Eddie Waitkus
| Eddie Waitkus | |||
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| First baseman | |||
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Born: September 4, 1919 Cambridge, Massachusetts |
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Died: September 16, 1972 (aged 53) Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 15, 1941, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 20, 1955, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .285 | ||
| Home runs | 24 | ||
| Runs batted in | 373 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
Edward Stephen Waitkus (September 4, 1919 – September 16, 1972) was a Lithuanian American first baseman in Major League Baseball who had an 11-year career (1941, 1946–1955). He played for the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies in the National League and for the Baltimore Orioles of the American League. He was elected to the National League All-Star team twice (1948 and 1949).
Waitkus, the son of Lithuanian immigrants, grew up in Boston. He began his pro career in 1938 playing for the Worumbo Indians, a semi-pro team sponsored by Worumbo Woolen Mill in Lisbon Falls, Maine. As a rookie, he was known as "the natural," which gave the title to the book loosely based on his life. He saw some of the bloodier fighting of World War II with the U.S. Army in the Philippines, and was awarded four Bronze Stars. Upon his return to baseball he quickly became a star for the Chicago Cubs. He also became a popular media figure, as he was well-educated and was fluent in the Lithuanian, Polish, German and French languages. Following the 1948 season, the Cubs traded Waitkus with Hank Borowy to the Philadelphia Phillies for Monk Dubiel and Dutch Leonard.
Just a few years into the start of what seemed a very promising career, Ruth Ann Steinhagen, an obsessed fan, shot Waitkus at Chicago's Edgewater Beach Hotel on June 14, 1949, in one of the earliest recognized cases of criminal stalking.
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