Herb Plews facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Herb Plews |
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Plews in 1959
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| Second baseman | |||
| Born: June 14, 1928 East Helena, Montana, U.S. |
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| Died: December 12, 2014 (aged 86) Boulder, Colorado, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| April 18, 1956, for the Washington Senators | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| July 26, 1959, for the Boston Red Sox | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .262 | ||
| Home runs | 4 | ||
| Runs batted in | 82 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Herbert Eugene Plews (born June 14, 1928 – died December 12, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball player. He played as a second baseman. Herb Plews played in the major leagues for four years, from 1956 to 1959.
He played for the Washington Senators and the Boston Red Sox. Before and after his time in the major leagues, he played for many minor league teams. During his baseball career, he also served in the military from 1951 to 1952. This was during the Korean War. Plews batted with his left hand and threw with his right hand. He was 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 160 pounds.
Herb Plews was born in East Helena, Montana. He was the only player from the Helena area to reach the major leagues at the time of his death. After studying at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he signed with the New York Yankees in 1950. His minor league career was paused by his military service. He joined the Denver Bears in 1955. Later, he was traded to the Senators. Plews started playing for Washington in 1956. He was their main second baseman for much of the next three years. In 1959, he was traded to the Red Sox. He played a few more games before returning to the minor leagues. He played professional baseball for six more years. After baseball, Plews worked in cement plants. He passed away in 2014.
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Growing Up and Learning Baseball
Herb Plews was born in East Helena, Montana, on June 14, 1928. His father, also named Herbert, worked for a newspaper. Herb's father was also a pitcher for the local baseball team. He taught his son how to play the game.
Plews grew up in East Helena. He was a fast runner and a good jumper at Helena High School. He graduated in 1946. Even though his high school did not have a baseball team, Plews played American Legion baseball. He was a great hitter, with a .400 batting average. He was even chosen to play in a National High School All-Star Game. The famous baseball legend Ty Cobb coached his team.
College Baseball Career
Plews dreamed of going to a Big Nine Conference university. A person from Helena told him that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign had a great baseball program. Plews contacted the coach, Wally Roettger. The coach told him he could play on the team as a freshman. This was unusual, but it was allowed because World War II had just ended.
In his second year, 1948, Plews was named the Illini baseball Most Valuable Player. One year, he led the Big Nine with an amazing .404 batting average. He hit even better against Big Nine teams, with a .412 average. After his senior year, where he was team captain, he signed with the New York Yankees. This was his favorite team growing up. He said he liked the Yankees because he heard their games on the radio often.
Starting His Professional Baseball Journey
On June 17, 1950, Herb Plews played his first professional baseball game. He joined the Class AAA Kansas City Blues. He entered the game late and immediately stole a base. He only played two games for the Blues.
Later that year, Plews played for the Class B Quincy Gems. He had 13 hits and a .298 batting average in 13 games. During one game, he was hit by a pitch and fractured his skull. He had to go to the hospital and then returned home to Montana. He did not play again that year.
Military Service During the Korean War
Plews's baseball career was put on hold for two years. The Korean War had started, and he was drafted into the United States Army. He was sent to Camp Drake in Japan. He was part of the infantry. However, the colonel at Camp Drake learned he was a baseball player. So, he assigned Plews to play on the camp's baseball team instead of going to the front lines. Plews finished his service in 1953 and returned home. He never had to fight in combat.
Returning to Baseball and Minor League Success
In January 1953, Plews was invited to spring training with the Yankees. He stayed with the team until April. Then, he was sent to the minor league Class A Binghamton Triplets. He played 28 games for Binghamton. He was then moved to the Class B Norfolk Tars. This was because the Yankees wanted two other players, the Charnofsky twins, to play together at Binghamton.
At Norfolk, Plews quickly became successful. In his first 53 games, he had a .323 batting average. This was one of the best in the league. He finished the season with a .304 average, two home runs, and 111 hits.
In 1954, Plews played for the Class AA Birmingham Barons. In 129 games, he batted .299 with 157 hits and nine home runs. He led his league in triples with 16. The next year, 1955, he moved up to Class AAA. He played for the Denver Bears. In 140 games, he batted .302 with 160 hits. He also scored 100 runs and had nine stolen bases. His great performance caught the eye of the Washington Senators. They traded for Plews and several other players before the 1956 season.
