Dick Bartell | |||
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Shortstop | |||
Born: Chicago, Illinois |
November 22, 1907|||
Died: August 4, 1995 Alameda, California |
(aged 87)|||
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MLB debut | |||
October 2, 1927, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
May 24, 1946, for the New York Giants | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .284 | ||
Hits | 2,165 | ||
Runs batted in | 710 | ||
Teams | |||
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Career highlights and awards | |||
Richard William Bartell (November 22, 1907 – August 4, 1995), nicknamed "Rowdy Richard", was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB). One of the most ferocious competitors of his era, he won both admirers and critics at each stop during a career which saw him traded every few seasons, often under acrimonious circumstances. While hitting .300 over a full season five times, he led the National League in double plays four times and in putouts and assists three times each. From 1927 through 1946, Bartell played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1927–30), Philadelphia Phillies (1931–34), New York Giants (1935–38, 1941), Chicago Cubs (1939) and Detroit Tigers (1940–1941). After two years of military service in World War II, he played briefly in 1946 before retiring. At 5'9" and 160 pounds, he batted and threw right-handed.
A native of Chicago, who grew up in Alameda, California, Bartell played in three World Series and the 1933 All-Star Game, the first to be played. He had one year in the minors, 1926, with the class A Bridgeport Bears in the Eastern League, where he hit .280 in 148 games. At 19, Bartell was the youngest player in the National League. He appeared in only one game at the end of the season, drawing two walks in four plate appearances. He played flawlessly in the field with five chances and one double play. The Pirates lost to the Yankees in four games and the team had to wait until 1960 to make amends.
With an aggressive style of play and fiery attitude which earned him his nickname, Bartell was a competent shortstop with good hands and a strong throwing arm. A skillful hitter, he batted a career-high .320 in 1930. After three seasons over .300 with Pittsburgh, he was traded to the Phillies in 1931, and had collected seasons of 40 doubles and 100 runs three times each by 1934. Bartell helped Philadelphia's perennial cellar-dwellers finish in fourth place in the 1932 season, for the only first-division finish by a Phillies team in a span of 32 seasons (1918–42). In 1933 he was elected to the first All-Star Game, and again in 1937.