Highlighted Year: Gordy Coleman, 1961

First Baseman, Cincinnati Reds

Age: 27 (July 5)

2^nd season with Reds

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 215 

Prior to 1961:

A native of Rockville, Maryland, Coleman was a four-sport star athlete at Richard Montgomery High School, excelling in football, basketball, and track in addition to baseball. Receiving a football scholarship to Duke University, he played football and baseball as a freshman and he signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1953. Assigned to Reading of the Class A Eastern League, he batted .200 in 13 games and was dropped to the Spartanburg Peaches of the Class B Tri-State League in 1954. Coleman hit .318 in 1954 with 35 doubles, 9 triples, 13 home runs, 100 RBIs, a .368 on-base percentage, and a .484 slugging percentage. Assigned to Keokuk of the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or Three I) League in 1955, he batted .349 with 24 doubles, 16 home runs, 77 RBIs, a .386 OBP, and a .539 slugging percentage. He finished the year with a brief stint in Class AAA with Indianapolis of the American Association. Placed with the Mobile Bears of the Class AA Southern Association in 1956, he was shifted from the outfield to first base and hit .317 with 25 doubles, 8 triples, 27 home runs, 118 RBIs, a .359 OBP, and a .516 slugging percentage. Coleman then joined the Army for the next two years, missing the 1957 and ’58 seasons. Upon returning to baseball in 1959, he was again with Mobile where he won the Southern Association Triple Crown by batting .353 with 30 home runs and 110 RBIs. Receiving a late call-up to Cleveland, he appeared in six games and had 8 hits and 2 runs in 15 at bats for a .533 average and .563 OBP. In the offseason he was traded to the Reds who assigned him to the Seattle Rainiers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 1960, where he was hitting .324 with 22 doubles, 9 triples, 10 home runs, 60 RBIs, with a .381 OBP, and a .514 slugging percentage when he was called up to the Reds at midseason. Taking over as the starting first baseman, he hit .271 in 66 games with 10 doubles, 6 home runs, 32 RBIs, and a .308 OBP. He further established himself as an able fielder.

1961 Season Summary

Appeared in 150 games

1B – 150, PH – 8

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 578

At Bats – 520 [20]

Runs – 63

Hits – 149

Doubles – 27 [12, tied with Gene Freese & Don Hoak]

Triples – 4

Home Runs – 26 [11, tied with Gene Freese]

RBI – 87 [13, tied with Gene Freese & Vada Pinson]

Bases on Balls – 45

Int. BB – 11 [6, tied with Billy Williams & Orlando Cepeda]

Strikeouts – 67

Stolen Bases – 1

Caught Stealing – 3

Average - .287 [13]

OBP - .341

Slugging Pct. - .504 [13, tied with Vada Pinson]

Total Bases – 262 [15]

GDP – 9

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 4

Sac Flies – 7 [6, tied with four others]

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 22, HR - 18, RBI - 55, AVG - .302, OBP - .350, SLG - .571

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 6 AB) at Mil. Braves 7/2 – 13 innings

Longest hitting streak – 9 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 5 AB) at Philadelphia 6/17, (in 4 AB) at Chi. Cubs 6/28, (in 4 AB) vs. San Francisco 9/23

HR at home – 12

HR on road – 14

Multi-HR games – 3

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. San Francisco 9/23

Pinch-hitting – 4 for 7 (.571) with 3 R & 1 RBI

Fielding

Chances – 1294

Put Outs – 1162

Assists – 121

Errors – 11

DP - 93

Pct. - .991

Postseason Batting: 5 G (World Series vs. NY Yankees)

PA – 20, AB – 20, R – 2, H – 5, 2B – 0,3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 2, BB – 0, IBB – 0, SO – 1, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .250, OBP - .250, SLG - .400, TB – 8, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

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The Reds went 93-61 to win the NL pennant by 4 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers, while leading the league in doubles (247). The lightly regarded Reds were paced by their formidable hitting, which included Coleman, and decent starting pitching that featured righthanders Joey Jay and Bob Purkey, and LHP Jim O’Toole, supported by relievers Jim Brosnan and Bill Henry. They put together a 54-30 first half and remained strong down the stretch to hold off the Dodgers and nail down the first Cincinnati pennant since 1940. Lost World Series to the New York Yankees, 4 games to 1 and Coleman homered in Game 2 to spark a 6-2 win, Cincinnati’s only victory.

Aftermath of 1961:

Coleman followed up with another solid season in 1962, batting .277 with 28 home runs, 86 RBIs, a .331 OBP, and a .485 slugging percentage. He again ranked among the league's better fielding first basemen. Overweight and bothered by injuries and a major slump in 1963, his production dropped to .247 with 20 doubles, 14 home runs, 59 RBIs, a .303 OBP, and a .427 slugging percentage. Utilized in a backup and pinch-hitting role in 1964 as Deron Johnson became the regular first baseman, Coleman appeared in only 89 games and hit .242 with 6 doubles, 5 home runs, 27 RBIs, and a .291 OBP. Platooning at first base with rookie Tony Perez in 1965, he saw more action and his production improved to .302 with 19 doubles, 14 home runs, 57 RBIs, a .348 OBP, and a .489 slugging percentage. Platooning again in 1966, Coleman batted .360 as a pinch-hitter and overall hit .251 with 5 home runs, 37 RBIs, and a .299 OBP. Little used by the Reds in 1967, he was sent down to the Buffalo Bisons of the Class AAA International League, where he hit poorly and finished the season, and his career, with Spokane of the Pacific Coast League. For his major league career, which was played entirely with the Reds, Coleman batted .273 with 650 hits that included 102 doubles, 11 triples, and 98 home runs. He scored 282 runs and compiled 387 RBIs, a .324 OBP, and a .448 slugging percentage. As a pinch-hitter he hit .350 in 120 at bats with 4 doubles, 3 home runs, 32 RBIs, a .416 OBP, and a .475 slugging percentage. The 1961 World Series marked his only postseason action. Following his playing career, he made numerous public relations appearances for the Reds and became a television commentator for the club’s games while remaining active in the Cincinnati community until his death from a heart attack at age 59 in 1994. He was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1972. In 2009 his high school named its new baseball venue Gordy Coleman Field. Three years later he was posthumously inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

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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.