Jim Piersall
| Jimmy Piersall | |||
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Piersall in 1953.
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| Center fielder | |||
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Born: November 14, 1929 Waterbury, Connecticut |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 7, 1950, for the Boston Red Sox | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| May 1, 1967, for the California Angels | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .272 | ||
| Home runs | 104 | ||
| Runs batted in | 591 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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James Anthony Piersall (born November 14, 1929) is an American former baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for five teams, from 1950 through 1967. Piersall is best known for his well-publicized battle with bipolar disorder that became the subject of the book and movie Fear Strikes Out.
Piersall led the Leavenworth High School (Waterbury, Connecticut) basketball team to the 1947 New England championship, scoring 29 points in the final game.
Piersall became a professional baseball player at age 18, signing a contract with the Boston Red Sox in 1948. He reached Major League Baseball in 1950, playing in six games as one of its youngest players.
In 1952, he earned a more substantial role with the Red Sox, frequently referring to himself as "the Waterbury Wizard", a nickname not well received by teammates.
On June 10, 1953, he set the Red Sox club record for hits in a 9 inning game, with 6.
On May 24, 1952, just before a game against the New York Yankees, Piersall engaged in a fistfight with Yankee infielder Billy Martin. Following the brawl, Piersall briefly scuffled with teammate Mickey McDermott in the Red Sox clubhouse. After several such incidents, including Piersall spanking the four-year-old son of teammate Vern Stephens in the Red Sox clubhouse during a game, he was demoted to the minor league Birmingham Barons on June 28.
In less than three weeks with the Barons, Piersall was ejected on four occasions, the last coming after striking out in the second inning on July 16. Prior to his at-bat, he had acknowledged teammate Milt Bolling's home run by spraying a water pistol on home plate. Piersall then moved to the grandstand roof to heckle home plate umpire Neil Strocchia.
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Wikipedia