| Charlie Silvera | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born:(1924-10-13)October 13, 1924 San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
| Died: September 7, 2019(2019-09-07) (aged 94) Millbrae, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 29, 1948, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 28, 1957, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .282 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 52 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Charles Anthony Ryan Silvera (October 13, 1924 – September 7, 2019) was an AmericanMajor League Baseball player andcoach. NicknamedSwede, he was part of sixWorld Series championships with theNew York Yankees.
Silvera was born inSan Francisco, California He signed with the Yankees in 1942, and played theoutfield for the Wellsville Yankees at just seventeen years old. He missed the 1943–1945 seasons serving in World War II. When he returned for the 1946 season, he was converted tocatcher with the triple AKansas City Blues.
After three more seasons in the minors, Silvera debuted with the Yankees on September 29, 1948, and went three-for-four with atriple in his major league debut.[1] He followed that up with a three-for-five performance the next day.[2]
His hot bat earned him the backupcatcher job behindYogi Berra for the 1949 season. A thumb injury to Berra moved him into the starting job for the month of August.[3] Hebatted .329 with eightruns batted in while filling in for the futureHall of Famer. For the season, he posted career highs ingames played (58),at-bats (130) and RBIs (13).
The Yankees faced theBrooklyn Dodgers in the1949 World Series. Silvera's only appearance came in game two, and he was held hitless in two at-bats byPreacher Roe.[4] Despite having been part of six World championship teams, this was the only World Series appearance he would ever make.
Having only been used a total of 21 times in the 1955 and 1956 seasons, Silvera was dealt by the Yankees to theChicago Cubs in exchange for fellow catcherHarry Chiti before the 1957 season. Cubs equipment managerYosh Kawano decided to issue him Yogi Berra's number 8 upon his arrival inChicago, as he had served as Berra's back up for eight seasons with the Yankees.[5] His only season in theNational League was interrupted by an ankle sprain in late May that caused him to miss three weeks of the season.[6] He was released by the Cubs after just one season in which he batted .208 with two RBIs in 26 games.
Upon his release from the Cubs, Silvera returned to the Yankees as a player/manager for theirSouthern Association double A affiliate, theNew Orleans Pelicans. With his team mired in last place, he was replaced at the helm in the middle of the 1958 season by fellow player/manager,Ray Yochim. He repeated the player manager role with theBinghamton Triplets in 1959, guiding them to a 71-68 record.
Following his playing career, Silvera scouted for theWashington Senators.
WhenBilly Martin got his first managing job with theMinnesota Twins in 1969 he named Silvera hisbullpen coach and he rejoined Martin with theDetroit Tigers from 1971 to 1973 and theTexas Rangers in 1974 and 1975.
In later years he scouted for a number of teams, including the Cubs and the Marlins. He received his seventh World Championship ring as a scout for the Marlins in 1997.
Silvera died at age 94 on September 7, 2019.[7] He was the last survivor among the 12 players who appeared with all five Yankee World Series-winning teams from 1949 to 1953.[8]
| Preceded by | Minnesota Twinsbullpen coach 1969 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Detroit Tigersbullpen coach 1971–1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by n/a | Texas Rangersbullpen coach 1974–1975 | Succeeded by |