Ed Brinkman
Encyclopedia
Edwin Albert Brinkman was a Major League Baseball
shortstop
. He played fifteen years in the Major League Baseball, led the American League
in games played
twice, won a Gold Glove Award
at shortstop, and had a career batting average
of .224. He was also named to the American League All-Star team in 1973.
teammate of Pete Rose
at Cincinnati's Western Hills High School. Paul "Pappy" Nohr, the baseball coach at Western Hills, described Rose as "a good ball player, not a Brinkman." (David M. Jordan, "Pete Rose: A Biography," p. 6)http://books.google.com/books?id=dYjWQWvwI0kC&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=brinkman+rose+%22not+a+brinkman%22&source=web&ots=fBsWiBQRFe&sig=R4jCFDpltqo_1shXpZZvexCHJgw
Based on their performance in high school, scouts saw Brinkman rather than Rose as the future superstar. When he was a senior, Ed batted .460 and also won 15 games as a pitcher
. Brinkman was paid a large (for the time) bonus of $75,000 by the Washington Senators in 1959. Brinkman later said: "Pete always kidded me that the Washington Senators brought me my bonus in an armored truck. Pete said he had cashed his at the corner store." (David M. Jordan, "Pete Rose: A Biography," p. 7)http://books.google.com/books?id=dYjWQWvwI0kC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=brinkman+%22pete+always+kidded+me%22&source=web&ots=fBsWiBQQAl&sig=3AWJFQ8DMw0CjWveFl6m0BeTwUk
According to retrosheet site, he was signed in 1961 as an amateur free agent by the Washington Senators, which would have been the expansion team; the team that was the Washington Senators in 1959 moved to Minnesota during the 1960-1961 offseason.
, Detroit Tigers
, St. Louis Cardinals
, Texas Rangers
, and New York Yankees
during his fifteen year playing career. Ed Brinkman led the American League
in games played
twice, won a Gold Glove Award
at shortstop, and had a career batting average
of .224.
Brinkman was part of an eight-player trade in 1971, which sent Brinkman, third baseman Aurelio Rodríguez
and pitchers Joe Coleman and Jim Hannan
from the Washington Senators to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Denny McLain
, Don Wert
, Elliott Maddox
, and Norm McRae
.
In 1972, he won the "Tiger of the Year" award from the Detroit baseball writers, and finished 9th in American League MVP voting despite a .205 batting average. Brinkman earned the votes for his defensive prowess. Brinkman was awarded the Gold Glove in 1972 with a fielding percentage of .990 (23 points above the .967 league average for shortstops). In 1972, Brinkman also had 233 putouts and 495 assists in 156 games at shortstop. On August 5, 1972, Brinkman's error ended his record streak of 72 games and 331 total chances without a miscue.
He has the record for the number of seasons (seven) with more than 400 at-bats, fewer than 15 home runs, and a batting average lower than .230. Since 1930 only one player with 5000+ at-bats has a lower average. Brinkman's batting average would have been even worse if it were not for Ted Williams
. Brinkman hit .266 and .262 in 1969 and 1970 while playing for Washington Senators teams managed by Williams. Excluding those two seasons, Brinkman's lifetime average was .214. He committed a then-record low seven errors in 156 games for the division-winning Tigers in 1972. Even with a .203 average, Brinkman was hailed as one of the team's most valuable players, and he won a Gold Glove that season.
Brinkman died on September 30, 2008 due to complications from lung cancer
.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
. He played fifteen years in the Major League Baseball, led the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
in games played
Games played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...
twice, won a Gold Glove Award
Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League , as voted by the...
at shortstop, and had a career batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of .224. He was also named to the American League All-Star team in 1973.
Youth in Cincinnati
Brinkman was a high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
teammate of Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
at Cincinnati's Western Hills High School. Paul "Pappy" Nohr, the baseball coach at Western Hills, described Rose as "a good ball player, not a Brinkman." (David M. Jordan, "Pete Rose: A Biography," p. 6)http://books.google.com/books?id=dYjWQWvwI0kC&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=brinkman+rose+%22not+a+brinkman%22&source=web&ots=fBsWiBQRFe&sig=R4jCFDpltqo_1shXpZZvexCHJgw
Based on their performance in high school, scouts saw Brinkman rather than Rose as the future superstar. When he was a senior, Ed batted .460 and also won 15 games as a pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
. Brinkman was paid a large (for the time) bonus of $75,000 by the Washington Senators in 1959. Brinkman later said: "Pete always kidded me that the Washington Senators brought me my bonus in an armored truck. Pete said he had cashed his at the corner store." (David M. Jordan, "Pete Rose: A Biography," p. 7)http://books.google.com/books?id=dYjWQWvwI0kC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=brinkman+%22pete+always+kidded+me%22&source=web&ots=fBsWiBQQAl&sig=3AWJFQ8DMw0CjWveFl6m0BeTwUk
According to retrosheet site, he was signed in 1961 as an amateur free agent by the Washington Senators, which would have been the expansion team; the team that was the Washington Senators in 1959 moved to Minnesota during the 1960-1961 offseason.
