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Al Rosen

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For other people named Al Rosen, seeAl Rosen (disambiguation).

Al Rosen
Baseball player Al Rosen, a 29-year-old blond man, is pictured in the white uniform of the Cleveland Indians, kneeling with a baseball bat, circa 1953.
Al Rosen, circa 1953
Third baseman
Born:(1924-02-29)February 29, 1924
Spartanburg, South Carolina,U.S.
Died:March 13, 2015(2015-03-13)(aged 91)
Rancho Mirage, California,U.S.
Batted:Right
Threw:Right
MLB debut
September 10, 1947, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1956, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
Batting average.285
Home runs192
Runs batted in717
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Albert Leonard Rosen(February 29, 1924 – March 13, 2015), nicknamed "Flip"and"the Hebrew Hammer",was an Americanbaseballthird basemanand right-handed slugger for theCleveland Indiansof Major League Baseball for ten seasons in the 1940s and 1950s.

After serving for four years in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Rosen played his entire ten-year career (1947–1956) with theCleveland Indiansin theAmerican League(AL). A stand-out on both offense and defense, he drove in 100 or more runs five consecutive years, was a four-timeAll-Star,twice led the league inhome runsand twice inruns batted in(RBIs), and was an ALMost Valuable Player.Rosen was a.285 career hitter, with 192 home runs and 717 RBIs in 1,044 games. He was selected for the All-Star Game from 1952 to 1955. Rosen appeared on the cover ofSports Illustratedin 1955.

Following two decades as a stockbroker after retirement from baseball, Rosen returned to the game as a top front office executive in the late 1970s, serving theNew York Yankees,Houston AstrosandSan Francisco Giantsvariously as president, CEO, and general manager. Regarded as a GM who still thought like a player, he became the only former MVP to also earn baseball's Executive of the Year award.[1]

Early life

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Rosen was born inSpartanburg, South Carolina,to Louis and Rose (née Levin) Rosen. His father left the family shortly thereafter, and Rosen's mother and grandmother moved the family toMiami, Florida,when he was 18 months old.[2][3]

Rosen suffered fromasthmaas a child, which prompted his family to move further south. While growing up, his two favorite baseball players wereLou GehrigandHank Greenberg.He attended Riverside Elementary School, Ada Merritt Junior High School, and thenMiami Senior High Schoolfor a year before attending Florida Military Academy inSt. Petersburg, Florida,on a bo xing scholarship.[3]After graduating from Florida Military Academy, Rosen enrolled in theUniversity of Floridain Gainesville, Florida.[3]He left the university after a semester to play minor league baseball in North Carolina.[3]

Rosen enlisted in 1942, and spent four years in theU.S. Navyfighting in thePacificduring World War II, delaying his professional baseball career. He navigated anassault boatin theBattle of Okinawa.[2]He left the Navy as alieutenantthe following year, returning to baseball.[2]

Minor league career

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Rosen played for the1946Pittsfield Electrics,where he was initially given a back-up role. Upon leading theCanadian–American Leaguein home runs (16) and RBIs (86), while batting.323, however, he was bestowed his idol Hank Greenberg's nickname, "the Hebrew Hammer".[2]Rosen played for theOklahoma City Indiansof theTexas Leaguein1947,and had one of the finest individual seasons in league history. He led all hitters in average (.349), hits (186), doubles (47), extra-base hits (83), RBIs (141), total bases (330), slugging percentage (.619), and on-base percentage (.437). He won theTexas League Player of the Year Award.[2]Rosen played for the New York Yankees'Kansas City Bluesfarm team in 1948. He was loaned to the Blues for the duration of the team'sAmerican Associationseason as part of a deal that sent relieverCharley Wenslofffrom the Yankees to the Indians.[4]Rosen was named Rookie of the Year in the American Association for his play with the Blues.

