| Rick Monday | |
|---|---|
 Rick Monday in 1973 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born: (1945-11-20)November 20, 1945 (age 80) Batesville, Arkansas, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 3, 1966, for the Kansas City Athletics | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 20, 1984, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .264 |
| Home runs | 241 |
| Runs batted in | 775 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Robert James "Rick"Monday Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professionalbaseball player who now serves as a broadcaster. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as acenter fielder from 1966 to 1984, most notably as a member of theChicago Cubs and theLos Angeles Dodgers with whom he won aWorld Series championship in1981.
A two-timeAll-Star, Monday played 19 seasons for theKansas City/Oakland Athletics (1966–71),Chicago Cubs (1972–76) andLos Angeles Dodgers (1977–84). He was the first player selected in the inaugural1965 Major League Baseball draft. He also received attention for a 1976 incident in which he prevented the American flag from being burned on the field at Dodger Stadium.[1] After his playing career, he went on to serve as a Dodgers broadcaster on television and radio.
Monday was born inBatesville, Arkansas, and earned league honors in baseball atSanta Monica High School inSouthern California.[2] After graduating from high school, Monday considered whether to accept a scholarship to play college baseball or to play professional baseball. He was offered a $20,000 signing bonus byTommy Lasorda, who was ascout for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the time; however, he was convinced to accept a scholarship to play forArizona State University, after Sun Devils coachBobby Winkles, an Arkansas native himself, drew upon their shared roots and promised Monday's Arkansas-born mother that he would take care of her son.[2][3]
Monday joined theArizona State Sun Devils team that included future major league playersSal Bando andDuffy Dyer.Reggie Jackson was allowed to practice with the team, but could not join the squad because the NCAA had a rule forbidding the use of freshman players. During his sophomore year, Monday became the team leader, posting a .359batting average along with 34 extra-base hits to earnAll-American honors.[3] He led the Sun Devils to the1965 College World Series championship (overOhio State) and earned College Player of the Year honors.[2]
Monday was thefirst overall selection in the inauguralMajor League First-Year Player Draft in1965 by theKansas City Athletics.[3] Monday signed with the A's for a $104,000 bonus on June 15.[4][5] He began his professional career in the Single-ANorthwest League with theLewiston Broncs inLewiston, Idaho. He singled in his professional debut on June 29 at Bethel Park inEugene, Oregon,[6] and played his first home game two nights later atBengal Field in Lewiston.[7] After the season, he and Bronc teammateDave Duncan enteredboot camp with theU.S. Marine Corps inSan Diego in September, serving actively in the Reserve for six months before the beginning of spring training.[8][9]
Monday played the 1966 season with theMobile As of theDouble-ASouthern League inMobile, Alabama. Mobile won the league title and five of its players were called up to the major league club in early September, including Monday,Sal Bando, andRene Lachemann.[10]
Following his major league debut in September1966, Monday began thenext season in the majors, the A's last year inKansas City. The team moved west toOakland prior to the1968 season, his first as anAll-Star. Monday was with the A's through1971, their first as American League West champions. He was traded for pitcherKen Holtzman that November,[11] and spent five productive seasons with the Chicago Cubs. In January1977, Monday was traded in a five-player deal to the Los Angeles Dodgers forBill Buckner andIván DeJesús.[12][13] The Dodgers won theNational League pennant in1977 and1978.
Monday's best season in the major leagues came in1976, his last with the Cubs. Batting in theleadoff position, he hit .272, establishing career highs in home runs (32), runs (107), RBI (77), total bases (271), slugging percentage (.507), and OPS (.853). He also finished 18th in theMost Valuable Player voting.
On May 16, 1972, Monday hit three home runs as a member of the Cubs against the Phillies in an 8–1 victory atVeterans Stadium.
Perhaps the most outstanding accomplishment in his playing career was his domination over pitcherTom Seaver, arguably the best of his generation. Monday hit eleven home runs against Seaver, more than any other player, and batted .349 (30 hits in 86at bats).