Major league playing career
He played with the Washington SenatorsTexas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
, Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
, St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
, Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
, and New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
during his fifteen year playing career. Ed Brinkman led the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
in games played
Games played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...
twice, won a Gold Glove Award
Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League , as voted by the...
at shortstop, and had a career batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of .224.
Brinkman was part of an eight-player trade in 1971, which sent Brinkman, third baseman Aurelio Rodríguez
Aurelio Rodríguez
Aurelio Rodríguez Ituarte, Jr. , was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the California Angels , Washington Senators , Detroit Tigers , San Diego Padres , New York Yankees , Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles...
and pitchers Joe Coleman and Jim Hannan
Jim Hannan
James John Hannan is an American retired professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball from 1962-71. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, and Washington Senators....
from the Washington Senators to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Denny McLain
Denny McLain
Dennis Dale "Denny" McLain is a former American professional baseball player, and the last major league pitcher to win 30 or more games during a season —a feat accomplished by only thirteen players in the 20th century....
, Don Wert
Don Wert
Donald Ralph Wert , nicknamed "Coyote", is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers from 1963 to 1970 and also briefly played for the Washington Senators in 1971...
, Elliott Maddox
Elliott Maddox
Elliott Maddox is an African-American former Major League Baseball American player. Maddox, from 1970 to 1980, played for the Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators/Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and New York Mets.-Early and personal life:Maddox attended Union High School in...
, and Norm McRae
Norm McRae
Norman McRae was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 22 Major League games for the – Detroit Tigers. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, he stood tall and weighed ....
.
In 1972, he won the "Tiger of the Year" award from the Detroit baseball writers, and finished 9th in American League MVP voting despite a .205 batting average. Brinkman earned the votes for his defensive prowess. Brinkman was awarded the Gold Glove in 1972 with a fielding percentage of .990 (23 points above the .967 league average for shortstops). In 1972, Brinkman also had 233 putouts and 495 assists in 156 games at shortstop. On August 5, 1972, Brinkman's error ended his record streak of 72 games and 331 total chances without a miscue.
He has the record for the number of seasons (seven) with more than 400 at-bats, fewer than 15 home runs, and a batting average lower than .230. Since 1930 only one player with 5000+ at-bats has a lower average. Brinkman's batting average would have been even worse if it were not for Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
. Brinkman hit .266 and .262 in 1969 and 1970 while playing for Washington Senators teams managed by Williams. Excluding those two seasons, Brinkman's lifetime average was .214. He committed a then-record low seven errors in 156 games for the division-winning Tigers in 1972. Even with a .203 average, Brinkman was hailed as one of the team's most valuable players, and he won a Gold Glove that season.
Coaching career
Brinkman was a coach and scout with the Chicago White Sox for 18 years from 1983-2000. He was the team's infield coach (1983–1988) and later became a special assignment scout. He retired after the 2000 season.Brinkman died on September 30, 2008 due to complications from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.
Sources
- BR Bullpen
- William A. Cook, "Pete Rose: Baseball All-Time Hit King"http://books.google.com/books?id=VAFPfz2yG5wC&pg=RA1-PA8&lpg=RA1-PA8&dq=ed+brinkman+pete+rose+western+hills&source=web&ots=30UP4ZV4_q&sig=LIA143xwpITE2zL99Z0HPHA1Uj0
- BaseballLibrary.com
- David M. Jordan, "Pete Rose: A Biography" (Greenwood Press 2004) http://books.google.com/books?id=dYjWQWvwI0kC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=brinkman+%22pete+always+kidded+me%22&source=web&ots=fBsWiBQQAl&sig=3AWJFQ8DMw0CjWveFl6m0BeTwUk