Major League Baseball career

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Rosen made his first appearance in the major leagues in1947at age 23. In1948,Rosen played most of the year inminor leagueswith the Kansas City Blues, before joining the Indians in September. He played in the1948 World Seriesas a reserve behind regular third basemanKen Keltnerdespite only playing five games during the season after the Indians requested his inclusion on the World Series roster.[5]When Keltner was traded in1950,Rosen took over as the Indians' third baseman, leading theAmerican Leaguein home runs with 37, hitting more than any previous American League rookie.[6]It stood as the AL rookie record untilMark McGwiresurpassed it in 1987.[7]He homered in four straight games in June, a feat unmatched by an Indians rookie untilJason Kipnisin 2011.[8][9]Rosen averaged a league-best homer every 15.0 at bats, and led the league as well inHBP(10). Hebatted.287 and had 116runs batted in,while finishing fifth in the league with 100walksand a.543slugging percentage.His 100 walks remained a team rookie record for a right-handed batter, through 2014.[10]He also remained the most recent AL rookie to record at least 100 walks untilAaron Judgein 2017. Despite his home run title, he finished 17th in the American LeagueMVP Awardvoting.

In1951Rosen led the league in games played, and was fifth in the league in RBIs (102), extra-base hits (55), and walks (85). He batted.265, with 24 home runs. Rosen hit fourgrand slams,a team season record that was not broken untilTravis Hafnerhit five in 2006.[11]

Rosen led the American League with 105 RBIs and 297total basesin1952.He also was third in the league in runs (101) and slugging percentage (.524), fifth in hits (171) anddoubles(32), sixth in home runs (28), and seventh in batting average (.302). On April 29, he matched the then team record of three home runs in one game,[10]which was surpassed only whenRocky Colavitotied theMajor League single-game recordwith four home runs on June 10, 1959. Rosen came in tenth in the American League MVP Award voting.

In1953,Rosen led the American League in home runs (43), runs batted in (145), runs (115), slugging percentage (.613), and total bases (367). He also came in second inOBP,and third in hits (201), and tied for eighth instolen bases.He also had a 20-game hitting streak.[10]Defensively, he had the best range factor of all third basemen in the league (3.32), and led it in assists (338) and double plays (38). His RBI total is still the most for an Indians third baseman, through 2017, and is fourth most for any Indian in a season.[12]

He batted.336, and missed winning the batting title – and with it theTriple Crown– on the last day of the season, by just over one percentage point. He was elected American League MVP by a unanimous vote, the first to be elected unanimously since the original "Hebrew Hammer",Hank Greenberg.[13]

In the 2001 edition of theNew Historical Baseball Abstract,Bill Jamesnamed Rosen's 1953 season the greatest ever by a third baseman.[14]It is ranked 164th overall,[15]and 48th best by a position player[16]byBaseball-Referenceas of Rosen's passing.

In1954he hit an even.300, led the league insacrifice flieswith 11, was fourth in SLG (.506), and fifth in home runs (24), RBI (102), and OBP (.404). He also hit consecutive home runs in the All-Star game despite a broken finger, earning him the game MVP. His five RBI in the game matched the record set byTed Williamsfive years earlier, which still stood through the 2011 season.[17]

Hall of FamemanagerCasey Stengelsaid of him: "That young feller, that feller's a ball player. He'll give you the works every time. Gets all the hits, gives you the hard tag in the field. That feller's a real competitor, you bet your sweet curse life."[18]Cleveland won the pennant, but lost theWorld Series.In spite of Rosen's 5th straight year with 100 or more RBIs Cleveland cut his $42,500 ($482,200 today) salary to $37,500 ($426,500 today) for 1955.

In1955Rosen finished in the top ten in the league in at-bats per home run, walks, and sacrifice flies. By 1956, back problems and leg injuries caught up with Rosen and he retired at age 32 at the end of the season.[19]

After baseball

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After retiring in1956Rosen pursued a career as astockbroker,[20]an occupation he held for the next 22 years.[21]

In 1973, Rosen left investments forCaesars PalaceinLas Vegas,where he worked for five years.

