| Paul Richards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Catcher /Manager | |
| Born:(1908-11-21)November 21, 1908 Waxahachie, Texas, U.S. | |
| Died: May 4, 1986(1986-05-04) (aged 77) Waxahachie, Texas, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 17, 1932, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 22, 1946, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .227 |
| Home runs | 15 |
| Runs batted in | 155 |
| Managerial record | 923–901 |
| Winning % | .506 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
As Player
As Manager As General Manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Paul Rapier Richards (November 21, 1908 – May 4, 1986) was anAmerican professionalbaseball player,manager,scout andexecutive inMajor League Baseball.[1][2] During his playing career, he was acatcher and right-handed batter with theBrooklyn Dodgers (1932),New York Giants (1933–1935),Philadelphia Athletics (1935) andDetroit Tigers (1943–1946).[1] After retiring, he became the manager of theChicago White Sox (1951–1954, 1976) andBaltimore Orioles (1955–1961).[2] He also served as the general manager for the Orioles, theHouston Colt .45s / Astros and theAtlanta Braves.[3]
Born inWaxahachie, Texas, Richards began hisprofessional baseball career in theminor leagues as aninfielder in 1926 at the age of 17.[4] In a baseball oddity, Richardspitched with both hands in a minor-league game on July 23, 1928, for theMuskogee Chiefs of theClass CWestern Association against theTopeka Jayhawks.[5] Called to thepitcher's mound from hisshortstop position, he pitched both right-handed and left-handed in a brief appearance, including facing aswitch hitter, which briefly resulted in both pitcher and batter switching hands and batter's boxes, respectively, until Richards broke the stalemate by alternating hands with each pitch, regardless of where the batter positioned himself.[6] Later in his minor league career, he became a catcher.[5]
After playing for seven years in the minor leagues, he made his major league debut at the age of 23 with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 17, 1932.[1] Richards' contract was then purchased by theMinneapolis Millers of theAmerican Association in June 1932.[7] In 78 games with Minneapolis, he posted a .361batting average and, he was subsequently purchased byJohn McGraw'sNew York Giants in September 1932.[7][8]
With the Giants, Richards served as a reserve catcher working behindGus Mancuso for the 1933 season.[3] Richards' future managing style was influenced by his time spent playing for Giants managerBill Terry.[3] Terry's no-nonsense style of managing that concentrated on pitching and defense, made an impact on Richards.[3] The Giants went on to win the1933 World Series however, Richards did not get to play in the post-season.[3] After Richards batted just .160 in 1934, he was traded in May 1935 toConnie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics.[1] He caught the majority of the Athletics' games in 1935 before being traded to theAtlanta Crackers for pitcherAl Williams in November.[9][10]
Richards was already showing a keen baseball mind as Atlanta's catcher in 1936 when he helped turn around pitcherDutch Leonard's career. After three seasons in the major leagues with theBrooklyn Dodgers, Leonard had been sent back to the minor leagues where he played with Richards in Atlanta. Richards encouraged him to throw aknuckleball and, within two years, Leonard was back in the major leagues with the Washington Senators, where he became a 20-game winner in 1939.[11] Richards played for the Crackers from 1936 to 1942.[4] From 1938 to 1942, he served as aplayer-manager for the Crackers.[4] Richards led the Crackers to the pennant in 1938 andThe Sporting News named him as minor league manager of the year.[3]
When professional baseball experienced a shortage of players during World War II, Richards returned to the major leagues in 1943 with the Detroit Tigers at the age of 34.[1] While his batting average was a relatively low .220 in 100games played, he led theAmerican League catchers infielding percentage,range factor, baserunnerscaught stealing andputouts and, finished second inassists.[12] Richards also served as an unofficial pitchingcoach for managerSteve O'Neill.[3] His strong defensive play continued in 1944, leading the league's catchers in fielding percentage, range factor and baserunners caught stealing percentage, and finished second in putouts and baserunners caught stealing as, the Tigers lost the pennant on the last day of the season.[3][13]
In 1945, Richards' batting average improved to career-high .256 and he once again led the league's catchers in fielding percentage and in range factor, as the Tigers won the American League championship, then, defeated theChicago Cubs in the1945 World Series.[14] In the deciding Game 7 of the series, he hit 2doubles and had 4 runs batted in.[14] Richards was the Tigers' starting catcher in six games of the seven-game series and, contributed 6 runs batted in, second only to the 7 produced byHank Greenberg.[14] Despite his low batting average, he ended the season ranked in 10th place in the 1945 American LeagueMost Valuable Player Award voting, due in part to his handling of the Tigers' pitching staff which led the league inwinning percentage,strikeouts,shutouts and finished second inearned run average.[15][16] Richards was one of the annualThe Sporting News All-Stars for 1945.[17]
After hitting only .201 in 1946, he returned to the minor leagues, playing three more seasons as a player-manager with theBuffalo Bisons. He led Buffalo to theInternational League pennant in 1949 before, retiring as a player at the age of 40.[3][4]
In an eight-year major league career, Richards played in 523games, accumulating 321hits in 1,417at bats for a .227 career batting average along with 15 home runs and 155 runs batted in.[1] In 17 minor league seasons, he posted a career .295 batting average with 171 home runs.[4] While he was a light-hitting player, he excelled as a defensive catcher, ending his career with a .987fielding percentage.[1] He led American League catchers three times in range factor, twice in fielding percentage and once each in baserunners caught stealing and in caught stealing percentage.[1] Richard's 50.34% career caught stealing percentage ranks 12th all-time among major league catchers.[18]
Richards became a successful manager with the Chicago White Sox in1951. In a baseball era when many teams relied on home runs for much of their offensive production, Richards went against the perceived common wisdom by relying on pitching, good defense, speed andstolen bases to manufactureruns with a strategy now known assmall ball.[5] It was during that stint that he once had starting pitcherBilly Pierce play first base for one batter, bringing in a right handed pitcher to face a right handed hitter, taking out the starting first baseman, and then replacing him when Pierce went back to pitch one hitter later. The White Sox led the American League in stolen bases for 11 consecutive years from1951 to1961. He managed the White Sox to four winning-record seasons, but his club finished behind theNew York Yankees (1951,1952,1953), and theCleveland Indians in1954.[2] It was during his tenure as the White Sox manager that he was given the nickname, "The Wizard of Waxahachie."[3]
In September 1954,[19] Richards was hired by the Baltimore Orioles, where he served as both field manager andgeneral manager through1958, becoming the first man sinceJohn McGraw to hold both positions simultaneously.[2][5][20] As general manager, he was involved in a 17-player trade with the New York Yankees that remains the biggest trade in baseball history.[5] Richards concentrated on signing good defensive players (such asBrooks Robinson) and hard-throwing young pitchers (such asSteve Barber,Milt Pappas andChuck Estrada). AfterLee MacPhail was hired as the general manager in1959, Richards served strictly as the Orioles' field manager. The Orioles finally blossomed in1960 with a second-place finish after five disappointing seasons.[2] The Orioles' second-place finish was Richards' best as a manager.[3] Both the Associated Press[21] and United Press International[22] named him the American League Manager of the Year.
