| Phil Linz | |
|---|---|
 Linz, circa 1964–65 | |
| Infielder | |
| Born:(1939-06-04)June 4, 1939 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
| Died: December 9, 2020(2020-12-09) (aged 81) Leesburg, Virginia, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 13, 1962, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 1968, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .235 |
| Home runs | 11 |
| Runs batted in | 96 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Philip Francis Linz (June 4, 1939 – December 9, 2020) was an American professionalbaseball player. Linz played inMajor League Baseball for theNew York Yankees (1962–65),Philadelphia Phillies (1966–67), andNew York Mets (1967–68). He batted and threwright-handed, and was listed at 6 feet (72 in) and 180 pounds (82 kg), during his playing days.
Theutility player was more likely remembered for the infamous (Yankees) "Harmonica Incident" than anything he accomplished in his seven-year major league career.[1]
After five years in theNew York Yankees'farm system, in which he batted .304 with fifteen home runs mostly atshortstop, Linz made the big league club out ofSpring training 1962. Used exclusively as apinch hitter orpinch runner up to that point, he made his first appearance on the field on May 23 at third base afterClete Boyer was hit by a pitch, and taken out of the game. In his secondat bat, with the Yankees trailing 7–2, Linz hit a two-runhome run. He alsosingled in tworuns and scored a run in the Yankees' nine run eighthinning that saw them take the lead, and win the game.[2]
This performance earned Linz the start the next day, and he remained at third until Boyer returned on May 27. For the season, Linz batted .287 with one home run and fourteenruns batted in. He did not appear in the Yankees'World Series victory over theSan Francisco Giants.
He became more of autility player in 1963, making twelve appearances in theoutfield. This increased versatility earned Linz a semi-regular position in the Yankees' line-up for 1964, when he made a career high 417plate appearances. He also appeared in all seven games of the1964 World Series, filling in for an injuredTony Kubek at short (David Halberstam, describing the series in his bookOctober 1964, attributes the Yankee loss in part to the ineffectiveness of the Linz-Bobby Richardson combination in the middle of the Yankee infield.). He homered offBarney Schultz in game two,[3] andBob Gibson in the ninth inning of game seven, as the Yankees attempted a late comeback.[4]
Following the 1963 season, YankeesGeneral ManagerRoy Hamey retired.ManagerRalph Houk moved into the GM position, while Yankees legendYogi Berra assumed managerial responsibilities.
As recounted inJim Bouton's book,Ball Four, following a Yankee road loss to theChicago White Sox on August 20,1964, Linz was playing a plaintive version of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on hisharmonica in the back of the team bus. Berra found the sad cowboy style mixed with a children'snursery rhyme a bit mocking of the team, and told Linz to pipe down. Linz didn't hear and kept playing. Berra became infuriated and called back from the front of the bus, "If you don't knock that off, I'm going to come back there and kick your ass." Linz couldn't hear the words over the music, so he askedMickey Mantle, "What he say?" Mantle responded, "He said to play it louder." Berra walked to the back of the bus to confront Linz. By different accounts, Linz threw the harmonica to Berra or at him, or Berra knocked it out of his hand. Regardless, it became airborne, strikingfirst basemanJoe Pepitone in the knee strongly enough to cut him.[5]
This altercation convinced the Yankees' front office that Berra had lost control of the team, and could not command respect from his players. As a result, the decision was made to fire Berra at the end of the season regardless of the fact that the Yankees eventually won theAmerican League pennant.[6]
Linz played one season for new Yankees managerJohnny Keane. Following the 1965 season, he was traded to thePhiladelphia Phillies for fellow utility playerRuben Amaro. He played very sparingly inPhiladelphia, appearing in only 63 games over a season and a half. On July 11, 1967, he was traded to theNew York Mets forsecond basemanChuck Hiller. Linz's finest game as a Met came on May 25, 1968. Entering the game 0 for 25 for the season,[7] Linz went three for four with two runs scored in a 9–1 drubbing of theAtlanta Braves.[8]
| Seasons | Games | PA | AB | Runs | Hits | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | HBP | SO | Avg. | OBP | Slg. | Fld% |
| 7 | 519 | 1518 | 1372 | 185 | 322 | 64 | 4 | 11 | 96 | 13 | 112 | 7 | 195 | .235 | .295 | .311 | .958 |
Linz died December 9, 2020, at a nursing home in Virginia. He was 81.[9][10]