Ted Uhlaender
Encyclopedia
Theodore Otto Uhlaender was a Major League Baseball
outfielder
for the Minnesota Twins
, Cleveland Indians
and Cincinnati Reds
from –. He was also the father of Olympic
women's skeleton
competitor Katie Uhlaender
.
Signed by the Twins out of Baylor University
in 1961, he made his major league debut four years later. He was ineligible for the 1965 World Series
because his promotion occurred after the August 31 deadline. He became the team's starting center fielder
for the next four seasons. Despite the campaign being totally dominated by pitcher
s, he managed to finish fifth in batting
in the American League
with a .283 average
. He followed that up with his most productive season, establishing career highs with 152 games played, 93 runs
scored, 151 hits
and 62 runs batted in (RBI)
. His first playoff experience was in the 1969 American League Championship Series
, with one hit in six at-bats
.
He was traded
along with Graig Nettles
, Dean Chance
and Bob Miller to the Indians for Luis Tiant
and Stan Williams
on December 10, 1969. He started in center in , before being shifted to left field
the next season.
After he was acquired by the Reds for Milt Wilcox
on December 6, 1971, Uhlaender spent his last year as a player in the majors strictly as a reserve outfielder. He served as a pinch hitter
during the postseason, going 1-for-2 in the National League Championship Series
and getting a double
out of four at-bats in the 1972 World Series
.
Years after his playing career ended, Uhlaender returned to the Indians in , spending two seasons as the first-base coach
under manager
Charlie Manuel
. He served as a scout
for the San Francisco Giants
from 2002 until learning he had multiple myeloma
in 2008. Uhlaender died of a heart attack
at his ranch in Atwood, Kansas
on February 12, 2009, right before his daughter Katie finished second in the women's skeleton World Cup season finale at Utah Olympic Park
. Uhlaender's wife, Karen, stated that Katie did not know he had died until after the competition was finished.
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...
outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
for the Minnesota Twins
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...
, 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...
and Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
from –. He was also the father of Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
women's skeleton
Skeleton (sport)
Skeleton is a fast winter sliding sport in which an individual person rides a small sled down a frozen track while lying face down, during which athletes experience forces up to 5g. It originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding...
competitor Katie Uhlaender
Katie Uhlaender
Katie Uhlaender is an American skeleton racer who has competed since 2003. She won four medals at the FIBT World Championships with one silver and three bronzes .Uhlaender won the women's Skeleton World Cup title twice...
.
Signed by the Twins out of Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
in 1961, he made his major league debut four years later. He was ineligible for the 1965 World Series
1965 World Series
The 1965 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the American League champion Minnesota Twins, who had won their first pennant since 1933 when the team was known as the Washington Senators...
because his promotion occurred after the August 31 deadline. He became the team's starting center fielder
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
for the next four seasons. Despite the campaign being totally dominated by 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...
s, he managed to finish fifth in batting
Batting (baseball)
In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher...
in 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...
with a .283 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 :...
. He followed that up with his most productive season, establishing career highs with 152 games played, 93 runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
scored, 151 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
and 62 runs batted in (RBI)
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
. His first playoff experience was in the 1969 American League Championship Series
1969 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 4, 1969 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, MarylandIn the opener, 20-game winner Jim Perry held a 3–2 lead over the Orioles entering the ninth inning, Boog Powell tied the score with a smash over the right-field fence. Reliever Ron Perranoski, who worked in all three games,...
, with one hit in six at-bats
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
.
He was traded
Trade (sports)
In professional sports, a trade is a sports league transaction involving an exchange of players' contracts or draft picks between teams. Cash is another commodity that may be packaged together with contracts or draft picks to complete a trade...
along with Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles , nicknamed "Puff", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins , Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees , San Diego Padres , Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos .Nettles was one of the best...
, Dean Chance
Dean Chance
Wilmer Dean Chance is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Over the right hander's 11-year major league career, he would play for the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, and Detroit Tigers...
and Bob Miller to the Indians for Luis Tiant
Luis Tiant
Luis Clemente Tiant Vega , born November 23, 1940 in Marianao, Cuba, , is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians , Minnesota Twins , Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees , Pittsburgh Pirates and California Angels...
and Stan Williams
Stan Williams (baseball)
Stanley Wilson Williams , nicknamed "Big Daddy" and "The Big Hurt", is a former Major League Baseball starting and relief pitcher who threw and batted right-handed. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , New York Yankees , Cleveland Indians , Minnesota Twins , St...
on December 10, 1969. He started in center in , before being shifted to left field
Left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
the next season.
After he was acquired by the Reds for Milt Wilcox
Milt Wilcox
Milton Edward Wilcox was a pitcher who had a sixteen-year career from 1970 to 1975, 1977–1986. He played for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs of the National League and the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners of the American League...
on December 6, 1971, Uhlaender spent his last year as a player in the majors strictly as a reserve outfielder. He served as a pinch hitter
Pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...
during the postseason, going 1-for-2 in the National League Championship Series
1972 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 7, 1972 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaThe Reds got a first-inning homer from second baseman Joe Morgan to take a short-lived 1–0 lead. But Pittsburgh bounced back with three in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by an RBI triple from Al Oliver and...
and getting a double
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
out of four at-bats in the 1972 World Series
1972 World Series
The 1972 World Series matched the American League champion Oakland Athletics against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds, with the A's winning in seven games. These two teams would meet again in the fall classic eighteen years later...
.
Years after his playing career ended, Uhlaender returned to the Indians in , spending two seasons as the first-base coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
under manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Charlie Manuel
Charlie Manuel
Charles Fuqua Manuel, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball outfielder and current Major League Baseball manager of the Philadelphia Phillies...
. He served as a scout
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
for the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
from 2002 until learning he had multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma , also known as plasma cell myeloma or Kahler's disease , is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell normally responsible for the production of antibodies...
in 2008. Uhlaender died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at his ranch in Atwood, Kansas
Atwood, Kansas
Atwood is a city in and the county seat of Rawlins County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,194.-History:...
on February 12, 2009, right before his daughter Katie finished second in the women's skeleton World Cup season finale at Utah Olympic Park
Utah Olympic Park bobsleigh/luge/skeleton track
The Utah Olympic Park Track is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in the Utah Olympic Park, near Park City, Utah, United States. During the 2002 Winter Olympics, held nearby in Salt Lake City, the track hosted the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events...
. Uhlaender's wife, Karen, stated that Katie did not know he had died until after the competition was finished.