| Dick Stuart | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born:(1932-11-07)November 7, 1932 San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
| Died: December 15, 2002(2002-12-15) (aged 70) Redwood City, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Professional debut | |
| MLB: July 10, 1958, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| NPB: 1967, for the Taiyo Whales | |
| Last appearance | |
| NPB: 1968, for the Taiyo Whales | |
| MLB: May 27, 1969, for the California Angels | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .264 |
| Home runs | 228 |
| Runs batted in | 743 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Richard Lee Stuart (November 7, 1932 – December 15, 2002), nicknamed "Dr. Strangeglove", was an American professionalbaseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as afirst baseman from 1958 to 1966 then, played in theNippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league from 1967 to 1968 before returning to play one final season in MLB in 1969.
A two-timeAll-Star player, Stuart was notable for being an integral member of the1960 Pittsburgh Pirates team which upset theNew York Yankees to win the1960 World Series and, for being the 1963American League RBI champion. Stuart threw and battedright-handed; during his playing days, he stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall, weighing 212 pounds (96 kg).
Stuart was born inSan Francisco, California, although his family soon relocated toSan Carlos[1] and attendedSequoia High School in neighboringRedwood City. Stuart declined two scholarships to playcollege baseball when he signed with thePittsburgh Pirates in June1951 for a $10,000 bonus.[2] Theoutfielder soon emerged as one of the topsluggers in theirfarm system.[3] Hebatted .313, and clubbed aPioneer League leading 31home runs with theBillings Mustangs in1952. He also led the league inruns batted in (121),runs (115) and total bases (292).
His minor league career was interrupted by a stint in theUnited States Army in1953 and1954. After initially sputtering upon his return toprofessional baseball in1955, Stuart set aWestern League record with 66 home runs in1956 with theLincoln Chiefs.[4] Equally stunning was his league leading 171strikeouts.
His fielding also proved to be something of a liability.[5] The Pirates unsuccessfully tried him atthird base with theAtlanta Crackers in1957 before shifting him to first base in 1958.[6] Stuart clubbed 31 home runs in 80 games for theSalt Lake City Bees when he received his call to the majors in July.
Stuart made his major league debut with the Pirates on July 10, 1958, at the age of 25. With the Pirates trailing 8–5, Stuart hit a two-run home run in the ninthinning of his major league debut to bring his team within a run.[7] The following day, he hit agrand slam offMoe Drabowsky to lead his team to a 7–2 victory over theChicago Cubs.[8] Over the remainder of the season, Stuart would bat .268 with 48 RBIs. Despite being called up halfway through the season, and being used in a lefty/righty platoon withTed Kluszewski, Stuart's sixteen home runs was third best on the team. He also led the league inerrors committed by a first baseman (16) for the first of seven consecutive years.
He was again in a platoon with Kluszewski in1959, and was batting .294 with nineteen home runs and sixty RBIs when the Pirates dealt Kluszewski to theChicago White Sox on August 25. As the Pirates' full time first baseman, Stuart improved to .307 with eight home runs and nineteen RBIs. His 27 home runs and 78 RBIs led the team, while his .297 batting average tied for the team lead withcatcherSmoky Burgess. His .976fielding percentage was the lowest for aNational League first baseman sinceFred Luderus' .975 in1914.
Fueled by anMVP season fromshortstopDick Groat, and the emergence of young starRoberto Clemente, the1960 Pirates sailed to the NL pennant by seven games over theMilwaukee Braves. In their1960 World Series victory over theNew York Yankees, Stuart was held to threesingles in twentyat bats with no RBIs or runs scored.[9] Stuart was in theon deck circle as apinch hitter whenBill Mazeroski hit the ninth-inning home run offRalph Terry that won the World Series.[10]
His poor performance in theWorld Series preceded what would be his finest season in1961. There were twoAll-Star games in 1961; Stuart was part of both NL squads. In the July 11 game atCandlestick Park, Stuartdoubled in his only at bat.[11] in the July 31 contest atFenway Park, Stuart grounded out in his only at bat.[12] His 35 home runs and 117 RBIs far and away led the Pirates, while he batted over .300 for the only time in his career (.301). He also led the NL with 121 strikeouts.
Following a slow start to his1962 season, Stuart found himself losing playing time to rookie prospectDonn Clendenon. After the season, Stuart andpitcherJack Lamabe were traded to theBoston Red Sox forJim Pagliaroni andDon Schwall.[13]
Stuart's physical resemblance to Red Sox legendTed Williams immediately endeared him to fans.[14] Endearing him even more to Bosox fans was that through the first 26 games of the 1963 season, Stuart had five home runs and seventeen RBIs without committing an error. That streak ended abruptly, when Stuart had errors in both games of a May 15doubleheader with theLos Angeles Angels.[15][16] His .253 batting average, seventeen home runs and fifty RBIs at the All-Star break earned him a second-place finish to the Yankees'Joe Pepitone in fan balloting, but he was left off the team byAmerican LeaguemanagerRalph Houk.[17] He was, however, named the first baseman on theSporting News' AL All-Star Team.
