Wes Westrum
| Wes Westrum | |||
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Westrum with the New York Giants in 1955
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| Catcher / Manager | |||
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Born: November 28, 1922 Clearbrook, Minnesota |
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Died: May 28, 2002 (aged 79) Clearbrook, Minnesota |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 17, 1947, for the New York Giants | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 29, 1957, for the New York Giants | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .217 | ||
| Home runs | 96 | ||
| Runs batted in | 315 | ||
| Managerial record | 260–366 | ||
| Winning % | .415 | ||
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As player As manager |
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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As player
As manager
Wesley Noreen Westrum (November 28, 1922 – May 28, 2002) was an American Professional baseball player, coach, manager, and scout. He played for 11 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants from 1947 to 1957. He was known as a superb defensive catcher. He served as the second manager in the history of the New York Mets, replacing Casey Stengel in 1965 after the latter fractured his hip and was forced to retire.
A native of Clearbrook, Minnesota, Westrum was a stalwart defensive player for the New York Giants (1947–57) and, in his prime, a powerful right-handed hitter, although he had trouble making contact and hit for a low .217 career batting average. He began his major league career as the Giants' reserve catcher, playing behind Walker Cooper. When Cooper was traded in 1949, Westrum shared the catching duties with Ray Mueller for the remainder of the season. He became the full-time catcher for the Giants in 1950, leading National League catchers with a .999 fielding percentage, 31 baserunners caught stealing, a 54.4% caught stealing percentage and 71 assists, and finished second to Roy Campanella with 608 putouts.
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