Rookie of the Year: Ted Sizemore, 1969

Second Baseman, Los Angeles Dodgers

Age:  24 (Apr. 15)

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’10” Weight: 165 

Prior to 1969:

Born in Alabama, Sizemore moved with his family to Detroit at a young age. Developing a love of sports early on, he played basketball and football, in addition to baseball at Pershing High School. A catcher in high school, he received a baseball scholarship to the University of Michigan where he played in the outfield in addition to catching. Selected by the Dodgers in the 1966 amateur draft, Sizemore left school to play professional baseball. First assigned to the Tri-City Atoms of the Class A Northwest League in ’66, he batted .330 with 14 extra-base hits, 37 RBIs, and a .440 on-base percentage. Returning to Michigan in the offseason to complete his degree requirements, he advanced to Albuquerque of the Class AA Texas League in 1967 and hit .296 with 21 doubles, 5 home runs, and 61 RBIs with a .338 OBP. Moving up to Spokane of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 1968, he suffered a broken hand that sidelined him for five weeks. Still he batted .314 in 81 games with 11 doubles, 34 RBIs, 8 stolen bases, and a .368 OBP. Shifted to the outfield when he returned from his injury and with the organization awash in young catchers, Sizemore was sent to the Arizona Instructional League during the winter to learn to play second base, a more pressing need for the Dodgers. Invited to spring training with the Dodgers in 1969, the determined and versatile Sizemore was asked to fill in at shortstop, and started the season there until returning to second base following a trade that returned star shortstop Maury Wills to LA.

1969 Season Summary

Appeared in 159 games

2B – 117, SS – 47, LF – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 650 [19]

At Bats – 590 [14]

Runs – 69

Hits – 160 [20, tied with Willie Stargell]

Doubles – 20

Triples – 5

Home Runs – 4

RBI – 46

Bases on Balls – 45

Int. BB – 7

Strikeouts – 40

Stolen Bases – 5

Caught Stealing – 5

Average - .271

OBP - .328

Slugging Pct. - .342

Total Bases – 202

GDP – 11

Hit by Pitches – 5 [20, tied with eight others]

Sac Hits – 9 [12, tied with four others]

Sac Flies – 1

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 5, HR - 1, RBI - 26, AVG. - .255, OBP – .313

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at San Diego 6/28

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

Most HR, game – 1 on four occasions

HR at home – 1

HR on road – 3

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Houston 4/11

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding (2B)

Chances – 627

Put Outs – 283

Assists – 331

Errors – 13

DP - 76

Pct. - .979 

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

30^th in NL MVP voting, tied with five others (2 points, 1% share)

NL ROY Voting:

Ted Sizemore, LAD.: 14 of 24 votes, 58% share

Coco Laboy, Mon.: 3 votes, 13% share

Al Oliver, Pitt.: 3 votes, 13% share

Bob Didier, Atl.: 2 votes, 8% share

Larry Hisle, Phila.: 2 votes, 8% share

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Dodgers went 85-77 to finish fourth in the NL Western Division, 8 games behind the division-winning Atlanta Braves while leading the league in triples (52, tied with Pittsburgh). The revamped Dodgers rebounded from two down seasons to contend in the new NL West. A half-game off the division lead on Sept. 18, an 8-game losing streak knocked the club out of contention.

Aftermath of 1969:

A nagging thigh injury hampered Sizemore in 1970, but he still batted .306 with a .367 OBP in 96 games. Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals after the season, he got off to a slow start in 1971 due to various injuries and ended up hitting .264 with a .322 OBP and 22 extra base hits while seeing considerable action at shortstop in addition to second base. Exclusively a second baseman in 1972, Sizemore again batted .264 along with 23 extra base hits and a .324 OBP. He proved to be a good fit in the second spot in the batting order behind the star base-stealing leadoff hitter Lou Brock, as he rarely struck out. Sidelined by a hamstring injury early in 1973, Sizemore hit well when he returned to the lineup and batted .282 with 22 doubles, 54 RBIs, and a .365 OBP. In 1974 the injury-prone Sizemore saw his production drop to .250 with a .339 OBP as he proved once more to be excellent in the second batting order spot to Brock, who set a base-stealing record. In 1975 his defensive play began to falter while his batting production only amounted to .240 and a .296 OBP. Prior to the 1976 season he was dealt back to the Dodgers for outfielder Willie Crawford. As a backup second baseman and pinch-hitter in ’76, who also briefly saw action at third base and catcher, he hit .241 in 84 games. In the offseason he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies where he returned to being a regular second baseman in 1977 and batted .281 with a .345 OBP and led NL second baseman by turning 104 double plays. The Phillies topped the NL East and in the NLCS loss to the Dodgers, Sizemore made a key error in a critical Game 3 collapse. In 1978 he was lost for seven weeks with a broken hand and had difficulty with his hitting and fielding when he returned. He ended up hitting just .219 with a .270 OBP. The Phillies traded Sizemore to the Chicago Cubs in 1979 as part of the deal that sent second baseman Manny Trillo to Philadelphia. He lasted with the Cubs until an August dispute with manager Herman Franks and team management led to his being sent to the Boston Red Sox. For the year he batted .251 with a .315 OBP. In 1980 he lasted for just nine games with Boston before being waived at the end of May, thus ending his playing career. For his major league career, Sizemore batted .262 with 1311 hits that included 188 doubles, 21 triples, and 23 home runs. He scored 577 runs and compiled 430 RBIs, 59 stolen bases, and a .325 OBP. With the Dodgers he batted .274 with 127 runs scored, 328 hits, 38 doubles, 7 triples, 5 home runs, 98 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and a .329 OBP. Appearing in 8 postseason games, he hit .308. Appreciated for his competitive drive, unselfishness, and versatility, the University of Michigan baseball team created the “Ted Sizemore Award” that is annually given to the team’s best defensive player.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.