Phil Linz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Phil Linz |
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Linz, circa 1964–65
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| Infielder | |||
| Born: June 4, 1939 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
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| Died: December 9, 2020 (aged 81) Leesburg, Virginia, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| April 13, 1962, for the New York Yankees | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| September 29, 1968, for the New York Mets | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .235 | ||
| Home runs | 11 | ||
| Runs batted in | 96 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Philip Francis Linz (born June 4, 1939 – died December 9, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven seasons. Phil Linz played for the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and New York Mets. He was a right-handed batter and thrower.
Linz was known as a utility player, meaning he could play many different positions on the field. He is perhaps most remembered for a funny, yet famous, event called the "Harmonica Incident" that happened while he was with the Yankees.
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Playing for the New York Yankees
Phil Linz spent five years playing in the New York Yankees' minor league teams. He played mostly as a shortstop and showed he was a good hitter. In 1962, he joined the main Yankees team.
At first, he was mainly used as a pinch hitter (someone who bats instead of another player) or a pinch runner (someone who runs the bases instead of another player). On May 23, he got his first chance to play on the field at third base. The Yankees were losing, but Linz hit a two-run home run. He also got another hit that brought in two more runs. The Yankees scored nine runs in that inning and won the game!
Because of this great game, Linz started the next day. He played well, hitting for a .287 batting average that season. The Yankees won the World Series in 1962, but Linz did not play in those games.
In 1963, Linz became even more of a utility player. He even played in the outfield sometimes. This made him a more regular player for the Yankees in 1964. He played in all seven games of the 1964 World Series. He hit a home run in Game 2 and another in Game 7.
The Famous Harmonica Incident
After the 1963 season, the Yankees got a new manager, Yogi Berra. He was a famous Yankees player.
On August 20, 1964, after the Yankees lost a game, Phil Linz was playing his harmonica on the team bus. He was playing a slow, sad version of "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Manager Yogi Berra thought Linz was making fun of the team because they had lost. Berra told Linz to stop playing.
Linz didn't hear him and kept playing. Berra walked to the back of the bus. Some people say Linz threw the harmonica to Berra, others say Berra knocked it out of his hand. This event made the Yankees' leaders think that Yogi Berra wasn't in control of the team. Because of this, they decided to fire Berra at the end of the season, even though the Yankees ended up winning their league championship!
Time with the Phillies and Mets
After the 1965 season, Phil Linz was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He didn't play as much with the Phillies, appearing in only 63 games over a season and a half.
In 1967, he was traded again, this time to the New York Mets. One of his best games as a Met was on May 25, 1968. He had been struggling to get hits, but in this game, he got three hits and scored two runs. The Mets won that game 9–1.
Career Highlights
Phil Linz played for seven seasons in Major League Baseball. He played in 519 games. During his career, he hit 11 Home runs and had 96 Runs batted in. His career batting average was .235. He was part of the 1962 World Series champion New York Yankees team.
Death
Phil Linz passed away on December 9, 2020, at the age of 81. He died at a nursing home in Virginia.
