any tips on how to get into watching it?
ReplyDeletePS, a very different subject for your challenge, well done
http://smurfdok.wordpress.com/
I've had the baseball/cricket discussion with many of your compatriots. One would think that knowing one would help to understand the other but that doesn't seem to be the case at all. They are both, taken objectively, such odd games. If you grow up with them, they make sense. If not, good luck figuring them out!
DeleteAs for getting into it, there are a lot of good baseball films which I think could be appreciated even if you don't understand the ins and outs of the sport itself. "Bull Durham" is my favorite. "Field of Dreams" is fun, too. I've not seen the film "Moneyball" but enjoyed the book very much.
Thanks for stopping by and posing such an excellent question!
His entire career with the same team? That's pretty amazing :)
ReplyDeleteUniversal Gibberish
I love the quote, "Charlie says 'hello' on Opening Day, 'goodbye' on closing day, and in between hits .350." Priceless!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I love the A-Z moving dude badge. So cool.
ReplyDeletedreamweaver
I'm very impressed that you are sticking to 2nd basemen. I wouldn't make it very far since I know about 3 baseball players!
ReplyDeleteI really admire your choice for this year's A-Z challenge! It must require a heck of a lot of research on your part and you are doing great!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nan! As with all things worth blogging about, it is a labor of love.
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