Earl Averill Jr. facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Earl D. Averill |
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| Catcher | |||
| Born: September 9, 1931 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
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| Died: May 13, 2015 (aged 83) Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| April 19, 1956, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| September 26, 1963, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .242 | ||
| Home runs | 44 | ||
| Runs batted in | 159 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Earl Douglas Averill (born September 9, 1931, died May 13, 2015) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher and outfielder in the Major Leagues. He played for teams like the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels. People often called him Earl Averill Jr. This helped tell him apart from his father, Howard Earl Averill. His dad was also a famous baseball player and is in the Hall of Fame.
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Early Life and College Baseball
Earl Averill Jr. was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His father was a star player for the Cleveland Indians there. Earl Jr. threw and batted with his right hand. He was about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 185 pounds.
He played college baseball for the University of Oregon (UO). He played there from 1951 to 1953. In his second year, he had a great batting average of .439. Earl Averill Jr. was the first baseball player from UO to be named an All-American. Later, in 1997, he was added to the UO Hall of Fame.
Starting His Professional Baseball Career
After college, Earl Averill Jr. signed with the Cleveland Indians. He started his professional career in 1953. His first team was the Reading Indians, where he played for two seasons. In 1955, he played for the Indianapolis Indians and the Nashville Volunteers.
In 1956, he played 22 games with Indianapolis. He had a .241 batting average. That same year, he moved up to the main Cleveland Indians team. He made his Major League debut on April 19, 1956.
Time in the Major and Minor Leagues
After playing 42 games with the Indians in 1956, Averill spent 1957 and 1958 with the San Diego Padres. These were his best years in the minor leagues. In 1957, he hit 19 home runs and had 67 runs batted in (RBI) in 119 games.
In 1958, he did even better. He had a .347 batting average, 24 home runs, and 87 RBI in 112 games. Because of his great performance, he was named the Pacific Coast League MVP. He then returned to the Cleveland Indians for 17 games.
Averill was later traded to the Chicago Cubs. He played with the Cubs for about a season and a half. After that, he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves. He then joined the Chicago White Sox and finished the 1960 season with them. In December 1960, the Los Angeles Angels picked him in the 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft.
Best Season with the Angels
Earl Averill Jr. had his best season in 1961 while playing for the Los Angeles Angels. He played in 115 games that year. He had a .266 batting average and hit 21 home runs.
In 1962, Averill set a special Major League Baseball record. He reached base 17 times in a row. This means he either got a hit, walked, or was hit by a pitch. He shares this record with another player named Piggy Ward. Averill achieved this from June 3 to June 10, 1962. He finished that season with a .219 batting average in 92 games.
After the 1962 season, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He played 47 games with the Phillies. Then, he was sent back to the minor leagues. He played two more seasons in the minor leagues before he retired from baseball.
Career Highlights and Statistics
In his Major League career, Earl Averill Jr. played in 449 games over seven seasons. He had a .242 batting average. This means he got 249 hits out of 1031 tries. He scored 137 runs and hit 41 doubles. He also hit 44 home runs and had 159 RBI. He walked 162 times. He did not hit any triples in his Major League career. When playing defense, his overall fielding percentage was .976.
Hall of Fame Recognition
In 1980, Earl Averill Jr. was one of the first people to be inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. Years later, in 2018, he was also inducted into the Everett Community College Athletic Hall of Fame.
He passed away on May 13, 2015.
See also
- List of second-generation Major League Baseball players
