Jay Porter
Encyclopedia
J. W. "Jay" Porter is a former Major League Baseball
player who played for the St. Louis Browns
(1952), Detroit Tigers
(1955–1957), Cleveland Indians
(1958), Washington Senators
(1959), and St. Louis Cardinals
(1959). Porter played in 229 major league games, 91 as a catcher, 62 as an outfielder, 16 as a first baseman, and 3 at third base. He was a career .228 hitter who had his best season in 1957 when he hit .250 in 58 games for the Detroit Tigers.
Porter was signed as an 18-year-old "bonus baby" in 1951. Bobby Mattick
was scouting Porter, when he noticed another prospect, Frank Robinson
. Mattick wound up signing both Porter and Robinson, "with Porter signing for a much higher bonus." John Eisenberg, "From 33rd Street to Camden Yards" (McGraw-Hill 2001), p. 161. Despite the early promise, Porter played in only 33 games for the St. Louis Browns in 1952.
On December 4, 1952, Porter was traded by the Browns with Owen Friend
and Bob Nieman
to the Tigers for Virgil Trucks
(who threw two no-hitters in 1952), Hal White
, and Johnny Groth
. Porter did not make it to the Tigers' big league team until 1955 and played only 92 games for the Tigers from 1955–1957.
Though he never became a starter in Detroit, he was selected by Sports Illustrated
in October 2006 as one of the "10 Greatest Characters in Detroit Tigers History," along with Mark Fidrych
, Norm Cash
, Boots Poffenberger
, and Herbie Redmond
.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/pete_mcentegart/10/19/ten.spot/1.html Porter's favorite meal was "two dozen (eggs) over light," which he would eat all at once. This became a "favorite meal" when his teammates encouraged him to compete against the world's champion for eating the most eggs in one sitting and Porter began his "training." A date was set for the contest; however, the current world champion failed to show.
On February 18, 1958, the Tigers traded Porter to the Cleveland Indians
with Hal Woodeshick
for Jim Hegan
and Hank Aguirre
. Porter learned of the trade while driving to Spring Training. Porter drove from his home in Oregon
, down the West Coast, stopping in Tucson, Arizona
to visit friends in the Indians training camp. When he was an hour outside Lakeland, Porter heard on the car radio that he had been traded to the Indians, made a U-turn and headed back to Arizona. Van Dusen, Ewald & Hawkins, "The Detroit Tigers Encyclopedia (Sports Publishing 2003), p. 94.
While playing for Cleveland, Porter had the task of catching for knuckleballer
Hoyt Wilhelm
. Porter was reportedly so baffled by Wilhelm's knuckleball
that he used a first baseman's glove. http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&bid=623&pid=0
After his playing career, he served as a minor league manager in the Montreal Expos
organization (including a stint with the West Palm Beach Expos in 1970). Porter also managed the Montreal Expos' entry in the 1969 Florida Instructional League.
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...
player who played for the St. Louis Browns
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
(1952), 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...
(1955–1957), Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
(1958), Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
(1959), and 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...
(1959). Porter played in 229 major league games, 91 as a catcher, 62 as an outfielder, 16 as a first baseman, and 3 at third base. He was a career .228 hitter who had his best season in 1957 when he hit .250 in 58 games for the Detroit Tigers.
Porter was signed as an 18-year-old "bonus baby" in 1951. Bobby Mattick
Bobby Mattick
Robert James Mattick was a shortstop, manager and scout in Major League Baseball, most notably in the Toronto Blue Jays organization....
was scouting Porter, when he noticed another prospect, Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He played from 1956–1976, most notably for the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues...
. Mattick wound up signing both Porter and Robinson, "with Porter signing for a much higher bonus." John Eisenberg, "From 33rd Street to Camden Yards" (McGraw-Hill 2001), p. 161. Despite the early promise, Porter played in only 33 games for the St. Louis Browns in 1952.
