I just learned tonight that Rocky Colavito, outfielder for the Cleveland Indians when I was growing up in northern Ohio, just died at the age of 91. He was a tremendous hitter and had an absolute cannon for an arm. He had a trademark ritual at the plate of stretching by putting the bat behind his shoulders before squaring around to face the pitcher. In 1959 he hit 4 home runs in one game against the Baltimore Orioles.
He had been traded away in 1960 and came back to the Indians in 1965. I remember listening to the opening game of the 1965 season when he came up to the plate when he hit a home run that sounded like it would have landed in Erie, PA it was so loud.
His hitting statistics would be a matter of baseball record that can be looked up. But something that maybe wasn't as well known was his pitching ability. Gordon Cobbledick, who I remember as a sportswriter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, said that Colavito had the ability to be a 20 game winner as a pitcher. And he did pitch in two games that were not blowout games. Toward the end of his career Colavito signed with the New York Yankees. In 1968 I remember him being brought in to pitch in relief when the Yankees were behind. He pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings, the Yankees pulled ahead and Colavito was the winning pitcher in relief. I remember that game like it was yesterday.
Hearing about Rocky Colavito's passing sure brought back a lot of memories from growing up in northern Ohio and rooting for the Cleveland Indians.
He had been traded away in 1960 and came back to the Indians in 1965. I remember listening to the opening game of the 1965 season when he came up to the plate when he hit a home run that sounded like it would have landed in Erie, PA it was so loud.
His hitting statistics would be a matter of baseball record that can be looked up. But something that maybe wasn't as well known was his pitching ability. Gordon Cobbledick, who I remember as a sportswriter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, said that Colavito had the ability to be a 20 game winner as a pitcher. And he did pitch in two games that were not blowout games. Toward the end of his career Colavito signed with the New York Yankees. In 1968 I remember him being brought in to pitch in relief when the Yankees were behind. He pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings, the Yankees pulled ahead and Colavito was the winning pitcher in relief. I remember that game like it was yesterday.
Hearing about Rocky Colavito's passing sure brought back a lot of memories from growing up in northern Ohio and rooting for the Cleveland Indians.
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