Rocky Bridges facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rocky Bridges |
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Bridges in 1959
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| Infielder | |||
| Born: August 7, 1927 Refugio, Texas, U.S. |
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| Died: January 27, 2015 (aged 87) Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| April 17, 1951, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| October 1, 1961, for the Los Angeles Angels | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .247 | ||
| Home runs | 16 | ||
| Runs batted in | 187 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Everett Lamar "Rocky" Bridges (August 7, 1927 – January 27, 2015) was a middle infielder and third baseman with an 11-year career in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1961. Bridges played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Redlegs and St. Louis Cardinals of the National League, and the Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels of the American League.
Playing career
Bridges was a native Texan who attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School in California. He became a journeyman ball player who made his big-league debut in 1951 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. As a utility infielder, he backed up two future Hall of Famers, Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson and as a result, saw little playing time.
Subsequently, he was traded to Cincinnati Redlegs (as the Reds were known in the mid-1950s) and then eventually to the last place Washington Senators, where he obtained a starting position as a shortstop. In 1958, his first full season with the Senators, he was selected by New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel to the 1958 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, one of the few highlights of his career. Bridges career continued until 1961, playing for several American League teams. His final career batting average was .247 with 16 home runs. Despite his unimpressive career statistics, Bridges became a well known and respected ball player because of his hard work, hustle, spirit, and sense of humor. In 1964, Sports Illustrated described him as "...one of the best stand up comics in the history of baseball."
Coaching career
Following his active playing career, he served two terms (1962–63; 1968–71) as the third base coach of the Angels and one year (1985) in that role with the San Francisco Giants. Bridges also had a long career as a minor league manager in the Angels, Giants, San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations. Over 21 seasons stretched between 1964 and 1989, Bridges' teams won 1,300 games and lost 1,358 (.489). His minor league managerial career is profiled in Jim Bouton's collection of baseball articles and essays entitled I Managed Good, But Boy Did They Play Bad. Bridges also managed the Leones de Ponce to the pennant title of the Puerto Rico Baseball League in the 1968–69 season.
Legacy
The title of Bouton's book was reportedly based on a quote from Bridges. The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book", said "Rocky Bridges looked like a ballplayer. In fact, he may have looked more like a ballplayer than any other ballplayer who ever lived."
Bridges died of natural causes January 27, 2015, aged 87, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