Baseball executive

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In 1978, Rosen became president and CEO of the New York Yankees.[21]They won the1978 World Series,but Rosen quit on July 19, 1979.Tommy Johnthought he left because ownerGeorge Steinbrennerhad replacedBob Lemon,a friend of Rosen's, withBilly Martinas the team manager a month before.[22]The two had made a pact to stick together against Steinbrenner (rather than have a Rosen serve as a go-between for feuds) by the mid-summer of 1978, but the combination of Martin's resignation later that year and subsequent return made it impossible for Rosen to continue; the final straw was when Rosen wanted a game to start earlier to accommodate a national telecast, but Steinbrenner sided with Martin, who wanted it to start on time.[23]Rosen served as a supervisor of credit operations at Bally's inAtlantic Citybefore a loan going sour led to him resigning.

Rosen then served as team president and general manager of theHouston Astros(1980–1985).[24]Rosen was hired two weeks after the 1980 season ended for the Astros by ownerJohn McMullen,who in a controversial decision had firedTal Smithdespite forming a core that won the National League West title. From 1981 to 1985, the Astros went 386–372 with one playoff appearance [1981 NLDS] before a mutual agreement was reached by both as Rosen departed in September 1985.

He was hired as president andgeneral managerbyBob Lurieof theSan Francisco Giantsa week after he left the Astros, where he would serve until 1992. Notably, one of his first actions was to remove the television and stereo systems fromCandlestick Parkas a means to have the players totally focused on baseball.[25]Roger Craigwas retained as manager after taking over forJim Davenportin September, complete with Rosen allowing Craig full control. Through acquisitions (such asRick Reuschel) and promoting draft picks such asWill Clark,Rosen and his maneuvering brought San Francisco from last place in1985to the NL West title in1987and the National League pennant in1989,earning him the National League Executive of the Year honors.[26][27]Regarded as a GM who still thought like a player, he became the only MVP in history to also earn the top executive award.[1]The Giants went 589–475 with Rosen as general manager. An announcement of the sale of the team by Lurie in June 1992 (which was bought byPeter Magowanin January 1993 after a scuttled sale to Florida investors) precluded the departure of Rosen, who resigned in late November 1992. He was replaced byBob Quinn.Quinn fired Craig as manager the following month. To replace him, Quinn namedDusty Bakeras manager; Rosen had hired him to serve as first base coach of the Giants in 1988 after telling him he would be better suited for the role rather than assistant general manager.[28]

In 1979, Rosen appeared withSpec Richardson(general manager of theSan Francisco Giants) in a television commercial entitled "Baseball Executives" for Miller Lite, as one of the commercials in the legendary "Great Taste, Less Filling" advertising campaign. The idea was two major league high-level baseball executives are discussing a big trade in a formal, stuffy members only club, only to reveal that they are actually trading baseball cards much like a couple of children, ending on a throw-down of a bunch of baseball cards on the polished wooden table. The commercial ran heavily during the summer of 1979 along with every game of theWorld Seriesthat year.

Personal life

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Rosen's wife of 19 years, the former Teresa Ann Blumberg, died on May 3, 1971. He remarried to second wife, Rita (née Kallman) several years later. He had three sons, and a stepson and stepdaughter. Rosen occasionally consulted for baseball teams, including a stint with the Yankees as special assistant to the general manager in 2001 and 2002. He was featured in the 2010 movie narrated byDustin Hoffman,Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story.[2]

Rosen died on March 13, 2015, inRancho Mirage, California.[29][30]

Jewish heritage

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Rosen was Jewish.[31]He was tough, an amateurboxer,and had a reputation for standing up to anyone who dared insult his ancestry. While some reports have him commenting that, as a minor leaguer, he wished his name were something less obviously Jewish, he is later known to have remarked that he wished it weremoreJewish—something like Rosenstein.[32][33]WhenEd Sullivan,himself aCatholicwith a Jewish wife, suggested that Rosen might be Catholic, pointing to his habit of drawing a "cross" in the dirt with his bat, Rosen said the mark was an "x" and told Sullivan he wished his name were more Jewish so he wouldn't be mistaken for Catholic.[2][32]

Once a White Sox opponent called him a "Jew bastard". Sox pitcherSaul Rogovin,also Jewish, remembered an angry Rosen striding belligerently to thedugoutand challenging the "son of a bitch" to a fight. The player backed down.[34]

Rosen challenged another opposing player who had "slurred [his] religion" to fight him under the stands. And during a game, whenRed Soxbench playerMatt Battstaunted Rosen withanti-Semiticnames, Rosen called time and left his position on the field to confront Batts.[33]Hank Greenbergrecalled that Rosen "want[ed] to go into the stands and murder" fans who hurled anti-Semitic insults at him.