He would earn a degree of revenge on Houk on August 15, when he hit his thirtieth home run of the season,[18] making him the first player to hit thirty home runs in a season in both the NL and the AL.[19] For the season, he would finish second to theMinnesota Twins'Harmon Killebrew in the AL home run race (42 to 45). While he would go on to lead the AL with 118 RBIs and 319 total bases, he would also lead major league first basemen with 29 errors, which remains both Stuart's career high and the Boston Red Sox single season record. By season's end, he had been dubbed"Stone Fingers" by none other thanHank Aaron.[20] Despite his well-documented defensive struggles, on June 28, Stuart became the initial first-baseman in major league history to record three assists in one inning.[21]
The following season, Stuart would become far better known as"Dr. Strangeglove", a play on the popular 1964 filmDr. Strangelove. Despite his 24 errors at first, Stuart still mashed with the best of them. He hit 33 home runs and was second in the AL (to theBaltimore Orioles'Brooks Robinson) with 114 RBIs.
In need of starting pitching, the Red Sox dealt Stuart to thePhiladelphia Phillies at the start of theWinter meetings for left handerDennis Bennett.[22] Following a 6-for-14 four game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers, Stuart raised his batting average to .297. He followed that up with an 0-for-14 slump that saw his average drop to .216, and drew the ire of managerGene Mauch.[23] Stuart batted .234 with 28 home runs and 95 RBIs in his only season inPhiladelphia.
On October 27,1965 the Phillies acquiredGold Glove first basemanBill White,Bob Uecker and Stuart's former Pirates teammate Dick Groat from theSt. Louis Cardinals forPat Corrales,Alex Johnson andArt Mahaffey. Four months later, Stuart was traded to theNew York Mets for minor leaguersWayne Graham,Bobby Klaus andJimmie Schaffer.[24]
The Mets moved 21 year old All-StarEd Kranepool into a left field platoon withRon Swoboda in order to make room for Stuart at first base. However, once Kranepool demonstrated he was a terribleleft fielder, and Stuart committed six errors by June 5, that disastrous idea was abandoned. The Mets released Stuart on June 15 with a .218 average, four home runs and thirteen RBIs. Shortly afterwards, he went from worst to first, signing as afree agent with theLos Angeles Dodgers. Though his role with the Dodgers was far more limited than Stuart was used to in his major league career, he returned to the post season for only the second time in his career. He appeared as apinch hitter in games one and four of the1966 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles, flying out to deep right center in game one,[25] and striking out in Game Four.[26] The Dodgers were swept by the Orioles, losing in four straight games as Stuart went hitless.[27]
Prior to his trade to the Mets, Stuart seriously considered playing inJapan.[28] With no Major League offers on the table for the 1967 season, he signed with Nippon Professional Baseball's Taiyo Whales. After an impressive first season with the Whales (.280 avg., 33 HR, 79 RBI), Stuart dipped to a .217 average, with sixteen home runs and forty RBIs his second season. He became known as"Moby Dick" while playing in Japan.[29]
He returned to the major leagues with theCalifornia Angels in 1969, but after 22 games in which he batted .157 with just one home run, he was released on June 3. He finished out the season with thePacific Coast League'sPhoenix Giants before retiring at the age of 36.
| Games | PA | AB | Runs | Hits | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | HBP | Avg. | Slg. | Fld% |
| 1112 | 4363 | 3997 | 506 | 1055 | 157 | 30 | 228 | 743 | 2 | 301 | 957 | 22 | .264 | .489 | .982 |
In January1973, almost four years after Stuart's retirement, it was noted that the not yet instituteddesignated hitter rule "would have suited Dr. Strangeglove perfectly". Other, less well known but equally unflattering nicknames included "Iron Glove"[30] and, in a more literary vein, "The Ancient Mariner", a reference to the first lines of theSamuel Taylor Coleridge poemThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner: "It is an ancient Mariner, / And he stoppeth one of three".[31]
In their book,The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book, Brendan C. Boyd and Fred C. Harris wrote an essay on Stuart's notoriously poor fielding. An excerpt: "Every play hit his way was an adventure, the most routine play a challenge to his artlessness. It is hard to describe this to anyone who has not seen it, just as it is hard to describeXavier Cugat orAllen Ludden. Stu once picked up a hot dog wrapper that was blowing toward his first base position. He received a standing ovation from the crowd. It was the first thing he had managed to pick up all day, and the fans realized it could very well be the last".[32]
Stuart had a daughter, Debbie Lea, from his first marriage, and two sons, Richard Lee Jr. and Robert Lance from his second marriage to Lois. He was a member of the Screen Guild Extra Union, and appeared as anextra in the filmD-Day the Sixth of June, and on thetelevision showsNavy Log andBadge 714.[33] While with the Red Sox, Stuart began doing a sports TV show entitledStuart on Sports Sunday nights after the news.[34] He also hosted like-named shows while with the Phillies and Mets.[35][36][28]
Stuart died ofcancer on December 15, 2002, in Redwood City, California at the age of 70.[37]