Richards led American League managers in ejections for 11 consecutive seasons from 1951 to 1961, setting an all-time managerial record.[23] In September 1961, Richards resigned as manager of the Orioles to become general manager of the newHouston Colt .45sNational League club.[24] Richards stocked the Houston club (soon renamed theAstros) with young players – includingJoe Morgan,Jimmy Wynn,Mike Cuellar,Don Wilson andRusty Staub – but he was fired after the1965 season when the on-field results did not match ownerRoy Hofheinz' expectations.[25]
The following year, Richards was hired as director of player personnel by theAtlanta Braves – returning to the city where he excelled as a minor league catcher and player-manager for theSouthern Association'sAtlanta Crackers from 1938 to 1942. By the end of the1966 season, Richards was given the title of general manager of the Braves. Richards' six years at the helm of the Atlanta organization were in some ways his most successful in baseball. He inherited a strong core of players includingHenry Aaron,Joe Torre,Felipe Alou, andRico Carty.[3] He added several young pitchers and position players to the mix and converted knuckleballingrelieverPhil Niekro into a successful starter.[3] His1969 Braves, skippered by his longtime protegeLuman Harris, won theNational League Western Division title, but that team was swept by the eventual world champion"Miracle Mets" in the firstNational League Championship Series ever played. The Braves failed to contend in1970 and1971 and, Richards was fired in the middle of the1972 season, replaced byEddie Robinson.[3]
In1976, after three and a half years out of the game, Richards was hired byBill Veeck to return to Chicago as manager of the White Sox.[3] After a losing record, he retired from the field at the end of the season, but stayed in the game as a player personnel advisor with the White Sox, and theTexas Rangers. As a manager, he compiled a 923–901 record in 11 seasons (406-362 with Chicago, 517–539 with Baltimore).[2]
Richards was credited in helpingSherm Lollar become one of the best catchers in the major leagues and, he also helpedGus Triandos become a respectable catcher.[26] He is known for designing the oversizedcatcher's mitt first used by Triandos to catch Hall of Fame knuckleballpitcherHoyt Wilhelm.[27] Despite his skills as a motivator, mentor and strategist of the game, Richards never was able to lead a team to apennant. Sixteen of his players became major league managers.[3]
Richards died of aheart attack inWaxahachie, Texas at the age of 77.[28] In 1996, Richards was inducted into theGeorgia Sports Hall of Fame.[29] Paul Richards Park in Waxahachie has been named aTexas Historical Landmark.[30]
Beginning in 1951, Richards reintroduced and was erroneously credited with inventing a tactic which had not been used in the major leagues since 1909. Four or five times in his career, Richards shifted a pitcher to the outfield and inserted a new pitcher in order to gain a platoon advantage before putting the original pitcher back on the mound.Rob Neyer, writing forESPN.com in 2009, endorsed a reader's suggestion and introduced a name for the gambit, "the Waxahachie Swap."[31]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| CWS | 1951 | 154 | 81 | 73 | .526 | 4th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| CWS | 1952 | 154 | 81 | 73 | .526 | 3rd in AL | – | – | – | – |
| CWS | 1953 | 154 | 89 | 65 | .578 | 3rd in AL | – | – | – | – |
| CWS | 1954 | 145 | 91 | 54 | .628 | resigned | – | – | – | – |
| BAL | 1955 | 154 | 57 | 97 | .370 | 7th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| BAL | 1956 | 154 | 69 | 85 | .448 | 6th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| BAL | 1957 | 152 | 76 | 76 | .500 | 5th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| BAL | 1958 | 153 | 74 | 79 | .484 | 6th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| BAL | 1959 | 154 | 74 | 80 | .481 | 6th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| BAL | 1960 | 154 | 89 | 65 | .578 | 2nd in AL | – | – | – | – |
| BAL | 1961 | 135 | 78 | 57 | .578 | resigned | – | – | – | – |
| BAL total | 1056 | 517 | 539 | .490 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| CWS | 1976 | 161 | 64 | 97 | .398 | 6th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| CWS total | 768 | 406 | 362 | .529 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| Total[2] | 1824 | 923 | 901 | .506 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| Managerial jobs | |||||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
