Ashburn nuggets
PHILADELPHIA, PA. (April 20, 1948) -- Batting first, playing left field and wearing #1 ¡ Richie Ashburn.
A 21-year-old blonde Midwesterner made his Major League debut against the Boston Braves on a Tuesday afternoon at Shibe Park. It was the first Major League game he ever saw.
¡°I came from Tilden, a town of 900 persons in Nebraska, so you can just imagine how I felt and what my stomach was doing when I walked up to the plate in Shibe Park with more than 22,000 people and all those people yelling for me to get a hit. It struck me right then and there that this was what the Major Leagues were all about,¡± Ashburn was quoted in a newspaper article some years later.
Facing Johnny Sain, the lefty hitter grounded out to the first baseman in his first at-bat. Two innings later, he collected his first hit, a single. When his 12-year Phillies career would end after the 1959 season, he would have 1,811 singles, the most in franchise history.
His 2,217 career hits would also be a Phillies record until broken by Mike Schmidt in 1989, exactly 41 years to the day of Richie¡¯s first hit.
Close Call
After an impressive Spring Training, Ashburn went north with the team. The day before the season opener, Richie was knocked unconscious in an exhibition game at Villanova University.
Chasing a foul ball, Ashburn somersaulted over a fan seated along the left-field line, landing on his neck. He was knocked out for several minutes and was taken to a hospital where he was found to have a neck strain. Despite the injury, he made his Major League debut the next day.
He almost wasn¡¯t a Phillie as the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians thought they had signed him. But Major League Baseball voided the contracts, and the Phillies signed him in 1944 for a $3,500 bonus.
He began his pro career as an 18-year-old catcher with the Utica Blue Sox in the Eastern League (1945). Manager Eddie Sawyer moved him to center field because of his blinding speed. As was the case with many young Americans during World War II, he was drafted by the Army during his first pro season. He was allowed to finish the season and then was sent to Alaska where he spent a year. He wasn¡¯t too thrilled about being in Alaska, ¡°Sending a ballplayer to Alaska was like sending a dog sledder to the Sahara Desert.¡±
He returned to Utica in 1947 and was in the Majors the following season.
His 1947 numbers: .362, 113 walks, 33 strikeouts, 194 hits, 12 triples and 24 stolen bases in 137 games. Among his teammates were SS Granny Hamner, C Stan Lopata and 2B Putsy Caballero.
Big Day
On a Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh¡¯s Forbes Field, he accomplished something that had only been done five times in Phillies history. The 24-year-old collected eight hits (11 at-bats) as the Phillies swept the Pirates, 17-0 and 12-4, on May 20, 1951. Nobody with the Phils has done it since.
Batting second in the order, "Whitey" was 4-for-6 in the first game with a walk, a run scored and two RBIs. The hits came in the fifth, seventh (two) and ninth. Again, batting second in the second game, he went 4-for-5, with a walk, three runs and two RBIs. Hits: first, second, eighth and ninth innings. All hits were singles.
The big afternoon lifted his average to .345. He finished the season at .344, second to Stan Musial¡¯s .355. Ashburn led the league in hits (221).
The other five were: OF Sam Thompson, 8/11/1894, (8-for-10); OF Ed Delahanty, 7/13/1897, (8-for-8); 3B-1B Buck Jordan, 6/16/1938, (8-for-10); OF Johnny Wyrostek, 8/15/1946, (8-for-10); and 1B Eddie Waitkus, 8/27/1950, (8-for-11).
Tidbits
Born in Tilden, Neb., on March 19, 1927, Don Richard had an identical twin sister, Donna. ... To avoid confusion, he was called by his middle name.
Wore No. 1 his entire 15-year Major League career that included the Phillies, Cubs and Mets. ... Started at second base for the Mets in his final big league game, Sept. 30, 1962. Singled in his final at-bat in the top of eighth inning. Next batter lined into a triple play, the final play in his career. ... Began Phillies broadcasting career with By Saam and Bill Campbell in 1963. ... Teamed with Harry Kalas, 1971-97, the most beloved Phillies broadcasting pals. ... One of the four fields at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Fla., is named in his honor. ... No. 1 uniform number was retired when he was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1979. ... Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame along with Mike Schmidt in 1995. ... As an everlasting tribute, his statue is the focal point of Citizens Bank Park¡¯s Ashburn Alley.
Whitey was a skilled bunter (pictured above). With his speed, he got many hits by laying down a bunt. GM Paul Owens once asked Ashburn if he would give some bunting lessons to some young Minor Leaguers during Spring Training at the Carpenter Complex. Not sure of the year. It was fascinating listening and watching. After he finished, I heard one of the players say, ¡°And who are you?"