Earl Douglas Averill (September 9, 1931 – May 13, 2015) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

baseball player Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

who was a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

in the Major Leagues in 1956 and from 1958 to 1963 for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. He was commonly called Earl Averill Jr. to distinguish him from his father, Howard Earl Averill, who was a

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

baseball player in his own right. Averill was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, where his father was a star for the Indians. The younger Averill threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

(UO) from 1951 to 1953, and while a sophomore had a .439

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. Averill was the UO's first All-American in baseball, and was named to the UO Hall of Fame in 1997. He signed with the Cleveland Indians as a free agent after his college career ended, and began his professional career in 1953 with the

Reading Indians The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Re ...

, who he played with for two seasons. In 1955, he played for the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

and

Nashville Volunteers The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. Known only as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they were officially named the Nashville Volunteers (often sh ...

. He spent 22 games with Indianapolis in 1956 and had a .241 batting average, but was promoted to the main roster that year and made his Major League debut on April 19. After playing in 42 games with the Indians in 1956, Averill spent 1957 and 1958 with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

, where he had his best seasons in the minors. In 1957, he had 19

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 67

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

in 119 games, and he followed that up in 1958 with a .347 batting average, 24 home runs, and 87 runs batted in 112 games and was named Pacific Coast League MVP. He was brought back up to the Indians for 17 games, then was traded to the Chicago Cubs with

Morrie Martin Morris Webster Martin (September 3, 1922 – May 24, 2010), nicknamed "Lefty", was an American professional baseball player. The left-handed pitcher worked in 250 games in Major League Baseball over ten seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1949) ...

for

Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...

and John Briggs. He spent a season and a half with the Cubs, then was traded to the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

for

Al Heist Alfred Michael Heist (October 5, 1927 – October 2, 2006) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. After a long career in the Pacific Coast League of the 1950s, the outfielder made his Major League debut at the age of 32 ...

. After a month of not appearing in a game, he was traded to the White Sox and finished 1960 with them, only to be selected that December by the Los Angeles Angels in the

1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft The 1960 MLB expansion draft was held by Major League Baseball on December 14, 1960, to fill the rosters of the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators. The Angels and Senators (who later became the Texas Rangers) were new franchises that ...

. Averill had his best season in 1961 with the Angels. In 115 games, he had a .266 batting average and 21 home runs. The following year, Averill set an MLB record that he shares with

Piggy Ward Frank Gray "Piggy" Ward (April 16, 1867 – October 24, 1912) was a professional baseball player who played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1883 through 1894. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, ...

. He had the most consecutive plate appearances reaching a base by any means with 17, which he did from June 3 to June 10, 1962. He ended that season with a .219 batting average in 92 games, then was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jacke Davis. After 47 games with the Phillies, Averill was sent back to the minors, and spent two more seasons in the minor leagues before retiring. In 449 games over seven seasons, Averill posted a .242

(249-for-1031) with 137 runs, 41 doubles, 44

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, 159 RBI and 162

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

. He did not hit any triples in his MLB career. Defensively, he recorded an overall .976

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. In 1980, Averill was a charter inductee to the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

. He died on May 13, 2015. In 2018, Averill was inducted into the

Everett Community College Everett Community College (EvCC) is a public community college in Everett, Washington. EvCC educates more than 19,000 students every year at locations throughout Snohomish County, Washington, with most students and faculty at the main campus in E ...

Athletic Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Earl Averill
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Averill, Earl Jr. 1931 births 2015 deaths All-American college baseball players Baseball players from Cleveland Baseball players from Washington (state) Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Indianapolis Indians players Los Angeles Angels players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball catchers Nashville Vols players Oregon Ducks baseball players Pacific Coast League MVP award winners People from Snohomish, Washington Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Indians players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Seattle Rainiers players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players

See also

References

External links