Charlie Metro | |||
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Outfielder / Manager | |||
Born: Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania |
April 18, 1918|||
Died: March 18, 2011 Buckingham, Virginia |
(aged 92)|||
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MLB debut | |||
May 4, 1943, for the Detroit Tigers | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
August 5, 1945, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .193 | ||
Home runs | 3 | ||
Runs batted in | 23 | ||
Games managed | 164 | ||
Win–Loss record | 62–102 | ||
Winning % | .378 | ||
Teams | |||
Major League Baseball As manager |
Major League Baseball
As manager
Charlie Metro (born Charles Moreskonich; April 18, 1918 – March 18, 2011) was an outfielder for the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Athletics, as well as a manager for the Chicago Cubs and the Kansas City Royals. He adopted the name "Metro" from his father, Metro Moreskonich, a Ukrainian immigrant.
Metro was born and grew up in Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania, graduating from Nanty Glo High School in 1937, and also worked in the coalmines there during breaks from school. At age 18, he attended a tryout camp for the St. Louis Browns, and he bounced around in the minor leagues. In 1940, he joined the Texarkana Liners, then an independent baseball team but which became affiliated with the Detroit Tigers. Due to his light hitting ability, he was never able to become a full-time starter, although he did make the Tigers club out of spring training in 1943. He was released by the Tigers in 1944, partly because of his attempts to organize a players union.
The Philadelphia Athletics picked him up, and, under Connie Mack, Metro won 'a shot' at starting center fielder; but his inability to hit consistently cost him this job. At the end of 1944 he joined the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League, where he played under another manager, Casey Stengel. In 1947, he was hired as a manager within the New York Yankees organization, and soon he moved up the ranks to AAA. Eventually, he got his first big-league managing job with the Chicago Cubs in their "College of Coaches." He was fired after the 1962 season; then he joined the crosstown Chicago White Sox as a scout, but soon returned to managing in the PCL.