On December 4, 1952, Porter was traded by the Browns with Owen Friend
Owen Friend
Owen Lacey Friend was a Major League Baseball second baseman for five different teams between 1949 and 1956. Listed at 6'1, 180 lb., Friend batted and threw right-handed. Nicknamed "Red," he was born in Granite City, Illinois.Strictly a line drive hitter, Friend entered the majors with the St...
and Bob Nieman
Bob Nieman
Robert Charles Nieman was a Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the St. Louis Browns , Detroit Tigers , Chicago White Sox , Baltimore Orioles , St. Louis Cardinals , Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants...
to the Tigers for Virgil Trucks
Virgil Trucks
Virgil Oliver Trucks is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1941 through 1958, Trucks played for the Detroit Tigers , St. Louis Browns , Chicago White Sox , Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees . He batted and threw right-handed...
(who threw two no-hitters in 1952), Hal White
Hal White
Harold George White was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher for the Detroit Tigers , St. Louis Browns and St. Louis Cardinals...
, and Johnny Groth
Johnny Groth
John Thomas Groth is a former professional baseball player who played outfield in the Major Leagues from 1946 to 1960. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He play for the Detroit Tigers , St...
. Porter did not make it to the Tigers' big league team until 1955 and played only 92 games for the Tigers from 1955–1957.
Though he never became a starter in Detroit, he was selected by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
in October 2006 as one of the "10 Greatest Characters in Detroit Tigers History," along with Mark Fidrych
Mark Fidrych
Mark Steven Fidrych , nicknamed "The Bird", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers ....
, Norm Cash
Norm Cash
Norman Dalton Cash was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who spent almost his entire career with the Detroit Tigers...
, Boots Poffenberger
Boots Poffenberger
Cletus Elwood "Boots" Poffenberger was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and Brooklyn Dodgers .-Promising rookie year in 1937:...
, and Herbie Redmond
Herbie Redmond
Herbie Redmond , known variously as "Herbie the Hoofer," "Short Dog," and "Herbie the Love Bug," was the Detroit Tigers' dancing groundskeeper who was one of the most colorful and popular characters in Detroit baseball in the 1970s and 1980s. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Redmond served in the U.S...
.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/pete_mcentegart/10/19/ten.spot/1.html Porter's favorite meal was "two dozen (eggs) over light," which he would eat all at once. This became a "favorite meal" when his teammates encouraged him to compete against the world's champion for eating the most eggs in one sitting and Porter began his "training." A date was set for the contest; however, the current world champion failed to show.
On February 18, 1958, the Tigers traded Porter to the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
with Hal Woodeshick
Hal Woodeshick
Harold Joseph Woodeshick was an American left-handed pitcher who spent eleven seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers , Cleveland Indians , both Washington Senators , Houston Colt .45s/Astros and St. Louis Cardinals...
for Jim Hegan
Jim Hegan
James Edward Hegan was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played for seventeen seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to and from to , most notably for the Cleveland Indians. After his playing career was over, he became a coach and scout in a baseball...
and Hank Aguirre
Hank Aguirre
Henry John "Hank" Aguirre was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played with the Cleveland Indians , Detroit Tigers , Los Angeles Dodgers , and Chicago Cubs...
. Porter learned of the trade while driving to Spring Training. Porter drove from his home in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, down the West Coast, stopping in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
to visit friends in the Indians training camp. When he was an hour outside Lakeland, Porter heard on the car radio that he had been traded to the Indians, made a U-turn and headed back to Arizona. Van Dusen, Ewald & Hawkins, "The Detroit Tigers Encyclopedia (Sports Publishing 2003), p. 94.
While playing for Cleveland, Porter had the task of catching for knuckleballer
Knuckleball
A knuckleball is a baseball pitch with an erratic, unpredictable motion. The pitch is thrown so as to minimize the spin of the ball in flight. This causes vortices over the stitched seams of the baseball during its trajectory, which in turn can cause the pitch to change direction—and even...
Hoyt Wilhelm
Hoyt Wilhelm
James Hoyt Wilhelm was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985....
. Porter was reportedly so baffled by Wilhelm's knuckleball
Knuckleball
A knuckleball is a baseball pitch with an erratic, unpredictable motion. The pitch is thrown so as to minimize the spin of the ball in flight. This causes vortices over the stitched seams of the baseball during its trajectory, which in turn can cause the pitch to change direction—and even...
that he used a first baseman's glove. http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&bid=623&pid=0
After his playing career, he served as a minor league manager in the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
organization (including a stint with the West Palm Beach Expos in 1970). Porter also managed the Montreal Expos' entry in the 1969 Florida Instructional League.