A 2010 documentary,Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story,highlighted Rosen, who in it is frank about how he dealt with anti-Semitism: "There's a time that you let it be known that enough is enough.... You flatten [them]."[35]

During his career, Rosen refused to play on theHigh Holy Days,as would baseballHall of FamerSandy Koufax,arguably the most famous American Jewish baseball player.

Through 2014, he was fifth in career home runs (behindSid Gordon), seventh in RBIs (behindRyan Braun), and tenth in hits (behindMike Lieberthal) among all-time Jewish major league baseball players.[36]

Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^abSports Illustratedobit[1]ArchivedMarch 23, 2017, at theWayback Machine"Best remembered for winning the American League's Most Valuable Player award in 1953 as Cleveland's third baseman, Rosen shined brightly but only briefly as a player and would later reach similar levels of accomplishment as a general manager, becoming the only former MVP to also earn the Executive of the Year award."
  2. ^abcdefgBerger, Ralph."SABR Baseball Biography Project: Al Rosen".The Society for American Baseball Research.Archivedfrom the original on December 17, 2013.RetrievedSeptember 27,2013.
  3. ^abcdManny Navarro, "Baseball lifer Al Rosen had close ties to UMArchivedApril 2, 2015, at theWayback Machine",The Miami Herald(March 16, 2015). Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  4. ^"Indians Option Rosen".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Associated Press(AP). April 14, 1948. p. 14.RetrievedSeptember 30,2016."Archived copy".Archived from the original on March 20, 2022.RetrievedMarch 20,2022.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^"Rosen and 24 Other Indians Are Ruled Eligible To Compete In World Series".The Plain Dealer.September 29, 1948. p. 26.
  6. ^Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures,2008 Edition, p.346, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York;ISBN978-0-451-22363-0
  7. ^"Baseball Today".Associated Press Archive. August 10, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon July 8, 2012.RetrievedOctober 26,2011.
  8. ^Hoynes, Paul (August 4, 2011)."Jason Kipnis on a HR roll: Cleveland Indians daily briefing".The Plain Dealer.Cleveland, Ohio. Archived fromthe originalon October 14, 2012.RetrievedNovember 4,2012.
  9. ^Paul Hoynes, cleveland com (August 4, 2011)."Jason Kipnis on a HR roll: Cleveland Indians daily briefing".cleveland.Archived fromthe originalon October 14, 2012.
  10. ^abc"Cleveland Indians Records/History".Archivedfrom the original on July 1, 2016.RetrievedNovember 1,2012.
  11. ^"Hafner hits record fifth grand slam".Reading Eagle.July 8, 2006.Archivedfrom the original on March 20, 2022.RetrievedNovember 1,2012.
  12. ^"Cleveland Indians Top 50 Single-Season Batting Leaders - Baseball-Reference".Baseball-Reference.Archivedfrom the original on October 31, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 20,2017.
  13. ^Warsinskey, Tim (September 26, 2013)."Cleveland Indians infielder Al Rosen's quest for baseball's 1953 Triple Crown went down to the wire 60 years ago Friday".Cleveland Plain Dealer (cleveland).Archivedfrom the original on October 18, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 27,2013.
  14. ^"Is Alex Bregman Having the Best Season Ever by a Jewish Baseball Player? - Tablet Magazine".
  15. ^Baseball-ReferenceSingle-Season Leaders & Records for Wins Above ReplacementArchivedApril 18, 2021, at theWayback Machine
  16. ^Baseball-Reference[2]ArchivedMay 3, 2021, at theWayback MachineSingle-Season Leaders & Records for WAR Position Players
  17. ^Schlueter, Roger (July 11, 2011)."Fascinating facts about the All-Star Game".MLB.Archivedfrom the original on October 23, 2013.RetrievedNovember 1,2012.