AtDodger Stadium in Los Angeles on April 25, 1976, two protesters fromEldon, Missouri, ran into left-center field and tried toset fire to anAmerican flag after the start of the bottom of the 4th inning.[14][15] Monday, theCubs center fielder, had been tossing a practice ball with left fielderJosé Cardenal before the incident happened. AfterKen Crosby of the Cubs threw a pitch that madeTed Sizemore pop out, Monday dashed over and grabbed the flag to thunderous cheers. Monday ran through the outfield with the flag and while walking towards theDodgers dugout, met and handed the flag over to Dodgers pitcherDoug Rau. When Monday came to bat in the top half of the 5th inning, he got a standing ovation from the crowd and the scoreboard behind the left-field bleachers in the stadium flashed the message, "Rick Monday... You Made A Great Play..." He later said, "If you're going to burn the flag, don't do it around me. I've been to too many veterans' hospitals and seen too many broken bodies of guys who tried to protect it."[16] Monday had served, while playing Major League Baseball, a six-year commitment with theUnited States Marine Corps Reserve as part of hisROTC obligation after leaving Arizona State. He received a congratulatory phone call fromPresidentGerald Ford after the game, and was later invited to theWhite House.[17]
TheLos Angeles Police Department identified one of the protesters as 37-year-old William Errol Thomas Jr. Investigators confirmed that Thomas, who was born inOld Town, Maine and raised in Eldon, Missouri, confirmed that he drove from his home in Eldon to Los Angeles alongside his 11-year-old son days before the burning. His 11-year-old son, the other protester, was never identified because of his age.[18] Thomas explained to the court that his motive was related to his wife's imprisonment at aMissouri mental health facility and attempted to take revenge. Thomas pleaded guilty to a single trespassing charge, and was sentenced to three days in jail and a $60 fine.[19]
On August 25, 2008, Monday was presented with an American flag flown over Valley Forge National Historical Park in honor of his 1976 bicentennial flag rescue.[20]
During a game at Dodger Stadium on September 2, 2008, Monday was presented with a Peace On Earth Medallion and a medallion lapel pin by Patricia Kennedy, founder of the non-profit organization Step Up 4 Vets, for his actions.[21][22]
In 2025, he was presented with the "Patriot Award" from theBob Feller Act of Valor Federation.[23]
In the deciding Game 5 of the1981 NLCS atOlympic Stadium inMontreal, Monday hit a two-out ninth-inning home run off theExpos'Steve Rogers. The Dodgers won 2–1. Heartbroken Expos fans have referred to the day as "Blue Monday."[24][25] Monday andSteve Yeager were asked to leave a restaurant in Montreal in 1982 because, according to the manager, six of the patrons wanted to fight with Monday.[26]
Soon after his retirement as a player, Monday became a broadcaster for the Dodgers. He began in 1985 by hosting the pre-game show and calling play-by-play on cable TV. From 1989 to 1992, Monday moved farther south to callSan Diego Padres games alongsideJerry Coleman, replacing outgoing announcerDave Campbell. He was also a sports anchor atKTTV for a time in the 1980s. In addition, he served as a color commentator forCBS-TV at theCollege World Series championship game in 1988. Monday rejoined the Dodgers in 1993 afterDon Drysdale's unexpected death from a heart attack inMontreal before a road game against theExpos.[27][28]
From 2005 to 2008, Monday mostly handled the analyst role, withCharley Steiner handling most of the play-by-play, except during road trips outside of the National League West division, during which Steiner broadcast the games on television (because until Vin Scully's retirement at the end of the 2016 seasonVin Scully limited his broadcasting to all home games and road games involving either the NL West or AL West,[29]) and Monday handled the radio play-by-play, usually withJerry Reuss as his analyst.[citation needed]
In 2009, Steiner (play-by-play) and Monday (analysis) began covering all games on radio, with Eric Collins doing TV play-by-play for games not covered by Scully.[30] When Steiner replaced Collins on the road TV broadcasts in 2014, Monday switched over to the play-by-play duties alongsideNomar Garciaparra.[31]
Baseball legend Rick Monday, who served six years in the United States Marine Corps Reserves while playing Major League Baseball, will share his story of stopping two would-be protesters from setting an American flag on fire during a game at Dodger Stadium in April 1976 while playing for the Chicago Cubs.
| Preceded by none | First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft 1965 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | National League Player of the Month April 1978 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
