Outfielder/First
Baseman, Chicago Cubs
Age: 29
4th season
with Cubs
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’4” Weight: 200
Prior to 1962:
A native of
Goldsboro, North Carolina, Altman played basketball and football in addition to
baseball at Dillard High School. He went on to play basketball at Tennessee A
& I University, a historically black college now called Tennessee State
University. Playing basketball in college (the school didn’t field a baseball
team until he was a junior), he went undrafted by the NBA and, upon receiving
his degree, Altman coached basketball at Lemoyne College in Memphis. He came to
the attention of the Negro American League Kansas City Monarchs, who he joined
in 1955. Previously an outfielder exclusively, he learned to play first base as
well in his brief tenure with the Monarchs. He signed with the Cubs and was
assigned to the Burlington Bees of the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or Three
I) League in 1956 where he batted .263 with 16 home runs, 67 RBIs, 17 stolen
bases, and a .342 on-base percentage. Drafted into the Army, he played baseball
at Fort Carson, Colorado which won the All-Army championship. Following his
military stint, Altman was with the Pueblo Bruins of the Class A Western League
in 1958 where, in 89 games, he hit .325 with 14 home runs, 78 RBIs, a .389 OBP,
and a .536 slugging percentage. Following a winter playing in Panama, a strong
spring performance propelled Altman to the Cubs in 1959 where he started in
center field and batted .245 with 12 home runs, 47 RBIs, and a .312 OBP. He
impressed with his speed and ability to hit with power to all fields. Following
a successful stint playing winter ball in Cuba, Altman split time between the
three outfield positions and first base in 1960, having been dislodged in
center field by the arrival of veteran Richie Ashburn. Altman, who dealt with a
variety of injuries, improved his average to .266 with 13 home runs, 51 RBIs, a
.330 OBP, and a .455 slugging percentage. In 1961 he was an All-Star for the
first time and hit a key homer in the first of the two All-Star games that
year. For the season he batted .303 with 28 doubles, a league-leading 12
triples, 27 home runs, 96 RBIs, a .353 OBP, and a .560 slugging percentage.
Having settled into right field, he also performed well defensively.
1962 Season Summary
Appeared in 147
games
RF – 125, 1B –
16, CF – 6, PH – 6
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances
– 603
At Bats – 534
Runs – 74
Hits – 170 [18]
Doubles – 27 [13,
tied with Tommy Davis, Ken Boyer & Bill Virdon]
Triples – 5
Home Runs – 22 [18,
tied with Billy Williams]
RBI – 74
Bases on Balls
– 62 [19]
Int. BB – 14 [3,
tied with Hank Aaron]
Strikeouts – 89
[18, tied with Bob Skinner]
Stolen Bases – 19
[6]
Caught Stealing
– 7 [11, tied with eleven others]
Average - .318 [6]
OBP - .393 [4]
Slugging Pct. -
.511 [9]
Total Bases – 273
[16]
GDP – 8
Hit by Pitches
– 5 [20, tied with six others]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 2
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 11, HR - 12, RBI - 41, SB – 10, AVG – .325, SLG – .512, OBP –
.405
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 7 AB) at LA Dodgers 5/1 – 16 innings, (in 6 AB) at NY Mets 5/15 – 13 innings,
(in 4 AB) vs. NY Mets 6/8, (in 5 AB) at Houston 8/19
Longest hitting
streak – 13 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 6 AB) at NY Mets 5/15 – 13 innings, (in 4 AB) at Philadelphia 5/18
HR at home – 9
HR on road – 13
Multi-HR games
– 2
Most RBIs, game
– 5 at Philadelphia 5/18
Pinch-hitting – 1 for 6 (.167)
Fielding (OF)
Chances – 249
Put Outs – 234
Assists – 8
Errors – 7
DP – 3
Pct. - .972
Awards & Honors:
All-Star
---
The Cubs went 59-103 to finish in ninth place in the newly expanded NL, 42.5
games behind the pennant-winning San Francisco Giants, while leading the league
in batting strikeouts (1044). Continuing their experiment of utilizing a
rotating group of coaches to guide the club, in lieu of a manager, the Cubs
started poorly and stumbled through a chaotic season despite the presence of
some young talent. Following a strong first half, Altman suffered a sprained
wrist in June which hindered his power production thereafter.
Aftermath of 1962:
In the offseason, Altman was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, who were looking to add power to the middle of their batting order, as part of a six-player deal. “Big George” had a disappointing season in 1963, dealing with injuries and trying too much to take aim at the short right field porch at Busch Stadium. He batted .274 with 18 doubles, 7 triples, 9 home runs, 47 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, a .339 OBP, and a .401 slugging percentage. He was traded again in the offseason, to the New York Mets for RHP Roger Craig. Primarily playing in left field for the Mets in 1964, leg and shoulder injuries limited his production to .230 with 14 doubles, 9 home runs, 47 RBIs, a .262 OBP, and a .332 slugging percentage. He was dealt back to the Cubs in the offseason and his career continued to decline in 1965, ’66, and ’67, much of which he spent with Tacoma of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. Hoping to resurrect his career, he went to Japan in 1968 where he played for the Tokyo Orions and batted .320 with 34 home runs, 100 RBIs, a .372 OBP, and a .578 slugging percentage. The team became the Lotte Orions in 1969 and Altman remained productive, hitting .269 with 25 doubles, 21 home runs, 82 RBIs, a .318 OBP, and a .471 slugging percentage. His career having turned around during his mid-30s in Japan, he stayed with the Orions until 1974, and finished up with the Hanshin Tigers in 1975, after which he retired after having been weakened by a bout with colon cancer. In Japan, he batted .310 with 452 runs scored, 985 hits, 163 doubles, 11 triples, 205 home runs, 656 RBIs, a .378 OBP, and a .561 slugging percentage. His high for home runs was 39 in 1971 but in 85 games in 1974, up to his cancer diagnosis, he was hitting .351 with 21 homers, 67 RBIs, a .442 OBP, and a .653 slugging percentage. For his major league career, he batted .269 with 832 hits that included 132 doubles, 34 triples, and 101 home runs. He scored 409 runs and compiled 403 RBIs, 52 stolen bases, a .329 OBP, and a .432 slugging percentage. With the Cubs he batted .276 with 608 hits, 299 runs scored, 100 doubles, 26 triples, 83 home runs, 309 RBIs, 35 stolen bases, a .340 OBP, and a .458 slugging percentage. Following his playing career, Altman became a commodities trader. He also became a youth mentor in his community. Altman was a two-time All-Star in America's National League and had an excellent second career in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum
of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who
led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a
minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between
the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc.
players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the
postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.
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