Playing in the Major Leagues
Herb Plews joined the Senators for spring training in 1956. He made it onto their team for the season. He played his first major league game against the Yankees on April 18, 1956. He came in as a pinch hitter and got an RBI. For his first four months, he was mostly used as a pinch-hitter.
On July 27, he became the team's starting second baseman. He replaced Tony Roig. Plews hit very well in his next ten games. On August 8, he had four hits, including three doubles. In a game on August 28, Plews hit his first major league home run. He played in 91 games in his first year. He batted .270 with 69 hits and 25 RBIs.
Playing for the Senators (1957-1958)
In 1957, Plews started the year as the Senators' main second baseman. On June 15, he had three hits and scored three runs in a win against the White Sox. He batted .261 until June 23. Then, he lost his starting job to Rocky Bridges. Plews played third base for a short time in July. He also played second base every day for about a week in August. Otherwise, he played only sometimes or as a late-game replacement. On July 13, he hit his second career home run. He played 104 games that year. He batted .271 with 89 hits and 26 RBIs.
In 1958, Plews had competition for his second base job from Bob Malkmus. After playing the first three games, Plews was benched. But on May 18, he took over the third base job from Eddie Yost. On May 23, 1958, Plews got a hit, stole second base, and scored a run. Two days later, he hit a home run against Hall of Famer Jim Bunning. Yost played third base again for a few days. After that, Plews mostly played third base until mid-June. He then played second base, third base, and pinch-hit until late July. He became the starting second baseman for most of the rest of the season. On September 9, he hit his only other home run of the year, also against Bunning. He played a career-high 111 games. He batted .258 with 98 hits and 29 RBIs.
Final Major League Season (1959)
In 1959, Plews completely lost his starting role. Reno Bertoia became the Senators' everyday second baseman. Plews played in only 27 games until June 10. He batted .225 with nine hits.
On June 11, 1959, Plews was traded to the Boston Red Sox. He was traded with pitcher Dick Hyde. In return, the Senators got infielder Billy Consolo and pitcher Murray Wall. The Red Sox did not use Plews much. He played in only 13 games and had only 12 at bats. On July 26, he pinch-hit and hit into a double play. Two days later, Plews was sent back to the minor leagues. He never played in another major league game.
After the Major Leagues
Plews finished the 1959 season with the Minneapolis Millers. He batted .252 in 46 games. In 1960, he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He hoped to be called up by the Cleveland Indians. He batted .278 in 81 games but was never called up.
In 1961, he started with Toronto but was sent to the Birmingham Barons. In 82 games, he had a career-high .372 batting average with 112 hits.
From 1962 to 1964, Plews played for the Hawaii Islanders. In 1962, he played 138 games. He batted .245 with seven home runs. The next season, he played 135 games and batted .271. In his final year with the Islanders, 1964, he played 131 games. He batted .293 with eight home runs.
In 1965, Plews played for the Tacoma Giants and the Arkansas Travelers. He played 81 games between the two teams. After the season, Plews decided to retire from baseball.
Herb Plews played 346 major league games in four years. He batted .262 with 266 hits, four home runs, and 82 RBIs. He was known for his great defense. His fielding percentage at second base was .967. Plews said he enjoyed every minute of his career. He stayed in touch with some of his former teammates.
Personal Life and Retirement
In 1955, Plews married Shirley Mae Williams. She was a dental assistant. They had one son, Reese. During the baseball offseasons, they lived in Montana. Plews worked as a mailman. Shirley often went to his games during the seasons.
When Plews reached the major leagues, a Congressman named Lee Metcalf was very excited. He read all about Plews's baseball career into the Congressional Record. This happened on April 17, 1956.
After retiring from baseball, Plews enjoyed playing handball. He won several championships in his town. He was honored as one of the first members of the Helena Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. He was also inducted into the Helena Senators Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.
Plews worked for cement plants after baseball. He first worked in Montana. Later, he moved to Colorado and worked at a plant in the Denver area. In 2006, he and Shirley moved to a retirement community. Shirley passed away in 2009. Herb Plews died on December 12, 2014. At the time of his death, he was the only athlete from the Helena area to play Major League Baseball.
