| George Scott | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born:(1944-03-23)March 23, 1944 Greenville, Mississippi, U.S. | |
| Died: July 28, 2013(2013-07-28) (aged 69) Greenville, Mississippi, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 12, 1966, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 1979, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .268 |
| Home runs | 271 |
| Runs batted in | 1,051 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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George Charles Scott Jr. (March 23, 1944 – July 28, 2013), nicknamed "Boomer", was an American professionalbaseball player,coach andmanager. He played inMajor League Baseball as afirst baseman from1966 to1979, most prominently for theBoston Red Sox where he was a member of the1967American League pennant winning team and, with theMilwaukee Brewers where he was the1975 American Leaguehome run andRBI champion.
A three-timeAll-Star player, Scott was one of the most accomplished defensive first basemen of his era, winning eightGold Glove Awards between 1967 and 1976.[1][2] During his major league career, he also played for theKansas City Royals and theNew York Yankees.
After his Major League career, Scott became aplayer-manager in theMexican League and went on to become full-time manager in theIndependent baseball league from the 1980s until 2002.[2] He was inducted into theBoston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2006 and theMississippi Sports Hall of Fame the following year.[2][3] In 2014, he was inducted into theMilwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor.[4]
Scott was born March 23, 1944, inGreenville, Mississippi, as the youngest of three children.[2] His father, a cotton farm laborer, died when George Jr. was two years old, and young George was picking cotton by age nine.[2] "That's all we knew", he said. "The reason you did that, all of that money was turned over to your parents to make ends meet. Nothing can be worse than getting up at four in the morning waiting for a truck to pick you up to go pick and chop cotton from six or seven in the morning until five or six in the afternoon."
Scott playedLittle League baseball in his spare time but was temporarily ejected from the team for being "too good", having hit two or three home runs per game in one six-game stretch.[2] At Coleman High School in Greenville he excelled in baseball, football and basketball, quarterbacking the football team and leading his football and basketball teams to state championships.[2] Scott chose baseball as a career "to make my living. I got tired of watching my mom struggle [with three jobs]. I didn't have the mind that I could go to college and see my mother struggle for another four or five years."
Major league scoutEd Scott (no relation to George), who had signedHank Aaron to his first major league contract, discovered George Scott and signed him as an amateur free agent[5] straight out of high school on May 28, 1962, for $8,000. Eventually promoted to theBoston Red Sox' newPittsfield Red Soxfarm team of the Double-A Eastern League in 1965, Scott became theEastern League triple crown winner that year, leading the league in home runs, RBIs, and batting average.
He became a Red Sox major-league rookie in 1966 as a third baseman, was switched to first base one week into the season, and played all 162 games that season, the last Red Sox rookie to do so.[2] On Opening Day (April 12), he batted fifth against theBaltimore Orioles and went 1-for-4 with an RBI (drawing a walk with the bases loaded) while gaining his first hit with a triple offMoe Drabowsky.[6] He hit his first home run of the year one week later offJoe Sparma of theDetroit Tigers.[7] He batted .245 with 147 hits, 27 home runs, and 90 RBIs (finishing in the top ten in RBIs, home runs, and total bases) while garnering an All-Star selection and finished third in the voting for Rookie of the Year. His good start was soon hampered by a slump in which he could not adjust quickly enough to deal with change-ups and curve ball pitches. ManagerBilly Herman stated he would bench Scott on July 19, but a rainout occurred on that day before a doubleheader was played, each of which featured Scott starting. At any rate, Scott led all of baseball in strikeouts (152) and times grounded into a double play (25). He spent 158 games at first base (with four at third base), and he led the league in putouts, games, and double plays.
Scott did fine during his sophomore season, which turned out to be the longest season of his career, as the"Impossible Dream" Red Sox won theAmerican League pennant, led by rookie managerDick Williams. He also benched Scott for a few games, concerned about him being overweight (desiring a weight of 215 pounds).[8] Scott played 159 games while batting .303 (he would bat .300 just one other time in his career). He walked over 60 times again, but he reduced his strikeout total to 119 while hitting 19 home runs and having 171 hits. He received votes for the MVP Award (finishing 10th with 12% of the vote) while being awarded the Gold Glove (he led the league in putouts, games, assists, errors, and double plays). His team went to the1967 World Series and played theSt. Louis Cardinals in a classic seven game series. Scott hit .231 (6-for-26) while having three walks and six strikeouts and scoring three times, and committed the final out of the Series, striking out againstBob Gibson as the Cardinals won Game 7.