  18. ^"Sport: Top of the League".Time.July 5, 1954. Archived fromthe originalon September 5, 2009.RetrievedApril 9,2010.
  19. ^"Al Rosen Facts from".The Baseball Page. Archived fromthe originalon December 21, 2010.RetrievedApril 9,2010.
  20. ^"Al Rosen – Exploded on the scene in the AL".Historicbaseball.Archivedfrom the original on November 4, 2020.RetrievedApril 9,2010.
  21. ^abSandomir, Richard(May 7, 2010)."Chronicling Steinbrenner and His Turbulent Tenure".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on November 8, 2020.RetrievedNovember 4,2012.
  22. ^John, Tommy; Valenti, Dan (1991).TJ: My Twenty-Six Years in Baseball.New York: Bantam. p. 202.ISBN0-553-07184-X.
  23. ^"Al Rosen – Society for American Baseball Research".
  24. ^"Former Astros president and general manager Al Rosen dies".Chron.March 14, 2015. Archived fromthe originalon March 5, 2016.
  25. ^"Former Giants G.M. Al Rosen, who revived franchise in mid-80s, dies at 91".March 14, 2015.
  26. ^"Al Rosen profile at".baseballbiography.RetrievedApril 9,2010.
  27. ^"Former Giants GM al Rosen dies at 91".March 15, 2015.
  28. ^"Quinn In, so Craig's Out: Baseball: The new Giant owners name their new general manager and fire the manager after seven years".Los Angeles Times.December 2, 1992.
  29. ^"Rosen, 1953 MVP and four-time All-Star, dies at 91".mlb.Archived fromthe originalon September 21, 2017.RetrievedMarch 14,2015.
  30. ^"Former MVP, Yankee exec Al Rosen dies at 91".New York Daily News.March 15, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on June 30, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 20,2017.
  31. ^"'Hebrew Hammer' Al Rosen, Cleveland Indians all-star and '53 MVP, dies ".Jewish Telegraphic Agency.March 15, 2015.RetrievedMay 8,2024.
  32. ^abMaoz, Jason (April 6, 2005)."The Vanishing Jewish Baseball Player".The Jewish Press.Archivedfrom the original on April 3, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 27,2013.
  33. ^abRosen, R.D. (September 25, 2012)."Mortal Gods".sbnation.Archivedfrom the original on December 7, 2013.RetrievedSeptember 27,2013.
  34. ^Dorinson, Joseph (July 2004)."JEWS and BASEBALL"(PDF).You could look it up.Vol. 5, no. 1. New York:The Society for American Baseball Research,Casey Stengel Chapter. pp. 10–12. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on July 8, 2011.RetrievedNovember 1,2012.
  35. ^Dick Friedman (November 25, 2002)."Faith In The Game: a new film illuminates the Jewish contribution to the national pastime".Sports Illustrated.Archived fromthe originalon September 21, 2011.RetrievedDecember 12,2010.
  36. ^"Career Batting Leaders through 2014".Career Leaders.Jewish Major Leaguers. Archived fromthe originalon August 26, 2012.RetrievedMarch 15,2015.
  37. ^Kahn, Roger (2003).October Men: Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and the Yankees' Miraculous Finish in 1978.Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.ISBN0151006288.Archivedfrom the original on May 14, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 18,2015.

Further reading

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  • Ruttman, Larry(2013). "Al Rosen: First-Ever Unanimous Most Valuable Player Selection, the Luckiest Jew Alive".American Jews and America's Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball.Lincoln, Nebraska and London, England: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 67–78.ISBN978-0-8032-6475-5.This chapter in Ruttman's history, based on a January 14, 2009, interview with Rosen conducted for the book, discusses Rosen's American, Jewish, baseball, and life experiences from youth to the present.
  • Wancho, Joseph (2022).Hebrew Hammer: A Biography of Al Rosen, All-Star Third Baseman.McFarland & Company.p. 230.ISBN978-1-4766-8131-3.
[edit]
Awards
Preceded by Sporting NewsMajor League BaseballExecutive of the Year
1987 		Succeeded by
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