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 Respected as a competitor and as a
clean-living, God-fearing gentleman,
Richardson played a solid second
base on seven Yankee
pennant-winners. He had great range
and was particularly adept at
turning the double play; teamed with
shortstop Tony Kubek, he led the AL
in double plays four times. He won
five consecutive Gold Gloves...>>>
Book Bobby Richardson for Your Event
Though Richardson hit
.301 in 1959, the
singles hitter was not
usually one of the
Yankees' major offensive
threats. An exception
was his sensational
performance in the 1960
World Series, which won
him Series MVP honors.
He batted .367 with 11
hits, a grand slam, and
eight runs scored. He
set WS records with 12
total RBI and 6 RBI in
Game Three, though he
had driven in only 26
runs during the regular
season. In 1961, he tied
records for a five-game
Series with nine hits
and 23 at-bats, for a
.391 average. He
dramatically ended the
1962 Series when he
caught Willie McCovey's
hard liner with two on
and two out in the ninth
inning of Game Seven to
preserve the Yankees'
1-0 victory over San
Francisco.
Manager Casey Stengel
platooned Richardson
with Jerry Lumpe in 1957
and 1958, and never gave
Richardson more than 469
at-bats a year. He once
said of the young second
baseman, "He don't
smoke, he don't drink,
and he still can't hit
.250." Ralph Houk, who
took over the Yankees in
1961, liked a set
lineup. He played
Richardson every day and
placed him at the top of
the order. The
combination of leading
off for the best offense
in the league and rarely
walking resulted in
Richardson leading the
AL in at-bats each year
from 1962 through 1964,
setting an AL record
with 692 in '62. That
year his 209 hits were
the AL high. He batted
.302 and finished second
to Mickey Mantle in MVP
voting. On June 24, he
tied a ML record by
coming to bat 11 times
in a 22-inning game
against Detroit.
His
Yankee teammates were a
down-and-dirty bunch, but they tried
to clean up their act around the
religious Richardson. Once Moose
Skowron struck out three times in a
game and came storming into the
dugout, threw his equipment down,
and was cursing as he walked down
the bench. As he passed Richardson,
still cursing, he threw in an
"Excuse me, Bobby," and continued
with his obscenities, cracking up
the whole team. After the collapse
of the Yankee dynasty in 1965
Richardson and shortstop Tony Kubek
decided between themselves that it
would be bad for the team if they
both retired at once. Kubek's
injuries limited his effectiveness,
so he called it quits after the 1965
season, with Richardson staying
through 1966. He coached college
ball after his playing days.
>>> Book Bobby
Richardson for Your Event
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