Highlighted Year: Ed Bressoud, 1962

Shortstop, Boston Red Sox

Age: 30 (May 2)

1^st season with Red Sox

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height:6’1”    Weight: 175 

Prior to 1962:

A Los Angeles native, Bressoud (pronounced Breh-SUE) was an All-City baseball player in high school and also played American Legion ball. He played semipro baseball while attending college to obtain a degree in Physical Education. Signed by the New York Giants in 1950, the young shortstop was assigned to Springfield of the Class D Ohio-Indiana League where he appeared in 70 games and batted .240 with 19 extra-base hits. In 1951 Bressoud advanced to Sioux City of the Class A Western League and hit .230 with 20 doubles, 5 home runs, 53 RBIs, and a .298 on-base-percentage. Returning to Sioux City in 1952 he batted .252 with 25 doubles, 4 triples, 5 home runs, 68 RBIs, and a .359 OBP. Defensively, Bressoud led the league’s shortstops in putouts (302), assists (487), and double plays (105). In the offseason he commenced a two-year stint in the Marines. While missing two seasons, he did play some military baseball. Resuming his career in 1955, Bressoud was assigned to the Minneapolis Millers of the Class AAA American Association where he batted .251 with 35 doubles, 19 home runs, 74 RBIs, and a .318 OBP. Back with Minneapolis in 1956, he hit .269 with 18 doubles, 3 home runs, 36 RBIs, and a .330 OBP. Along the way he was called up by the Giants following the June trade of veteran shortstop Alvin Dark to the St. Louis Cardinals. With Daryl Spencer seeing more of the action at shortstop and Bressoud’s batting average dropping to .227, he was returned to Minneapolis where he finished the season. Starting the 1957 season with Minneapolis, Bressoud was called up by the Giants in July and went on to hit .268 with 5 home runs, 10 RBIs, and a .299 OBP while seeing action at both shortstop and third base. The franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958, but Bressoud’s season was shadowed by a personal tragedy when his wife died from a brain tumor. Sent home to spend time with his family, he ended up appearing in only 66 games and batting .263 with a .331 OBP. Bressoud started the 1959 season in a backup role but took over as the starting shortstop at midseason due to the errant fielding of Andre Rodgers as the Giants fought the Dodgers and Braves in a tight pennant race. He helped to stabilize the infield defense while batting .251 with 17 doubles, 9 home runs, 26 RBIs, and a .311 OBP. His batting average dropped to .225 and his OBP to .290 in 1960 although he produced 19 doubles, 6 triples, 9 home runs, and 43 RBIs. Hindered by a leg injury in 1961, Bressoud was displaced at short by Jose Pagan. Limited to 59 games he hit 3 home runs with 11 RBIs and a .276 OBP. Exposed in the NL expansion draft in the offseason, he was selected by the Houston Colt .45s who dealt him to the Red Sox who appreciated his glove work and being a right-handed pull hitter with some power who could be a good fit at Fenway Park.

1962 Season Summary

Appeared in 153 games

SS – 153

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 657 [19]

At Bats – 599 [18]

Runs – 79

Hits – 166 [17, tied with Nellie Fox]

Doubles – 40 [3]

Triples – 9 [5, tied with Brooks Robinson]

Home Runs – 14

RBI – 68

Bases on Balls – 46

Int. BB – 4

Strikeouts – 118 [2]

Stolen Bases – 2

Caught Stealing – 3

Average - .277

OBP - .329

Slugging Pct. - .444

Total Bases – 266 [15]

GDP – 14 [18, tied with six others]

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 7

Sac Flies – 3 

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 18, 3B – 4, HR - 6, RBI - 37, AVG - .268, OBP - .314

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Most hits, game – 3 on ten occasions

Longest hitting streak – 14 games

HR at home – 7

HR on road – 7

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 3 AB) vs. KC A’s 6/30

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 3 on five occasions

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 801

Put Outs – 291

Assists – 482

Errors – 28

DP – 107

Pct. - .965

Awards & Honors:

26^th in AL MVP voting, tied with Whitey Ford NYY & Bob Rodgers LAA (6 points – 2% share)

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The Red Sox went 76-84 to finish eighth in the AL, 19 games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees while leading the league in doubles (257). In ninth place by May 20, the Red Sox struggled to play .500 ball during the season’s last two months to finish one place higher.

Aftermath of 1962:

Bressoud continued to display power from the shortstop position in 1963 as he batted .260 with 23 doubles, 6 triples, 20 home runs, 60 RBIs, a .329 OBP, and a .451 slugging percentage. He was an All-Star for the only time in his career in 1964 as he started the season with a 20-game hitting streak on his way to batting .293 with 41 doubles, 15 home runs, 55 RBIs, a .372 OBP, and a .456 slugging percentage. Bressoud’s hitting dropped off in 1965 and he lost playing time to Rico Petrocelli, a young shortstop with power, and in 107 games he batted .226 with 8 home runs, 25 RBIs, and a .297 OBP. With the Red Sox committing to younger players, he was traded to the New York Mets for outfielder Joe Christopher. Expected to fill more of a utility role for the Mets, he saw the most action at shortstop, splitting time with veteran Roy McMillan and the up-and-coming Bud Harrelson, and he hit .225 with 15 doubles, 10 home runs, 49 RBIs, and a .304 OBP. Prone to striking out, he began wearing glasses during the season, which proved helpful. Just prior to the 1967 season Bressoud was dealt once again, this time to the St. Louis Cardinals. He saw little action as a reserve infielder with the pennant-winning Cardinals and announced his retirement following the World Series victory over the Red Sox. For his major league career, Bressoud batted .252 with 925 hits that included 184 doubles, 40 triples, and 94 home runs. He scored 443 runs and compiled 365 RBIs, a .319 OBP, and a .401 slugging percentage. With the Red Sox he batted .270 and scored 255 runs with 115 doubles, 19 triples, 57 home runs, 208 RBIs, a .337 OBP, and a .435 slugging percentage. He appeared in two World Series games with St. Louis in 1967 and had no plate appearances. In addition to being a one-time All-Star Bressoud received MVP votes following two seasons, both with the Red Sox. After his playing career he was a scout and minor league manager in addition to a long teaching career. Bressoud died in 2023 at age 91.

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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.