Scott was a three-timeAll-Star in theAmerican League in 1966, 1975 and 1977, starting the 1966 Mid-Summer Classic and homering in 1977. Scott hit over 20home runs six times in his career, tyingReggie Jackson for the American League lead in 1975 with a career-high 36 and pacing the league inruns batted in (RBIs) that same season with 109. Known for his glovework at first base, Scott was awarded theGold Glove Award for fielding excellence in the American League during eight seasons (1967–68 and 1971–1976).
In a 14-season career, Scott posted a .268batting average with 271 home runs (which he called "taters") and 1,051 RBIs in 2,034games.[9] His nickname was Boomer and he called his glove "Black Beauty". Scott was well-known for having a good sense of humor, and wore a necklace which he once identified to a reporter as being composed of "second baseman's teeth".[10] To complement his unique attire, he also was known for wearing abatting helmet while fielding at first base due to an experience he had with a fan throwing hard objects at him once during a road game.[10]
He was traded three times during his career. The first was a ten-player deal sending him,Jim Lonborg,Ken Brett,Billy Conigliaro,Joe Lahoud andDon Pavletich from the Red Sox to theMilwaukee Brewers forTommy Harper,Marty Pattin,Lew Krausse and minor-league outfielder Pat Skrable on October 10, 1971.[11] While on the Brewers, Scott won five-consecutive Gold Glove awards.[12] In 1975, he was named an all-star and led major league baseball with 36 home-runs and 109 RBI.[13] On December 6, 1976, Scott was traded back to the Red Sox withBernie Carbo for Boston’sCecil Cooper.[14]
Scott saw his second tenure with the Red Sox end when he was traded to theKansas City Royals forTom Poquette on June 13, 1979. On August 17, he was released by the team, and he joined theNew York Yankees nine days later. He played 105 games that year while batting .254 with 88 hits, 31 walks, and 61 strikeouts (spent mostly on first base, although he did play 17 games as a designated hitter). He finished in the top five in two categories: double play grounded into (24, 2nd) and errors (10, 4th).
After the season, Scott moved to theMexican League, playing for theLeones de Yucatán in 1980, and theTigres del México in 1981.[15]
Scott spent nine of his 14 years with the Red Sox and is Boston's all-time leader at first base with 988 games played, including 944 starts. Scott hit 154 of his 271 career home runs with the Red Sox and is a member of theBoston Red Sox Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2006.[1] George Scott's 1968 season was noted byESPN as one of the worst offensive performances ever, especially for a first baseman (he batted a career low .171/.236/.237 in batting average, OBP, and SLG in 124 games in the only season he hit no triples).[16]
Tommy John praised Scott's hitting ability in a 1984 interview. "When Scott first came into the league, no one knew how to pitch to him, and they didn't find out for three years."[17]
After he had left the playing field, he served as a manager for various teams, ranging from theMexican League to independent league baseball. He coached for Roxbury Community College (1991-1995), theSaskatoon Riot in 1995 (going 26-45), theMassachusetts Mad Dogs (1996-1999, where he went 181-148), theRio Grande Valley WhiteWings (2001, where he went 40-56), and theBerkshire Black Bears (going 14-31 in the first half and 10-34 in the second half of their first and only season in the Northern League in 2002); ultimately, he had a combined record of 271-314 as a manager.[18][19]
Scott died July 28, 2013, in his hometown of Greenville.[20][21] Although a cause of death was not announced at the time, Scott had been impaired by diabetes for several years.[1] "In losing George Scott, we have lost one of the most talented, colorful, and popular players in our history," said Red Sox vice president/emeritus and team historianDick Bresciani. "He had great power and agility, with a large personality and a large physical stature. He could light up a clubhouse with his smile, his laugh, and his humor – and he was the best defensive first baseman I have ever seen. We will miss him, and we send our condolences to his family."[22]
Scott was the father of three sons: Dion, George III, and Brian.
Scott's grandson Deion Williams, who playedshortstop forRedan High School in Georgia, was selected by theWashington Nationals in the2011 MLB draft.[23] Williams was converted into a pitcher and last pitched professionally for theHagerstown Suns of theSouth Atlantic League in 2015.[24]
On June 2, 2023, George III and Scott's 8-year old grandson Dante Hazard, were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in their home in Massachusetts.[25]
Williams, the son and grandson of former pro players Dion Williams and George Scott
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| National | |